Report No. 24 TOLERANCES ON BLEMISHES OF CONCRETE Report prepared by CIB Working Commission W 29 “Concrete Surtace Finishings”Report n° 24 Concrete finishes — Tolerances for blemishes This document has been prepared by the CIB Commission W 29 on the basis of a report by Dr. Rolf SCHJODT, of the Norwegian Building Research Institute, OSLO Text PREAMBLE The ultimate standard of perfection is not attainable and a method of defining the quality of a surface is therefore necessary to facili- tate communication between those responsible for specification, supervision and excution. ‘The appearance of concrete is often of major importance and a range of finishes is available. The aesthetic impact of a surface depends, however, not only on the type of finish but also on its quality. This document presents a method whereby the quality of a surface can be expressed in quantitive terms. In some cases, limits are given on the magnitude of a blemish; in others, itis considered more approp- riate to set a limit to the variations between one part of a surface and another. Comments A cursory inspection of the docu- ment may convey the impression that itis unrealistic and of ite practical valve, It is considered, however, that it provides @ significant advance on the present situation in which itis not ostibleto define the requires quality At present, contractors itferin their interpretation of the designer's re- ‘Quirements and prices, to some ex- tent, reflect differences in the stan- {dard of finish being offered. The pro- pposals are intended. however. to fa- Cilitate communications. in-general in adaition to specifications The values given are based upon measurements and observation but fare provisional. lt is hoped that the technique will be applied during the three years following publication and that, during this period, comments fand| suggestions ‘for. improvernent will be sent to the Co-ordinator of Working Group W 29 - c/o the CIB ‘Secretariat - Postbus 299 - Wena 700 = Rotterdam (The Netherlands)TABLE OF TOLERANCES The table of tolerances divides surfaces into four classes: — a ROUGH class is provided for surfaces where there is no special requirement for finis! — an ORDINARY class applies to surfaces where appearance, whilst a minor factor, is still of some importance; — an ELABORATE class applies to those with definite require- ments for visual appearance: — a SPECIAL class applies to those calling for the highest stand- ards of appearance. It will rarely be possible to justify the high cost of obtaining a finish in the SPECIAL class except on buildings and other structures where the appearance is of unusual importance. The standard required may depend not only upon the character and position of the building but upon the distance from which the surface is viewed. A surface may be classed differently according to the type of blemish under consideration, The classitication of the concrete finishes into four classes has been choosen after many hesitations, for each class corresponds to an amount of prescriptions which in total are difficult to comply with ORDINARY clase is appropriate when the concrete surfaces are to be Visiale but whon itis not considered necessary to incur the expense of achieving the superior quality of an ELABORATE class finish. For example, the first floor of @ building should be finished oahigher standard than the other floors. How- fever, the effect of holes in the surface diminishes more rapidly with distance than the effect of colour variations, 80 consequently awall may be classed more strictly on colour variations than on local surface defects if it ‘may be viewed from & long distance. For instance, concerning blow- holes, there are two possibilities: low-holes are grouped together in small areas (3, 1) and these groups. fare considered as local detects which will be treated as in point 2; = blow-holes are distributed all over the concerned surface and, in this case, one has to follow the ro- ference scale photographs to appre- ciate the importance of blow-holes, but referring to the full surface of the concerned element. Nevertheless, to be in agreement with the principle 4iven in the document, which consists in considering not absolute values but variations, it ig quite possible to admit in the SPECIAL clase (the strictest fone) a finish corresponding to the photograph no. 6 provided that such 8 finish will be uniform all over theThe document relates specifically to plane surfaces produced direct from the form or mould, but may, at least in part, be used in conjunction with other finishes. The table is restricted to faults which are apparent upon striking the form, or soon after; thus, it does not include blemishes associated with weathering or exposure to aggres- ive agencies. MEASUREMENTS The numerical values in the table should be treated with some dis- cretion as absolute limits cannot be set. This is in line with current philosophy applied, for example, when specifying characteristic va~ iues for compressive strength although it will be difficult to apply similar statistical techniques when using this document. So itis fruit- less to satisfy any specification for 100%. It could be permissible to satisfy the specifications for: 95% for special class 80% for elaborate class 70% for ordinary class MODELS In the same way, for the colours, ‘one cannot normally specify the shade Ro 2 oF 4 but one has to appreciate if, when the concerned work or part (of work is achieved, the variations be- tween the lightest and the darkest zones are of 2,3, ..points. Thecolour scale Is given only in grays, for the colour range is 100 wide to be easily Used in such a document, but the pre- ent scale can be easily used with co- loured concrete by photographing this scale on the element in accor dance with the indications of table point 4 and taking a black and white fil Itis not intended that reference to this document ina specification should necessitate making many measure- ‘ments, Numerous tests should only bbe necessary when doubt arises as to whether the required standard is being achieved. The specification might state that thecost of tests should be borne by the contractor i the star dard is found to be bolow that re ‘uired and, conversely, by the client it the standard is found to be satis- factory. In some cases, it may be found use ful to supplement the document with sample surfaces. If precest concrete lements are being produced. tor ‘example, one or two of the elements Produced at the beginning of the roduetion run might be retained for reference purposes, Ifthese are stored in the open, allowance will need to bbe made for the effect of weathering ‘on their appearance.BLEMISHES CONSIDERED ‘CLASSES. Relative position of the concerned elements ‘SPECIAL ‘Adjacent ELABORATE ‘Adjacent | Distant ORDINARY ‘Adjacent | Distant ROUGH 1. VARIATIONS OF SHAPE. 1.4 Departure from a plane surface 1.11. of whole element (compared to largest dimen- sion of the element), f max © tmax 1.13, Steps discontinuities: accidental discon- tinuities should not exceed the dimensions given (ihe values indicated are for variations trom a given dimension "e" and d = 0 for a plane surface). 1.2 doints between panels The lesser of the two values ( B= wiath of joint AL Oy At, at, [He Be tneoratical width 28mm 0a. 6mm 210mm 08 10mm 10mm 215mm (0, ic NO REQUIREMENTBLEMISHES CONSIDERED ‘CLASSES Relative position of the concemed elements 13 Acutal distance between patterns compared with the theoretical distance D (1) D actual Red Special tolerances for variations concerning large pe be specified i the standard tole- rances are inappropriate, mot 2 STAINS & LOCAL SURFACE DEFECTS lane — 'S (in cm@) 2.1. Maximum area of faulty surface in cm? related to the distance L in meters trom which the surface is viewed. SE 22 Blemishes which are regularly spaced can bbe considered as patterns as in 1.3. n this case the theoretical distance D is the average distance between blemishes. 3. BLOW HOLES. 3.1. Groups of holes: groups of holes are considered as local defects (soe § 2). 32. Distributed holes: maximum allowable varia- tion between the different zones on the scale indi cated by the attached photographs. 4. COLOUR VARIATION Maximum allowable difference using theenclosed ‘grey scale” (to 08 used when the concrete Is dry and in the shade, viewed from at least 3 m from the surface, with the scale fixed to the surface), ELABORANTE ‘Aalacent ‘ORDINARY ‘Adlacent Distant Distant 11> R309 1.3>R>07 15>R>05 2 2 2 3 3 4 ‘Small stains are considered as holes (see § 3) ROUGH NO REQUIREMENT (1) Patterns may be related to a profile or associated with the construction method, ‘29. widths oF formwork elements.Annexe 1: Some j examples of application Figure 1 The blowholes in tis wall are such that tho Lupoer partis class 7, the remainder being class 3. The diference.? —-3~ 4. indicates an ordinary class of blemishes. Figure 2 The colour variations extend from n° to lighter than n° 3. The difference 1s more than 3 and $0 the finish 1s designated rough. Figures 3 and 4 These views of the facade of the same building show colour vanation from 1 3 to lighter then 178.5. Tho dhfforonce ts less than 2 indheating an elaborate standard of finchFigures § and 6REFERENCES Information on methods of obtaining high-quality surfaces is given in the references. 1. Gallge,V.Pudstri_betong. _Kgbenhavn 1958, (Statens byagetorskningsinstitul. Rapport, 24) 2, Bjerking,’S. E. og Hoglund, | 4. Platsgjutning av betong for putstria ytor. 2. Ytjammhet hos puteia botongytor. Stockholm 1959, {Statens nmnd tor byggnadsforskning. Saortrykk, 1958 4. 28, Kinnear, R. G. Concrete surface blemishes. London 1964, (Cement and Concrete Association. Technical report, TRA, 380) 4. Wilson, J. G. Exposed conorete finishes. Vol. 1 Finishes to in situ concrete. Landon, C. R. Books Ltd. 1962. Vol. 2 Finishes to precast concrete. London, C. R. Books Ld. 1968, 5. Adam, M. Parements de béton armé apparent. Institut Technique du Batiment et des Travaux Publics. Annales, no 214, octobre 1965. Suppiément Béton. Beton Arms, 83. 6. International Council for Building Research, Studies and Documentation, CIB. Working Commission W. 28, Con- ‘rete Surtace Finishings. The production of concrete of Uunitorm colour and tree rom surface blemishes, Rotterdam 1966 (C18 Report no 8). 7. Blake, L. S. Reccomendation for the production of high ity Concrete surfaces, London 1967 (Cement and Con- ‘Association. Technical advisory series) 8. Adam, M. Béton bianc brut de démoulage Institut Technique du Batiment ot des Travaux Publics. Annales no 234, juin 1987. Supplément Béton. Béton ‘arma, 80 8. Norsk betongforening. Komité for utredninger vedro- rende betongovertlater, 1965. Forsjag til typebeskrivelser av betongovertlater. Oslo 1968. 10. Cassinello,F, Problémes des bétons apparents en Espag- ne. Us. 1967 11. Dylander, B. Porer i betonovertlader. Nordisk betong, b 12, no 2, 1968. 12, Nordgaard, L. Fremstling og stoping av fasadebotong stopt pa stedet. Betongen | dag, 6.3% no 2 1968. 13, Thompson, M. S. Blowholes in concrete surfaces. Concrete, 3 no 3, 1968, 64-86, 14, Gage, M. Guide to. Exposed concrete finishes. London, The Architectural Press and The Cement and Concrete Association, 1970. 16. Trib, U. Baustoff Beton (Ein Handbuch far die Baupraxis) Zurich 1968. 16. Adam, M. Aspects du béton, Techniques Realisations Pathoiogie. Collection de institut Technique du Ba- iment et des Travaux Publics 1971. Eyrolles Ed. 17. Murphy, W. E. The influence of concrete mix proportions. and type of form face on the appearance of concrete. London, Cement and Concrete Assocration, May 1967. ‘pp. 89; Technical Report TRA 384 18, IBBC-TNO - Commissie voor Uitvoering van Research = Rapport GUR no 36 ,,Schoon Beton” Dec. 1368, ANNEXES Annexe 1 - Some examples of application Annexe 2 - Reference photographs illustration level of the incidence of blowholes in surfaces Annexe 3 - Grey scale for use when assessing the colour variation of concrete finishes.LL avisssvw Nolonaowsay a1v9s Tins BUNLWN UNIGNYHD 377aHDa eyoRjpeqouojeg Jep ul uebunjeie~A Uasapue pun uase|qyn] uoA BunyMsny sap Bunwuiwiseg aip inj sepyiqsyoie/G10,, seoeyins ul sejoy -Mo|q JO eoUep!oU! ay} JO JaAa] UOHeIYSNj]! sydes6o}oYyd soUE1EJ0y uoj9q ap s}uawealed se] suep (sajjnq ‘seinsse}) sno1} sep aoueyoduul,| 191991dde inod sejqesijyn eoues9491 ap salydes6o}0Y4g (seipuey ‘p17 ($19 y) Bue] uyor pip100§ 8) Jed sgnbjunumu0D qwawa/qewne sysuns0g) .S808}1nS 9}810U09 U s8joymoja., uosdwoy, “sw seide.a cg exouuesuojeg sep Bunug}qey Jap jieyxGissewjabay sap Bunynig aip 4ny ejyeysuoynesyH S@YSIUI} 9}949U0D JO UOIZBUEA ANOJOD By} Bulssesse UaYyM asn JO} ajeos ABI SU0}9q Sep e}U19} ep 9314ejNBe, eB] Je/Q43U09 ANOd e)qesI|3N sub sep eeyoy | EC BDXOUUL