industrial standards for a concrete garage slab 2

[maverick1987]

Can anyone share with us what the Industrial Concrete Standards would be for a garage slab? Or does anyone know how we can find this information out quickly?

 

[msquared48]

What loading/use is the slab going to see?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[maverick1987]

We are using it for a garage space to store cars, trucks, lawn mowers, etc and for a workshop space.

 

[maverick1987]

The reason for asking is because we are unhappy with the work done by the contractor and he claims it meets all the standards. The concrete was poured short, cracking appeared just days after, there is flaking, there are deep pockets where water sits, etc, etc.

 

[msquared48]

This is not "industrial" then, but normal residential, unless this is for a car repair shop.

For residential, 4" is OK, but for car/light truck repair, I would call for a 6" thick slab. If forklifts are used, I would spec an 8" minimum slab with a special finish.

Sounds like this is another 1/8" in 10 foot finishing issue though, with extra water added by the contractor on site for "workablility". Seems to me we've had a lot of discussions on this subject recently.

What did your specs say if the contractor says he met all the standards?

Ron?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[Ron]

As Mike and I have discussed in other threads on this subject, there is little difference in the true requirements between commercial and residential construction, but there's a vast difference in the enforcement of standards. I would be surprised if your contractor even knows the standards or how to meet them. I'm not being cynical nor overly skeptical, that's just a common fact.

Assuming you are in the US, the standards he would have to meet are established by the American Concrete Institute (

http://www.concrete.org

). These include standards for the Class of floor, the concrete to be used in the floor, dimensional tolerances, the finishing process and level, and the curing.

Mike is right that the contractor probably added water at the site and then proceeded to screw it up.

 

[dik]

Was the contractor given any specs or standards to work from or comply with?

Dik