Investigating the accuracy of fabricated rebar and rebar’s placement in beams, and their impact in weight and cost of a building

Abstract

The inspection of rebar in different structural elements has the goal to ensure that contract documents between investitor and contractor, rebar placing drawings, and technical specification of building codes are followed. The quality – control programs also ensure structural safety and architectural aesthetic compliance. Inspection procedure consists of material inspections and quality during construction. Regarding these, the engineer’s site representative verify if the test report by the material producer meet the requirements of the structural project. Reinforcing bar inspection is achieved by the contractor's inspectors and the field supervisors mandated by the investitor. This paper introduces the rebar inspection procedures in beams of the residential building “Dorado”, part of the residential complex “Magnet ” in Tirana. Reports from a testing laboratory state the grade of steel, tensile properties, chemical composition of the material used in this structure. The in – place inspection of rebar consisted in visually check bar diameter and shape, measure of bar lengths, measure of hook lengths, measure of spacing between rebar, the number of ties and stirrups and their spacing, measure of lap splices and their location in conjuction with the structural drawings. Also is checked the tying of the rebar, that assure the remain in their specified position. The data from the in place inspection and measurements of rebar are compared with the tolerances given in ACI standards and European standards ( Eurocodes ). This comparison has been used for the purpose of estimating the accuracy of the fabricating rebar and the placing operation by the ironworkers in this building. Their degree of accuracy has a direct impact on the cost of the structure. As the result of rebar’s greater lengths, greater number of ties and stirrups , is calculated the increase in the weight of the structure resulting in increased cost of the building.