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Concrete Reinforcement

Rev8
IssuedSep 16, 2026
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1 Scope

NOTE This standard governs the steel that gives cast-in-place concrete its tensile strength: what bar or wire is furnished for each reinforcement class, how it is protected where the concrete around it will carry chlorides, how it is bent, placed, spaced, covered, spliced, and welded, and how the placed reinforcement is verified before the concrete that hides it is placed. (1.1)
NOTE The reinforcement in scope is deformed and plain reinforcing bars, welded wire reinforcement in formed members, headed deformed bars, and lap, mechanical, end-bearing, and welded splices, in cast-in-place structural concrete of every member type: footings, grade beams, pile caps, slabs, beams, columns, walls, and the bonded reinforcement of post-tensioned members. (1.2)
NOTE None of what this standard controls is visible in the finished structure. A bar one inch low in a slab, a lap six diameters short, a coupler engaged on half its threads, or a tie displaced by a vibrator each leaves a member weaker than its design assumes, and none of them can be found afterward without destructive investigation; the procedures and records this standard requires are therefore treated as structural requirements, not paperwork. (1.3)
NOTE The following are governed elsewhere and are outside this standard: (1.4)
  • the concrete mixture, its exposure classes, placement, consolidation, and curing, under Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete
  • bar supports, chairs, and bolsters, and the embedded plates and anchor rods cast with the reinforcement, under Concrete AccessoriesConcrete Accessories and EmbedsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-accessories
  • post-tensioning strand, tendons, anchorages, and their stressing, under Post Tensioned ConcretePost-Tensioned ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/post-tensioned-concrete
  • reinforcement detailed and supplied by a precast or tilt-up producer, under Precast ConcretePrecast ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/precast-concrete and Tilt Up ConcreteTilt-Up ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/tilt-up-concrete
  • masonry joint reinforcement and the bars grouted into masonry cells, under Unit MasonryUnit MasonryResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/unit-masonry
  • welded wire reinforcement in slabs-on-grade, whose form and placement are governed by Slab On GradeSlab-on-GradeResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/slab-on-grade
  • the special inspection agency, the statement of special inspections, and inspector qualifications, under Special Inspections And TestingSpecial Inspections and Structural TestingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/special-inspections-and-testing
  • reinforcing bars post-installed in adhesive, under Post Installed AnchorsPost-Installed Concrete and Masonry AnchorsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/post-installed-anchors
  • joints, waterstops, and the dowels that cross construction joints, under Concrete Joints And WaterstopsConcrete Construction Joints and WaterstopsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-joints-and-waterstops
  • fiber-reinforced polymer bars and structural fibers
1.5 Reinforcement shall conform to ACI 318, shall be furnished and placed in accordance with ACI 301, and shall be within the tolerances of ACI 117.
1.6 Bar sizes, quantities, spacing, lengths, bend geometry, and the position of every bar shall be as indicated on the structural drawings and reinforcing schedules.
NOTE This standard states project-wide policy in the datasheet; the structural drawings and reinforcing schedules carry the per-member design values, and where the two differ for a given member, the drawings govern that member. (1.7)
1.8 Where the contract documents, the adopted code, and a referenced standard impose conflicting requirements on the same subject, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.

2 Referenced Standards

2.1 Materials, fabrication, and installation shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
2.2 Where referenced standards conflict, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
Standard Title
ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete
ACI 301 Specifications for Concrete Construction
ACI 117 Specification for Tolerances for Concrete Construction and Materials
ACI/TMS 216.1 Code Requirements for Determining Fire Resistance of Concrete and Masonry Construction Assemblies
ASTM A615/A615M Deformed and Plain Carbon-Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A706/A706M Deformed and Plain Low-Alloy Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A996/A996M Rail-Steel and Axle-Steel Deformed Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A1035/A1035M Deformed and Plain, Low-Carbon, Chromium, Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A955/A955M Deformed and Plain Stainless Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A775/A775M Epoxy-Coated Steel Reinforcing Bars
ASTM A934/A934M Epoxy-Coated Prefabricated Steel Reinforcing Bars
ASTM A767/A767M Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A1094/A1094M Continuous Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A1055/A1055M Zinc and Epoxy Dual-Coated Steel Reinforcing Bars
ASTM A970/A970M Headed Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A780/A780M Repair of Damaged and Uncoated Areas of Hot-Dip Galvanized Coatings
ASTM A1064/A1064M Carbon-Steel Wire and Welded Wire Reinforcement, Plain and Deformed, for Concrete
ASTM A1022/A1022M Deformed and Plain Stainless Steel Wire and Welded Wire for Concrete Reinforcement
ASTM A884/A884M Epoxy-Coated Steel Wire and Welded Wire Reinforcement
ASTM A1060/A1060M Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Steel Welded Wire Reinforcement, Plain and Deformed, for Concrete
AWS D1.4/D1.4M Structural Welding Code — Steel Reinforcing Bars
CRSI Manual of Standard Practice Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, detailing, fabrication, and placing practice
ICC-ES AC133 Acceptance Criteria for Mechanical Splice Systems for Steel Reinforcing Bars
IBC Chapter 17 International Building Code, Special Inspections and Tests
ASCE/SEI 7 Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures

3 Submittals

3.1 Action Submittals

3.1.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for review before the reinforcement they cover is fabricated:
  • reinforcement shop drawings prepared in accordance with the CRSI Manual of Standard Practice, showing for every member the bar size, standard and grade, coating, length, bend geometry, hook dimensions, spacing, cover to each face, lap splice location and length, mechanical splice location and type, headed bar location, and bar support type and location
  • bar lists keyed to the shop drawing mark system, giving for each mark the bar designation, standard and grade, coating, quantity, length, bending dimensions with critical dimensions identified, and weight
  • mill certification for each heat of reinforcing bar and each coil or lot of welded wire reinforcement, at the level this standard requires
  • product data for the corrosion-protected reinforcement system selected, with the coater's or galvanizer's certification that the coating conforms to its ASTM standard and the coating thickness, adhesion, and continuity test results for each lot
  • product data for the mechanical splice system, including the evaluation report under ICC-ES AC133 or the manufacturer's test reports establishing the performance type, the bar sizes and grades the system is qualified for, and the installation and inspection procedure
  • product data for headed deformed bars, with the head class under ASTM A970 and the attachment method
  • welding procedure specifications and welder qualification records under AWS D1.4, where welding of reinforcement is permitted
  • a placing sequence for members in which the reinforcement of two or more trades or two or more pours must be threaded together, where the Engineer of Record requests one
Action Submittal Packagecheckbox
☑ Reinforcement shop drawings
☑ Bar lists
☑ Mill certification
☐ Corrosion-protected reinforcement product data and coating certification
☐ Mechanical splice system product data and evaluation report
☐ Headed bar product data
☐ Welding procedure specifications and welder qualifications
☐ Placing sequence for congested members
3.1.2 Whether reinforcement may be fabricated before the shop drawing review is returned shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Shop Drawing Review Before Fabricationradio
● Fabrication after the reviewed shop drawings are returned
○ Fabrication at the Contractor's risk before the review is returned
NOTE Fabricating from unreviewed shop drawings puts the cost of every detailing error on the fabricated steel rather than on the drawing; it is selected where the schedule leaves no room for the review cycle and the Contractor accepts that any bar the review changes is refabricated at the Contractor's expense. (3.1.3)
3.1.4 Where fabrication before review is selected, reinforcement fabricated before the review is returned shall be corrected or replaced at the Contractor's expense to conform to the reviewed shop drawings.
NOTE Review of the shop drawings confirms conformance with the design intent of the contract documents and does not relieve the Contractor of responsibility for dimensions, quantities, fit, and coordination with other trades. (3.1.5)
3.1.6 Mill certification for reinforcing bars shall be furnished at the level indicated in the datasheet.
Mill Certification for Reinforcing Barsradio
● Certified mill test report for every heat
○ Manufacturer's certificate of conformance
NOTE A certified mill test report gives the heat number, the yield and tensile strength, the elongation and bend test results, and the chemical analysis of the heat, so that a bar in the structure can be traced to the properties the design relies on and a bar to be welded can be checked for carbon equivalent; a certificate of conformance states only that the material meets its standard. (3.1.7)
3.1.8 Mill certification for welded wire reinforcement shall be furnished at the level indicated in the datasheet.
Mill Certification for Welded Wire Reinforcementradio
○ Certified mill test report for every coil or lot
○ Manufacturer's certificate of conformance
3.1.9 Mill certification shall be received before the material it represents is incorporated in the work, and the bundle tags on delivered reinforcement shall identify the heat, coil, or lot the certification covers.

3.2 Informational Submittals

3.2.1 The Contractor shall submit the following with or before the action submittals:
  • the fabricator's plant certification or qualification statement required by this standard
  • the epoxy coating applicator's plant certification or qualification statement, where epoxy-coated reinforcement is selected
  • the special inspection reports for reinforcement, transmitted as they are issued
  • the mechanical splice installation records and production sample test reports, transmitted as each member is completed
Informational Submittal Packagecheckbox
☑ Fabricator certification or qualification statement
☐ Epoxy coating applicator certification or qualification statement
☑ Special inspection reports as issued
☐ Mechanical splice installation records and sample test reports

3.3 Closeout Submittals

3.3.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before the concrete work is accepted:
  • a record of every deviation from the reviewed shop drawings in bar size, grade, coating, position, cover, or splice that the Engineer of Record accepted, with the written acceptance
  • the mechanical splice installation records for the project, organized by member
  • the coating repair records for corrosion-protected reinforcement, where the coating was repaired in the field
  • the nonconformance log for reinforcement, with the disposition of each entry
Closeout Submittal Packagecheckbox
☑ Accepted deviation record
☑ Mechanical splice installation records
☐ Coating repair records
☑ Reinforcement nonconformance log
3.3.2 A deviation that was not accepted in writing before the concrete was placed shall be treated as a nonconformance, not as a field change.

4 Quality Assurance

4.1 Fabricator Qualification

4.1.1 Reinforcement shall be fabricated by a fabricator holding the certification indicated in the datasheet.
Fabricator Plant Certificationradio
○ Plant certified under the CRSI Reinforcing Bar Fabricator Plant Certification Program
○ Fabricator's qualification statement listing comparable completed projects
NOTE Plant certification audits the fabricator's equipment, bending practice, tagging, and traceability against the CRSI Manual of Standard Practice, and its cost is carried in the fabricator's pricing; a qualification statement puts the same questions to the Engineer of Record to judge from the fabricator's record, which is the arrangement where certified plants are not within economic haul distance. (4.1.2)
4.1.3 Where the parties disagree whether a listed project is comparable, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
4.1.4 The fabricator shall have bending equipment capable of producing every bend on the shop drawings to the bend diameters this standard requires without heating the bar.

4.2 Coating Applicator Qualification

4.2.1 Where epoxy-coated reinforcement is selected, the coating shall be applied by an applicator holding the certification indicated in the datasheet.
Epoxy Coating Applicator Certificationradio
○ Plant certified under the CRSI Fusion-Bonded Epoxy Coating Applicator Plant Certification Program
○ Applicator's qualification statement with the coating quality control records
4.2.2 Where galvanized reinforcement is selected, the galvanizer shall furnish the certification and test records ASTM A767 or ASTM A1094 requires for each lot.

4.3 Placing Crew Qualification

4.3.1 Reinforcement shall be placed by a crew whose foreman has placed reinforcement in members of the types in this scope and who can read the reviewed shop drawings and the reinforcing schedules.
4.3.2 Where welding of reinforcement is permitted, every welder shall be qualified under AWS D1.4 for the process, position, and bar size welded, and the qualification records shall be available to the special inspector at the site.

4.4 Special Inspection

4.4.1 Whether special inspection of reinforcement is required shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Special Inspection of Reinforcementradio
○ Required
○ Not required under the exceptions of the adopted building code
Derived — Chapter 17 of Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code and the statement of special inspections prepared for the project (by default)
NOTE The adopted building code requires special inspection of concrete construction, including verification of reinforcement size, grade, placement, and cover before each placement, and exempts a short list of members such as isolated footings of small buildings and nonstructural slabs; which exemptions apply is settled in the statement of special inspections, not by the Contractor. (4.4.2)
4.4.3 Where special inspection is required, it shall be performed by the special inspection agency and the inspectors qualified under Special Inspections And TestingSpecial Inspections and Structural TestingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/special-inspections-and-testing, and the inspection tasks and their frequency shall be those the statement of special inspections assigns to reinforcement.
4.4.4 Special inspection does not relieve the Contractor of the pre-placement inspection this standard requires, and concrete shall not be placed in a member until both have been completed.
4.4.5 Where the special inspector and the Contractor disagree whether a placed condition conforms, the Engineer of Record shall make the determination before the concrete is placed.

5 Reinforcing Bar Standards and Grades

5.1 Bar Grades Defined

NOTE The grade of a reinforcing bar is its specified yield strength in ksi, and it is the number the Engineer of Record used for every bar in the design; a bar of a lower grade than the design assumed is a strength deficiency, and a bar of a higher grade than the design assumed can change the failure mode of a member designed to yield before it crushes. (5.1.1)
NOTE ASTM A615 is the carbon-steel bar with no chemistry controlled for welding; ASTM A706 is the low-alloy bar with restricted chemistry, a capped actual yield strength, and a minimum tensile-to-yield ratio, which makes it weldable without heat analysis and predictable in the inelastic range the seismic provisions rely on; ASTM A1035 is the low-carbon chromium bar furnished in Grades 100 and 120 with a corrosion resistance between carbon steel and stainless; ASTM A996 is the rail-steel and axle-steel bar of limited bendability that ACI 318 restricts to specific uses. (5.1.2)
NOTE ACI 318 caps the yield strength that may be used in design for each use of reinforcement, and a bar grade permitted for one use is not by that fact permitted for another: Grade 100 may be used for confinement and for flexure in members outside the special seismic systems, but not as longitudinal reinforcement in a special moment frame. (5.1.3)

5.2 Longitudinal Reinforcement

5.2.1 Longitudinal deformed bars in members outside the seismic-force-resisting system shall be of the standard and grade indicated in the datasheet.
Longitudinal Deformed Bar Standard and Gradeselect
ASTM A615 Grade 40
ASTM A615 Grade 60
ASTM A615 Grade 80
ASTM A615 Grade 100
ASTM A706 Grade 60
ASTM A706 Grade 80
ASTM A706 Grade 100
ASTM A1035 Grade 100
ASTM A1035 Grade 120
ASTM A996 Grade 60
NOTE Grade 60 carbon-steel bar is the grade the structural design of most members assumes and the grade every fabricator stocks in every size; a higher grade reduces the bar area a given force needs and relieves congestion at the cost of longer development and lap lengths, wider service-load cracks, and the design limits ACI 318 places on the higher grades. (5.2.2)
5.2.3 Where the structural drawings state a different standard or grade for a member or a bar mark, that standard and grade shall govern for that member or mark.
5.2.4 Where ASTM A996 bars are selected, they shall be used only in the applications ACI 318 permits for rail-steel and axle-steel bars, and shall not be bent in the field.

5.3 Transverse Reinforcement

5.3.1 Stirrups, ties, hoops, and spirals in members outside the seismic-force-resisting system shall be of the standard and grade indicated in the datasheet.
Transverse Reinforcement Standard and Gradeselect
ASTM A615 Grade 40
ASTM A615 Grade 60
ASTM A615 Grade 80
ASTM A615 Grade 100
ASTM A706 Grade 60
ASTM A706 Grade 80
ASTM A1035 Grade 100
ASTM A1064 deformed wire
ASTM A1064 plain wire
NOTE Transverse reinforcement is decided separately from longitudinal reinforcement because ACI 318 permits a higher yield strength for confinement than for shear, and because the small-diameter bars and wire used for ties are stocked in grades that the larger longitudinal sizes are not. (5.3.2)
5.3.3 Spirals shall be plain or deformed bars or wire of the grade the structural drawings state, and the yield strength used in the spiral design shall not exceed the limit ACI 318 sets for spiral reinforcement.

5.4 Reinforcement of the Seismic-Force-Resisting System

5.4.1 Deformed longitudinal bars resisting earthquake-induced flexural or axial force in special moment frames, special structural walls, and their foundations shall be of the standard and grade indicated in the datasheet.
Bar Standard and Grade in the Seismic-Force-Resisting Systemselect
ASTM A706 Grade 60
ASTM A706 Grade 80
ASTM A615 Grade 60 meeting the supplementary requirements of ACI 318 Section 20.2.2.5
Not applicable
Derived — Seismic Design CategorySeismic Design CategoryParameterEach project supplies its own value.seismic-design-category and the seismic-force-resisting system the structure is designed as, under ACI 318 Section 20.2.2.5 (by default)
NOTE ACI 318 restricts the bars of the special seismic systems to ASTM A706, or to ASTM A615 Grade 60 whose actual yield strength, tensile-to-yield ratio, and elongation are verified against the same limits, because a moment frame or shear wall detailed to form plastic hinges depends on the bar yielding where the design put the hinge and not fracturing before the concrete around it is confined; a structure designed as an ordinary or intermediate system in a lower seismic design category carries no such restriction and the field reads not applicable. (5.4.2)
5.4.3 Where ASTM A615 Grade 60 is selected for the seismic-force-resisting system, the certified mill test report for every heat shall demonstrate the actual yield strength, the tensile-to-yield ratio, and the elongation ACI 318 Section 20.2.2.5 requires, and a heat whose report does not shall not be used in that system.
5.4.4 The members that form the seismic-force-resisting system shall be as indicated on the structural general notes.
5.4.5 Transverse reinforcement in the seismic-force-resisting system shall be of a grade ACI 318 Chapter 18 permits for the system, as indicated on the structural drawings.

5.5 Bars To Be Welded

5.5.1 Bars that are to be welded shall be of the standard indicated in the datasheet.
Bar Standard for Reinforcement To Be Weldedradio
● ASTM A706
○ ASTM A615 with carbon equivalent from the heat analysis and preheat per AWS D1.4
NOTE ASTM A706 controls the carbon equivalent of every heat, so the bar is weldable under AWS D1.4 without further analysis; ASTM A615 controls no chemistry, so each heat to be welded must have its carbon equivalent established from the mill analysis and the preheat AWS D1.4 assigns to that carbon equivalent applied, which is the path a project takes where the welded bars are few and the A706 stock is not on hand. (5.5.2)
5.5.3 Where ASTM A615 is selected for bars to be welded, the carbon equivalent of every heat welded shall be established from the certified mill test report or from a chemical analysis of the heat before welding begins, and the welding procedure shall state the preheat for that carbon equivalent.
5.5.4 ASTM A1035 bars shall not be welded unless the Engineer of Record has approved in writing a welding procedure qualified for that material under AWS D1.4.

5.6 Bar Sizes and Identification

5.6.1 Bars shall be furnished in the standard designations No. 3 through No. 18, in the sizes indicated on the reinforcing schedules.
NOTE A bar size is a per-member design value with no norm across projects, and the bar designation is the nominal diameter in eighths of an inch, so a No. 5 bar is 5/8 in. and a No. 11 bar is 1-3/8 in. (5.6.2)
5.6.3 Every deformed bar shall carry the rolled-in mill identification, bar size, steel type, and grade marks its ASTM standard requires, legible at the site.
5.6.4 A bar whose marks cannot be read shall not be placed until its size, standard, and grade have been established by the bundle tag and the mill certification, or by testing, at the Contractor's expense.
5.6.5 Bar substitution, whether of size, number, standard, or grade, shall not be made without the Engineer of Record's written approval.
NOTE Replacing bars with an equal area of a different size changes the development length, the spacing, the cover, and the crack width of the member all at once, so an equal-area substitution is not an equal substitution and is evaluated by the Engineer of Record, not by the detailer. (5.6.6)

6 Welded Wire Reinforcement

6.1 Welded wire reinforcement shall conform to ASTM A1064, with wire of the type indicated in the datasheet.
Welded Wire Reinforcement Wire Typeradio
○ Plain wire, W designation
○ Deformed wire, D designation
NOTE Plain wire develops its anchorage through the welded intersections and needs two cross wires within the development length; deformed wire develops through its deformations and is developed and lapped under the deformed-wire rules of ACI 318, which is why the structural drawings designate the wire type where the reinforcement is counted in the strength of the member. Neither type is the norm across projects. (6.2)
6.3 Welded wire reinforcement in formed members shall be furnished in the form indicated in the datasheet.
Welded Wire Reinforcement Form in Formed Membersradio
● Flat sheets
○ Rolls
NOTE Reinforcement from a roll holds the curvature it was wound to, and in a formed slab or wall the spring-back lifts the mat off its supports and out of its cover; ACI 301 requires flat sheets for that reason, and rolls are selected only where the Contractor will flatten and secure them in a way the Engineer of Record accepts. The form of welded wire reinforcement in slabs-on-grade is governed by Slab On GradeSlab-on-GradeResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/slab-on-grade. (6.4)
6.5 Where rolls are selected, the reinforcement shall be flattened before placement and tied to its supports so that no part of the mat rises above its specified position during concrete placement.
6.6 Wire sizes, spacing, and sheet dimensions shall be as indicated on the structural drawings.
6.7 Where a member reinforced with welded wire reinforcement is one that receives corrosion-protected reinforcement under this standard, the welded wire reinforcement shall be the coated or stainless product matching the selected system: ASTM A884 for epoxy-coated, ASTM A1060 for galvanized, and ASTM A1022 for stainless steel.
6.8 Welded wire reinforcement shall be lapped as ACI 318 requires for the wire type, with the outermost cross wires of the lapped sheets overlapped not less than the spacing of the cross wires plus 2 in. for plain wire, and not less than the deformed-wire lap length for deformed wire, unless the structural drawings show a longer lap.
6.9 Welded wire reinforcement shall be supported at its specified position on bar supports under Concrete AccessoriesConcrete Accessories and EmbedsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-accessories before the concrete is placed, and shall not be laid on the form or subgrade and lifted during placement.
NOTE Lifting a mat by hook during placement leaves it wherever the hook released it, which is neither at its design position nor within cover, and the concrete conceals the result. (6.10)

7 Corrosion-Protected Reinforcement

7.1 Where Corrosion Protection Is Required

NOTE Reinforcement embedded in sound concrete is protected by the alkalinity of the cement paste, which holds a passive film on the steel; chlorides that reach the bar break down that film and start corrosion whose product occupies several times the volume of the steel it consumed, cracking and spalling the cover from within. Corrosion-protected reinforcement addresses the case where the cover and the concrete quality that Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete provides are not enough for the service life the design relies on. (7.1.1)
7.1.2 Whether corrosion-protected reinforcement is required, and in which members, shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Corrosion-Protected Reinforcement Requiredradio
○ Not required, uncoated carbon-steel reinforcement throughout
○ Required in members assigned exposure class C2
○ Required in members assigned exposure classes C1 and C2
Derived — the corrosion-protection exposure class ACI 318 Table 19.3.1.1 assigns to each member, recorded in the cast-in-place concrete datasheet, and the service life the structural design relies on (by default)
NOTE ACI 318 assigns exposure class C2 to concrete exposed to moisture and an external source of chlorides, which is the condition of a parking deck under deicing salt, a marine splash zone, and a member in contact with chloride-bearing soil or water; class C1 is moisture without an external chloride source. The code answers class C2 with a lower water-cementitious materials ratio, a chloride limit, and the cover of this standard, and leaves corrosion-protected reinforcement to the design where the service life justifies it, so the field follows the exposure class and the design rather than a preference. (7.1.3)
7.1.4 The members that receive corrosion-protected reinforcement shall be as indicated on the structural general notes.
7.1.5 Where corrosion-protected reinforcement is required in a member, every bar, tie, stirrup, dowel, and welded wire sheet in that member shall be protected, including bars that project from it into an adjoining member, unless the structural general notes state otherwise.
NOTE An uncoated tie or dowel in a member of coated bars corrodes first and cracks the cover along its length, undoing the protection the coated bars were meant to give; a member is protected or it is not. (7.1.6)

7.2 Corrosion Protection System

7.2.1 Where corrosion-protected reinforcement is required, it shall be provided by the system indicated in the datasheet.
Corrosion-Protected Reinforcement Systemselect
Epoxy-coated bars, ASTM A775, coated straight and bent after coating
Epoxy-coated prefabricated bars, ASTM A934, bent before coating
Hot-dip galvanized bars, ASTM A767
Continuously galvanized bars, ASTM A1094
Zinc and epoxy dual-coated bars, ASTM A1055
Stainless steel bars, ASTM A955
Low-carbon chromium bars, ASTM A1035
Not applicable
NOTE The systems differ in mechanism and in what they cost to keep intact: a fusion-bonded epoxy coating is a barrier that protects only where it is unbroken, so it depends on handling, on repair of every holiday, and on the coated tie wire and supports this standard requires; a zinc coating protects sacrificially and tolerates the abrasion of placing, but is consumed over time in a chloride environment and reacts with fresh concrete unless chromate-passivated; a stainless or chromium bar has no coating to damage and carries its resistance in the alloy, at a material cost that confines it to the members and the service lives that justify it. No system is the norm across projects, and regional practice differs. (7.2.2)
NOTE ASTM A775 bars are coated straight and bent afterward, so every bend cracks the coating slightly and is repaired; ASTM A934 bars are bent first and coated afterward, so the bends are intact but the bar cannot be bent again after coating. A project whose reinforcement is fabricated to final shape before coating selects the prefabricated system; one that needs field bending or straightening of projecting bars selects the straight-coated system. (7.2.3)
7.2.4 Where a coated bar system is selected, the bars shall not be bent in the field except as ASTM A775 permits, and an ASTM A934 bar shall not be bent after coating.
7.2.5 Where the hot-dip galvanized system is selected, the coating class shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Galvanized Bar Coating Class (ASTM A767)radio
○ Class I
○ Class II
NOTE Class I carries the heavier zinc coating and the longer time to consumption in a chloride environment; Class II is the lighter coating that ASTM A767 permits and is selected where the exposure is moisture without a chloride source or where the coating thickness would interfere with the bar deformations on small sizes. Neither class is the norm across projects. (7.2.6)
7.2.7 Where a galvanized system is selected, the bars shall be chromate-passivated after galvanizing as ASTM A767 or ASTM A1094 requires, so that the zinc does not react with the fresh concrete and evolve hydrogen at the bar surface.
7.2.8 Where a galvanized system is selected, galvanized bars shall not be placed in contact with uncoated carbon-steel bars, aluminum embedments, or copper in the same member unless the two metals are isolated, because the galvanic couple consumes the zinc.
7.2.9 Where the stainless steel system is selected, the alloy shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Stainless Steel Bar Alloy (ASTM A955)select
UNS S30400, Type 304
UNS S31600, Type 316
UNS S31653, Type 316LN
UNS S32304, duplex 2304
UNS S32205, duplex 2205
UNS S24100, XM-28
NOTE The alloys differ in chloride threshold and in cost: the Type 304 family resists carbonation and moderate chloride, the molybdenum-bearing Type 316 family and the duplex grades resist the chloride concentration of a marine or deicing environment, and the low-nickel XM-28 grade offers a threshold near Type 304 at a lower alloy cost. The alloy is chosen against the chloride exposure of the member and no alloy is the norm. (7.2.10)
7.2.11 Where the stainless steel system is selected, stainless bars shall not be tied to or placed in contact with uncoated carbon-steel bars in the same member.
7.2.12 Where the low-carbon chromium system is selected, ASTM A1035 bars shall be used within the yield strength ACI 318 permits for their use and shall not be welded.

7.3 Coating Repair and Protection

7.3.1 Coated bars shall be handled, stored, placed, and tied so that the coating is not damaged, and every damaged area of coating shall be repaired before the concrete is placed.
7.3.2 Epoxy coating damaged after coating shall be repaired with the patching material the coater supplies, compatible with the coating and applied as ASTM A775 or ASTM A934 requires, and the repaired area on any bar shall not exceed the limit that standard sets.
7.3.3 A bar whose coating damage exceeds the repair limit of its standard shall be rejected and replaced.
7.3.4 Galvanized coating damaged after galvanizing shall be repaired with a zinc-rich repair material as ASTM A780 provides, applied to the thickness the bar's coating class requires.
7.3.5 Cut ends of coated bars shall be coated with the repair material before placement.
7.3.6 The coating repair records shall identify each bar repaired, the extent of the repair, and the repair material.

7.4 Tie Wire for Corrosion-Protected Reinforcement

7.4.1 Corrosion-protected reinforcement shall be tied with the tie wire indicated in the datasheet.
Tie Wire for Corrosion-Protected Reinforcementradio
○ Plastic-coated carbon-steel tie wire
○ Epoxy-coated tie wire
○ Galvanized tie wire
○ Stainless steel tie wire
Derived — the corrosion-protected reinforcement system selected in this standard (by default)
NOTE Uncoated tie wire cuts an epoxy coating at every tie and corrodes ahead of a galvanized bar, and a carbon-steel wire on a stainless bar creates the couple the stainless was chosen to avoid, so the wire follows the system: a coated wire for coated bars, galvanized wire for galvanized bars, and stainless wire for stainless bars. (7.4.2)
7.4.3 Bar supports for corrosion-protected reinforcement shall be the coated or non-metallic class Concrete AccessoriesConcrete Accessories and EmbedsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-accessories assigns to the exposure, and a plain wire support shall not carry a corrosion-protected bar.

8 Headed Deformed Bars

NOTE A headed deformed bar develops its force through bearing on a head attached to the bar end instead of through a hook, which lets the bar develop in a shorter length and relieves the congestion of hooked bars at a joint; it is used where the structural drawings show it and nowhere else. (8.1)
8.2 The members and locations in which headed deformed bars are used shall be as indicated on the structural drawings.
8.3 Headed deformed bars shall conform to ASTM A970, including the Class HA head dimension requirements of its Annex A1, and the bars they are attached to shall be of the standard and grade this standard requires for their reinforcement class.
NOTE ACI 318 permits a headed bar to be counted for development only where its head is Class HA and its net bearing area is not less than four times the bar area; the class limits the obstructions and interruptions on the bar near the head, because a head smaller than that or a bar upset that reduces its section develops less than the code assumes. (8.4)
8.5 The method of attaching the head to the bar shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Headed Bar Head Attachmentselect
Forged head, integral with the bar
Friction-welded head
Threaded head on a threaded bar end
Taper-threaded head
Head attached by a mechanical coupling device
Manufacturer's standard (by default)
NOTE Every attachment method ASTM A970 covers develops the specified tensile strength of the bar, so the method is a matter of the supplier's product line and of the access at the bar end, and no project decision is expected; a threaded head is selected where the head must be attached after the bar is placed. (8.6)
8.7 Headed bars shall be placed with the head in the position and orientation the structural drawings show, and a headed bar shall not be replaced by a hooked bar or by a longer straight bar without the Engineer of Record's written approval.

9 Fabrication

9.1 Cutting and Bending

9.1.1 Reinforcement shall be fabricated in accordance with the reviewed shop drawings and the CRSI Manual of Standard Practice.
9.1.2 Bars shall be bent cold, and a bar shall not be heated for bending or straightening unless the Engineer of Record approves the procedure in writing.
NOTE Heating a bar to bend it changes the metallurgy of a heat-treated or micro-alloyed bar and can lower the yield strength or the toughness in the bend, and the change is invisible afterward. (9.1.3)
9.1.4 Standard hooks shall be bent to inside diameters not less than those of ACI 318 Table 25.3.1 for the bar size, and stirrups, ties, and hoops shall be bent to inside diameters not less than those of ACI 318 Table 25.3.2.
NOTE A bend tighter than the minimum diameter cracks the outside of the bend and flattens the deformations on the inside, reducing both the tensile capacity of the bar and its bond to the concrete at exactly the point a hook is asked to anchor. (9.1.5)
9.1.6 Bars partially embedded in concrete shall not be field bent unless the structural drawings show the bend or the Engineer of Record approves it in writing, in accordance with ACI 318 Section 26.6.3.
9.1.7 Where field bending of a partially embedded bar is approved, it shall be done cold about a mandrel of not less than the minimum bend diameter for the bar size, and a bar that cracks at the bend shall be cut out and replaced.
9.1.8 A bar shall not be bent and re-straightened, and a bar that has been bent to the wrong dimension shall be replaced rather than re-bent, unless the Engineer of Record approves re-bending in writing for a specific bar.

9.2 Fabrication Tolerances

9.2.1 Bars shall be fabricated within the fabricating tolerances of the CRSI Manual of Standard Practice and ACI 117, and dimensions the shop drawings identify as critical shall be held to the tighter tolerance the shop drawings state for them.
NOTE Fabrication tolerance and placement tolerance accumulate, so a bar fabricated at the long end of its tolerance and placed at the outer end of its tolerance can lose its cover; the shop drawings identify as critical the dimensions where that accumulation would breach the cover or the clear spacing, and those are fabricated to the tighter limit. (9.2.2)
9.2.3 Where bars pass through congested members, through post-tensioning ducts, or between embedded items, the detailer shall check that the cover and clear spacing this standard requires are achievable with fabrication and placement tolerances combined, and shall identify the controlling dimensions as critical on the shop drawings.

9.3 Bundle Identification

9.3.1 Fabricated reinforcement shall be bundled by mark and tagged with the shop drawing mark, the bar size, the standard and grade, the coating, the heat number, the quantity, and the member the bundle serves.
9.3.2 A bundle whose tag is missing or illegible shall not be placed until the bars in it have been identified against the bar list and the mill certification.

10 Placement

10.1 Position and Securing

10.1.1 Reinforcement shall be placed in the position the reviewed shop drawings and the structural drawings show, supported on bar supports selected and spaced under Concrete AccessoriesConcrete Accessories and EmbedsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-accessories, and secured so that it does not move during concrete placement and consolidation.
10.1.2 Bars shall be tied at every intersection around the perimeter of each mat and cage, and at interior intersections at a spacing that holds every bar in position, not exceeding every other intersection in each direction.
10.1.3 Uncoated reinforcement shall be tied with annealed carbon-steel tie wire of not less than 16 gauge, and corrosion-protected reinforcement shall be tied with the wire this standard requires for it.
10.1.4 Tie wire ends shall be bent away from the nearest concrete surface so that no wire end lies within the specified cover.
NOTE A wire end left in the cover is a conductor from the bar to the surface, and it is the origin of the rust stain that appears on an exposed soffit within the first year. (10.1.5)
10.1.6 Where reinforcement of two members or two pours must be threaded together, the placing sequence shall be established before the first of them is placed, so that a bar placed early does not block a bar placed later from reaching its position.
10.1.7 Reinforcement shall be free of mud, oil, loose mill scale, loose rust, and any coating that would reduce bond at the time the concrete is placed.
NOTE Tight rust and mill scale that survive wire brushing are not cause for rejection, because they do not reduce bond, and a bar is rejected for rust only where the rust has reduced the deformations or the section below the dimensions its standard requires. (10.1.8)

10.2 Clear Spacing

10.2.1 The minimum clear spacing between parallel bars in a layer shall be not less than the greatest of the nominal bar diameter, 1 in., and four-thirds of the nominal maximum aggregate size selected for the mixture under Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete, in accordance with ACI 318 Section 25.2.
10.2.2 Where bars are placed in two or more layers, the bars in the upper layers shall be placed directly above the bars in the layer below, with a clear distance between layers of not less than 1 in.
10.2.3 Clear spacing between longitudinal bars in columns and in the boundary elements of walls shall be not less than the greatest of 1.5 times the bar diameter, 1-1/2 in., and four-thirds of the nominal maximum aggregate size.
NOTE The spacing rule exists so that the concrete can pass between the bars and surround each one; a mat spaced to the bar diameter alone, with an aggregate larger than the gap, produces a honeycomb under the mat that no consolidation can fill. (10.2.4)
10.2.5 Bundled bars shall be limited to four bars in a bundle, shall be enclosed by ties or stirrups, and the individual bars of a bundle shall be cut off at points staggered not less than 40 bar diameters apart, unless the structural drawings show otherwise.

10.3 Concrete Cover

NOTE Concrete cover is the clear distance from the concrete surface to the nearest face of the outermost reinforcement, which in a beam or column is the tie or stirrup, not the longitudinal bar; it is the barrier that keeps chlorides, carbonation, and moisture from the steel and the length over which the bar's bond develops, and it is the dimension most often lost in the field. (10.3.1)
10.3.2 Concrete cover to reinforcement shall be as indicated on the structural general notes, and not less than the minimum ACI 318 Table 20.5.1.3.1 requires for the casting condition, exposure, member, and bar size, which for cast-in-place nonprestressed members is:
Condition Member and reinforcement Minimum cover
Cast against and permanently in contact with ground All members, all bars 3 in.
Exposed to weather or in contact with ground No. 6 through No. 18 bars 2 in.
Exposed to weather or in contact with ground No. 5 bars, W31 and D31 wire, and smaller 1-1/2 in.
Not exposed to weather or in contact with ground Slabs, joists, and walls, No. 14 and No. 18 bars 1-1/2 in.
Not exposed to weather or in contact with ground Slabs, joists, and walls, No. 11 bars and smaller 3/4 in.
Not exposed to weather or in contact with ground Beams, columns, pedestals, and tension ties: primary reinforcement, stirrups, ties, spirals, and hoops 1-1/2 in.
10.3.3 Where the structural general notes state a greater cover for a member than the table minimum, the greater cover shall govern that member.
NOTE The design increases cover above the code minimum where the member is in a chloride environment, where the aggregate is large, where the member is to be exposed to fire longer than the code minimum cover rates it for, or where the surface will be ground or abraded in service, and the structural general notes carry that increase. (10.3.4)
10.3.5 Cover to corrosion-protected reinforcement shall be not less than the cover required for uncoated reinforcement in the same member, and a coating or a corrosion-resistant alloy shall not be used as grounds for reducing cover.
NOTE The coating slows corrosion once chlorides reach the bar; it does not slow the chlorides, and it does nothing for the bond development that the same cover provides. (10.3.6)
10.3.7 Where a member is required to have a fire-resistance rating, the cover to its reinforcement shall be not less than the cover the rating requires under ACI/TMS 216.1 or the listed assembly, as coordinated under Fire Rated Wall And Floor AssembliesFire-Resistance-Rated AssembliesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-rated-wall-and-floor-assemblies, and the greater of the fire-resistance cover and the cover this standard requires shall govern.
10.3.8 Cover at the sides of a member cast against a form shall be measured to the form face, and cover at a surface to be finished by grinding, bush-hammering, or sandblasting shall be measured from the finished surface after the material is removed.

10.4 Bars at Openings, Embedments, and Conduits

10.4.1 Where a bar conflicts with an embedded item, a sleeve, an anchor rod, or a conduit, the bar shall not be cut or omitted, and the conflict shall be resolved by relocating the item where its standard permits, or by relocating the bar within its placement tolerance, or as the Engineer of Record directs in writing.
10.4.2 Where the Engineer of Record directs that a bar be terminated at an obstruction, the bar shall be replaced by the bars the Engineer of Record details around the obstruction, spliced under this standard.
10.4.3 Conduits, pipes, and sleeves embedded in a member shall be located outside the reinforcement cover and shall not displace a bar from its position, in accordance with ACI 318 Section 20.6.
10.4.4 Additional reinforcement at openings shall be as indicated on the structural drawings.

11 Splices

11.1 Splice Locations and Types

NOTE A splice is where one bar hands its force to the next, and a lap splice does it through the concrete between the bars, a mechanical splice through a sleeve, and a welded splice through weld metal; each has a length or a device the design sized for the force at that section, and each is where a field error most often removes a bar's capacity without removing the bar. (11.1.1)
11.1.2 The location, type, and length of every splice shall be as indicated on the lap splice schedule and the structural drawings.
11.1.3 Splices shall not be added, relocated, or changed in type without the Engineer of Record's written approval.
NOTE Splices are located by the Engineer of Record away from the sections of maximum stress and staggered so that not every bar is spliced at one section, and a splice moved in the field to suit a bar length is a splice at a section the design did not check. (11.1.4)
11.1.5 Where a bar is spliced in a location the schedule does not address, the Contractor shall request the splice type and length from the Engineer of Record before the bar is fabricated.

11.2 Tension Lap Splices

11.2.1 Tension lap splice lengths shall be those of the lap splice schedule, calculated by the Engineer of Record under ACI 318 Section 25.5.2 from the development length of the bar in the concrete strength, cover, spacing, and coating of the member and from the splice class.
11.2.2 Where the lap splice schedule does not state the splice class for a bar, the class shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Tension Lap Splice Class Where the Schedule Does Not State Oneradio
● Class B
○ Class A where ACI 318 permits it
NOTE ACI 318 permits a Class A splice, at 1.0 times the development length, only where no more than half the bars are spliced within the lap length and the bar area provided is at least twice the area required; every other condition is Class B, at 1.3 times the development length. Class B as the fallback carries the longer lap wherever the schedule is silent, so a splice whose stagger the field did not maintain is still developed. (11.2.3)
11.2.4 Lap splices shall not be used for No. 14 and No. 18 bars, which shall be spliced mechanically or by welding as ACI 318 requires.
11.2.5 Lap splices of bundled bars shall be based on the lap length for the individual bars, increased as ACI 318 Section 25.6 requires for the number of bars in the bundle, and the bars in a bundle shall not be lap spliced at the same section.
11.2.6 Lap splices of bars in the seismic-force-resisting system shall be located only where ACI 318 Chapter 18 permits them and shall be enclosed by the transverse reinforcement Chapter 18 requires over the lap length, as indicated on the structural drawings.
11.2.7 Bars in a lap splice shall be in contact and wired together, or, where the structural drawings show a non-contact lap, shall be spaced apart not more than the lesser of one-fifth of the lap length and 6 in.
11.2.8 Lap splices of welded wire reinforcement shall be as this standard requires under Welded Wire Reinforcement.

11.3 Compression Lap Splices

11.3.1 Compression lap splice lengths shall be those of the lap splice schedule, calculated under ACI 318 Section 25.5.5 for the bar grade and size, and not less than 12 in.
11.3.2 Where bars of different sizes are lap spliced in compression, the lap length shall be the greater of the compression lap length of the smaller bar and the compression development length of the larger bar.
11.3.3 A compression lap enclosed by ties or a spiral that meets ACI 318 Section 25.5.5.2 may be reduced only where the structural drawings show the reduced length.

11.4 End-Bearing Splices

11.4.1 End-bearing splices, in which square-cut bar ends bear on one another to transfer compression, shall be used only where the structural drawings show them, in bars carrying compression only, and in accordance with ACI 318 Section 25.5.6.
11.4.2 Bar ends for an end-bearing splice shall be cut within 1.5 degrees of square to the bar axis and shall be fitted within 3 degrees of full bearing after assembly.
11.4.3 An end-bearing splice shall be held in concentric contact by a device that conforms to the structural drawings, and shall be enclosed by closed ties, a spiral, or hoops.
NOTE An end-bearing splice carries no tension, so a member in which the bars can see tension under any load combination, including a column in a frame that resists lateral load, cannot use one; the design decides, and the field does not substitute an end-bearing splice for a lap or a coupler. (11.4.4)

11.5 Mechanical Splices

11.5.1 The mechanical splice system types permitted on the project shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mechanical Splice System Types Permittedcheckbox
☑ Taper-threaded couplers
☑ Parallel-threaded couplers on upset or thread-rolled bar ends
☑ Swaged couplers, cold-extruded onto the bar
☑ Shear-screw couplers
☑ Grout-filled sleeve couplers
☑ Position couplers for bars that cannot be rotated
☑ Transition couplers between bar sizes
NOTE Each system type transfers force differently and needs different bar-end preparation and access: a threaded coupler needs the bar end threaded in the shop and the bar rotated at installation; a swaged coupler needs a hydraulic press at the joint; a shear-screw coupler needs only a wrench and accepts an unprepared bar end, at a larger outside diameter; a grout-filled sleeve needs no rotation and tolerates misalignment, at the cost of a grout that must be placed and verified. Every type is permitted unless a project restricts the list, which it does where a coupler's outside diameter would breach cover in a congested member or where the site cannot support a system's installation equipment. (11.5.2)
11.5.3 Every mechanical splice system shall have an evaluation report under ICC-ES AC133 or test reports the Engineer of Record accepts, establishing its performance type for the bar size and grade it is used on.
11.5.4 The performance type of mechanical splices in the seismic-force-resisting system shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mechanical Splice Performance Type in the Seismic-Force-Resisting Systemradio
○ Type 1
○ Type 2
○ Not applicable
Derived — Seismic Design CategorySeismic Design CategoryParameterEach project supplies its own value.seismic-design-category and the member's role in the seismic-force-resisting system, under ACI 318 Section 18.2.7 (by default)
NOTE ACI 318 defines a Type 1 splice as one that develops 1.25 times the specified yield strength of the bar, and a Type 2 splice as one that additionally develops the specified tensile strength of the bar; in the special seismic systems the code permits Type 1 splices only outside the regions where yielding is expected and Type 2 splices anywhere, so the type a given splice must be follows from the seismic design category and from where in the member the splice falls. (11.5.5)
11.5.6 The performance type of mechanical splices in members outside the seismic-force-resisting system shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mechanical Splice Performance Type Outside the Seismic-Force-Resisting Systemradio
● Type 1
○ Type 2
NOTE Type 1 is the code minimum for a mechanical splice in any member, and it is what the design outside the seismic systems assumes; Type 2 is selected outside those systems where the design relies on a splice remaining effective after the bar yields, as at a transfer element or a member designed for progressive collapse resistance. (11.5.7)
11.5.8 Mechanical splices in the seismic-force-resisting system shall be located only where ACI 318 Chapter 18 permits the type used, as indicated on the structural drawings.
11.5.9 Mechanical splices shall be installed by personnel trained by the splice manufacturer, in accordance with the manufacturer's installation procedure, using the tools, gauges, and torque the procedure specifies.
11.5.10 Every installed mechanical splice shall be verified by the installer against the manufacturer's inspection criteria, including full thread engagement shown at the witness mark or inspection hole, the swage length or the number of shear screws, and the grout fill where the system is grouted, and the verification shall be recorded by member and splice.
11.5.11 The special inspector shall observe the installation of mechanical splices to the extent indicated in the datasheet.
Special Inspector Observation of Mechanical Splice Installationradio
○ Every mechanical splice
○ Mechanical splices in the seismic-force-resisting system
○ A sample of splices at the frequency the statement of special inspections states
Per drawings — the statement of special inspections (deferred by default)
NOTE The extent of special inspection is set in the statement of special inspections, which assigns continuous or periodic inspection to each task from the adopted building code; the field records the extent so that the Contractor schedules the inspector before the splices are covered. (11.5.12)
11.5.13 Production sample testing of mechanical splices shall be performed at the rate indicated in the datasheet, by cutting installed splices or by fabricating sample splices under the same procedure in the presence of the special inspector and testing them in tension to the performance type required.
Production Sample Testing of Mechanical Splicesrange
splices per 100 installed of each bar size
1235
NOTE A rate of zero accepts the evaluation report and the installation records as the proof of performance, which is the usual basis where the system holds an evaluation report and the installers are manufacturer-trained; a sample rate is selected where the splice type is sensitive to installation, where the installer is new to the system, or where the owner's program requires physical proof, and no rate is the norm across projects. (11.5.14)
11.5.15 A sample splice that fails to reach its performance type shall be reported to the Engineer of Record on the day of the test, the splices it represents shall not be covered until the Engineer of Record has directed the corrective action, and the cost of the additional testing and any replacement shall be borne by the Contractor.
11.5.16 The outside diameter of a coupler shall be accounted for in the cover and clear spacing of the member, and a coupler that would reduce cover below the minimum this standard requires shall not be installed without the Engineer of Record's written approval.

11.6 Welded Splices

11.6.1 A welded splice shall develop not less than 1.25 times the specified yield strength of the bar in tension, in accordance with ACI 318 Section 25.5.7, and shall be made only where this standard permits welding of reinforcement.
11.6.2 Welded splices in the seismic-force-resisting system shall be located only where ACI 318 Section 18.2.8 permits them, as indicated on the structural drawings.

12 Welding of Reinforcement

12.1 Welding Policy

12.1.1 Whether welding of reinforcement is permitted shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Field Welding of Reinforcementradio
○ Not permitted
○ Permitted only at designated locations
NOTE Welding puts heat into a bar whose strength may depend on its cold work or its heat treatment, and a weld on a bar not qualified for it can leave a hard, brittle zone at the weld toe; where welding is permitted, it is confined to the locations the design designated and to bars this standard identifies as weldable, and where it is not, mechanical splices and lap splices do the work. Neither policy is the norm across projects. (12.1.2)
12.1.3 Where welding is permitted, welded splices and welded connections shall be made only at the locations indicated on the structural drawings or approved by the Engineer of Record in writing.
12.1.4 Where welding is not permitted, no bar shall be welded for any purpose, including attachment to embedded plates and to steel framing, and a bar found welded shall be cut out and replaced at the Contractor's expense.
12.1.5 Whether tack welding of crossing bars for assembly of reinforcement is permitted shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Tack Welding of Crossing Bars for Assemblyradio
● Not permitted
○ Permitted under a qualified welding procedure
NOTE A tack weld at a bar intersection is a small weld made fast with no preheat, and it notches the bar it is meant to hold; ACI 318 prohibits welding of crossing bars for assembly unless the Engineer of Record authorizes it, so the prohibition is the norm and the permission is selected where prefabricated cages must be handled as a unit and the bars are of a weldable standard. (12.1.6)
12.1.7 Where tack welding for assembly is permitted, it shall be made only on bars of the weldable standard this standard requires, under a welding procedure qualified for tack welds under AWS D1.4, and not on bars in the seismic-force-resisting system or within a splice or development length.

12.2 Welding Procedure and Workmanship

12.2.1 Welding of reinforcement shall be performed in accordance with AWS D1.4, under a welding procedure specification qualified for the bar standard, grade, size, carbon equivalent, joint type, process, and position.
12.2.2 The welding procedure specification shall state the preheat and interpass temperature for the carbon equivalent of the bar, and the preheat shall be maintained until the weld is complete.
12.2.3 Welds shall be made only by welders qualified under AWS D1.4 for the process, position, and bar size, and a weld made by an unqualified welder shall be cut out.
12.2.4 Welding of a coated bar shall be preceded by removal of the coating for the distance AWS D1.4 requires, and the coating shall be repaired after welding under this standard.
12.2.5 Welds on reinforcement shall be inspected visually by the special inspector to the acceptance criteria of AWS D1.4, and a weld that does not meet them shall be repaired or replaced at the Contractor's expense.
NOTE Welding of structural steel, embedded plates, and headed studs is governed by Welding RequirementsWelding RequirementsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/welding-requirements under AWS D1.1; where a reinforcing bar is welded to an embedded plate, the bar side of the weld is governed by AWS D1.4 and this standard. (12.2.6)

13 Placement Tolerances

13.1 Reinforcement shall be placed within the tolerances of ACI 117 for cast-in-place concrete.
13.2 The tolerance on the effective depth and on the cover of a bar shall be ±3/8 in. where the effective depth is 8 in. or less, ±1/2 in. where the effective depth is more than 8 in. and not more than 24 in., and ±1 in. where the effective depth is more than 24 in., except that the cover shall not be reduced by more than one-third of the specified cover and the cover to a formed soffit shall not be reduced by more than 1/4 in.
13.3 The tolerance on the position of bends and bar ends, on bar spacing, and on the number of bars in a member shall be as ACI 117 assigns, and a bar spacing tolerance shall not reduce the number of bars below the number the structural drawings show.
NOTE The tolerances are the range a well-built member may occupy, not a target to be approached; the specified position is the placement target, and a crew that places every bar at the low end of its tolerance has built a member weaker than the design in every section. (13.4)
13.5 Whether a negative tolerance applies to lap splice lengths and embedment lengths shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Negative Tolerance on Lap Splice and Embedment Lengthradio
○ ACI 117 negative tolerance applies
○ No negative tolerance
NOTE ACI 117 permits a lap or embedment length to fall short of the scheduled length by a small fixed amount that reflects the placing accuracy of the trade; a project removes that allowance, making the scheduled length the minimum, where the schedule already states the development the design needs with no margin, and leaves it where the schedule carries a margin. Neither policy is the norm. (13.6)
13.7 Reinforcement found outside tolerance before the concrete is placed shall be corrected, and reinforcement found outside tolerance after the concrete is placed shall be reported to the Engineer of Record, who shall determine whether the member is acceptable, and the cost of the evaluation and of any correction shall be borne by the Contractor.

14 Field Inspection

14.1 Pre-Placement Inspection

14.1.1 Before concrete is placed in any member, the Contractor shall inspect the reinforcement of that member and shall confirm that the bar sizes, standards, grades, and coatings match the reviewed shop drawings; that the bars are in position, at the spacing and cover the drawings require, supported and tied; that lap splices are at the scheduled locations and of the scheduled length; that mechanical splices are installed and verified; that headed bars are in position; that the coating of corrosion-protected reinforcement has been repaired; that tie wire ends are bent into the member; and that the reinforcement is clean.
14.1.2 The pre-placement inspection shall be recorded on a checklist by member, signed by the Contractor's representative, and made available to the special inspector before the special inspection of that member.
14.1.3 Concrete shall not be placed in a member until the pre-placement inspection is complete, every deficiency it found has been corrected, and, where special inspection is required, the special inspector has inspected the member.
14.1.4 Where special inspection is required, the Contractor shall notify the special inspector not less than 24 hours before the reinforcement of a member is ready for inspection, unless the statement of special inspections states a different notice.

14.2 Special Inspection Tasks

14.2.1 The special inspector shall verify bar size, standard, and grade by the rolled-in marks against the reviewed shop drawings, shall measure cover and spacing at representative locations on each face of the member, shall measure the length of lap splices, shall verify mechanical splice installation to the extent this standard requires, shall verify that welding was performed under a qualified procedure by a qualified welder, and shall verify the coating condition of corrosion-protected reinforcement.
14.2.2 Cover shall be measured from the form face or the finished surface to the nearest reinforcement, and where cover cannot be measured directly it shall be established from the bar support height and the bar position.
NOTE Cover measured after the concrete is placed, by a covermeter or by coring, is a verification of the record and not a substitute for the inspection before placement; a member whose cover is found deficient after placement is evaluated by the Engineer of Record at the Contractor's expense. (14.2.3)
14.2.4 The special inspector shall report a nonconformance to the Contractor and the Engineer of Record on the day it is observed, and shall record it in the reinforcement nonconformance log.

14.3 Nonconformance Disposition

14.3.1 Reinforcement that does not conform to the contract documents, the reviewed shop drawings, ACI 318, or ACI 117 shall be recorded as a nonconformance, and concrete shall not be placed over it until the Engineer of Record has issued a written disposition.
14.3.2 The Engineer of Record shall issue the disposition of a reinforcement nonconformance within the period indicated in the datasheet after receiving the nonconformance report and the information needed to evaluate it.
Engineer of Record Disposition of a Reinforcement Nonconformancerange
business days
1235
NOTE The disposition period is a contract term between the Owner and the design professional, and it is set against the size of the project and the availability of the Engineer of Record rather than by any norm; a shorter period keeps a pour from waiting on a minor deviation, and a longer one is realistic where the evaluation may need calculation. (14.3.3)
14.3.4 A disposition shall direct one of: correction to the reviewed shop drawings; acceptance as placed, with the Engineer of Record's evaluation; or acceptance with a compensating measure such as added bars, and the compensating measure shall be placed and inspected before the concrete is placed.
14.3.5 The cost of correcting a nonconformance, of any evaluation the Engineer of Record performs to accept one, and of any re-inspection shall be borne by the Contractor.

14.4 Reinforcement During Concrete Placement

14.4.1 During concrete placement, the Contractor shall assign a person to watch the reinforcement of the member being placed and to restore any bar displaced by the placing or consolidation operation before the concrete around it takes initial set.
14.4.2 Vibrators shall not be used against reinforcement to move concrete or to consolidate it, and a bar dislodged by a vibrator shall be restored before placement continues, in coordination with the consolidation requirements of Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete.
14.4.3 Reinforcement shall not be walked on, loaded with equipment, or used as a support for placing equipment in a way that displaces it, and runways for placing equipment shall be supported independently of the reinforcement.
NOTE A bar displaced after the concrete has taken initial set cannot be restored, and its position is then a nonconformance evaluated under this standard. (14.4.4)

15 Delivery, Storage, and Handling

15.1 Reinforcement shall be delivered in tagged bundles and shall not be unloaded until the bundle tags have been checked against the delivery ticket and the mill certification.
15.2 Reinforcement shall be stored off the ground on supports that keep it clear of mud, standing water, and debris, and fabricated shapes shall be stored so that they are not distorted by their own weight or by the bundles above them.
15.3 Reinforcement of different standards and grades shall be stored so that a bar of one grade cannot be mistaken for a bar of another, and bundle tags shall remain on the bundle until the bars are placed.
15.4 Corrosion-protected reinforcement shall be delivered, unloaded, stored, and placed with padded or non-metallic slings and supports, shall not be dropped, dragged, or walked on, and shall be stored separately from uncoated reinforcement.
15.5 Epoxy-coated reinforcement stored outdoors for more than two months shall be covered with an opaque material that admits air, in accordance with ASTM A775, because ultraviolet light chalks and embrittles the coating.
15.6 Galvanized reinforcement shall be stored with air circulation between bars so that wet-storage stain does not form, and a bar whose zinc has been consumed by wet-storage stain below the thickness its coating class requires shall be rejected.
15.7 Stainless steel reinforcement shall be stored and handled apart from carbon-steel reinforcement and with tools that have not been used on carbon steel, so that carbon-steel particles are not embedded in its surface.
15.8 Mechanical splice couplers and headed bar heads shall be stored in their packaging, protected from moisture and dirt, with their threads capped until installation.

16 Warranty

NOTE The reinforcement is warranted under the warranty Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete establishes for the concrete it is embedded in, for the period and on the terms stated there. (16.1)
16.2 For the purpose of that warranty, a reinforcement defect includes a bar of a size, standard, grade, or coating other than the reviewed shop drawings require, reinforcement outside the placement tolerances of this standard where the Engineer of Record did not accept the deviation, a lap or embedment shorter than the scheduled length, a mechanical splice not installed to its manufacturer's procedure or not reaching its performance type, a weld not made under a qualified procedure, and a coating not repaired as this standard requires.
16.3 A reinforcement defect found within the warranty period shall be corrected by the Contractor at the Contractor's expense, including the investigation that locates it, the removal and replacement of the concrete that covers it, and the restoration of the finishes and adjoining work disturbed by the correction.

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