Professional guidance Cover to reinforcement (part 1)

Cover to reinforcement
– getting it right: product
performance requirements
On the 20th anniversary of its publication, Chris Shaw explains how
BS 7973:2001 solves the problem of failure to achieve the specified
concrete cover to steel reinforcement. Part 1 of this article discusses
product performance requirements for spacers and chairs.

Introduction èFIGURE 1:
Reinforced concrete is the most Inadequate cover to
commonly used structural material reinforcement
continues to be a
around the world, and the failure to problem
achieve the specified concrete cover
to the steel reinforcement in reinforced
concrete structures is a known
problem.
2021 marks the 20th anniversary
of the publication of BS 7973:20011,
which solves this problem. The
standard comprises two parts: Part
1 defines the product performance
requirements for spacers and chairs;
Part 2 shows the fixing and application
of spacers and chairs, and the tying
of reinforcement. The standard is
applicable to all in situ reinforced
concrete work and can also be used
for precast concrete.
This two-part article follows the
format of the standard, describing
the spacers and chairs, and how they be, the strength (and safety) of the measures are used to resist earthquake
should be used. structure can be seriously affected. forces, but they can be ineffective
This is crucially important for if the reinforcement is not correctly
Background cantilevers, where the reinforcement positioned.
An example of the problem is shown is designed to be near the top of the
in Figure 1. It is often left to the concrete, but sometimes ends up in 2) Durability
contractor to achieve the specified the middle or at the bottom due to When the specified cover is not
cover – or not, as is all too frequently inadequate support before or during achieved, the durability of the
the case. However, it is possible to concreting. Collapses can occur as a reinforced concrete is greatly reduced.
achieve the specified cover to the result. The steel reinforcement starts to
reinforcement, first time, every time, by In earthquake-prone areas, the corrode, spalling off the face of the
applying the requirements of BS 7973. correct positioning of the reinforcement concrete and weakening the structure.
The standard is the result of over 50 is particularly important because the For example, for external concrete
years of research, development, and forces generated by earthquakes will sheltered from the rain, 30mm of cover
the application of the requirements in find any weaknesses in the designed will give 135 years of protection to the
actual structures. Designers have a strength of a structure. Special design reinforcement, but 10mm of cover will
duty to use standards where they exist. give only 10 years of life.
The correct use of spacers and chairs
reduces the potential liability of this 3) Fire
aspect of the construction. IF THE REINFORCEMENT In a fire, the time before the heat
The type and location of the spacers
and chairs used to position the steel
IS NOT IN THE POSITION reaches the reinforcement is
dependent on the concrete cover
reinforcement are important for three WHERE IT WAS DESIGNED to the reinforcement. If the specified
reasons: TO BE, THE STRENGTH cover has not been achieved, the

1) Structural
If the reinforcement is not in the
position where it was designed to
OF THE STRUCTURE reinforcement can heat up prematurely,
and structure can collapse, possibly
CAN BE SERIOUSLY with the firefighters and/or the
AFFECTED occupants still inside the building.

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Potential problems
Some structures do not achieve their
intended design life due to deficiencies
in the cover. Some have had to be
demolished prematurely, or have
undergone extensive, and costly,
repairs.
Problems due to lack of cover
or misplaced reinforcement include
spalling of the concrete face, wall
reinforcement with too little or too
much cover, reinforcement outside
the concrete itself (‘negative cover’),
cantilever reinforcement in the bottom
of a slab, and reinforcement laid on the
ground with no cover to the bottom
of the slab. These are only a small
selection of the problems that continue
to be found, even on current projects.
Process chain
The process chain is a long one and an
omission can occur at any one or more
of the stages, from design through to
construction. The end result is that, all
too often, the reinforcement does not
end up with the correct cover, or in
accordance with the standards/codes.
Careful consideration needs
to be given to the buildability of
reinforcement cages, and all conditions
the cage may be subject to during
the construction process. The
spacers and chairs are as important
as the reinforcement, and need to be
designed and fixed according to the
requirements of BS 7973. Although
forming part of the ‘temporary’ works,
éFIGURE 2: Single-cover ‘A’ éFIGURE 3: Soft substrate ‘A’
spacer spacer
íFIGURE 4:
Soft formwork
‘A’ spacer
Prof G Reinforcement_TSE OCTOBER 2021_The Structural Engineer.indd 23
Cover to reinforcement (part 1)
spacers also have to provide durable
protection to the reinforcement for the
life of the structure.
Products
Spacers provide the specified cover
between the reinforcement nearest
to the surface of the concrete and
the surface itself. The surface may be
horizontal (e.g. slabs), vertical (e.g.
walls), or inclined (e.g. ramps).
Chairs are used to support the
top (usually horizontal) reinforcement
from the bottom reinforcement,
or to separate layers of vertical
reinforcement in walls. They may be
proprietary products or shape code 98
in BS 8666:20202.
Pieces of wood, brick, broken
concrete, tile and slate have all been
seen used as spacers, even on recent
projects. At one time, site-made sand/
cement blocks with pieces of tying wire
cast in them were frequently used.
BS 7973 contains the performance
requirements for both plastic and
cementitious spacers, and steel wire
chairs. Although spacers and chairs
complying with BS 7973 are available,
there are also many non-compliant
products on the market which should
not be used.
Spacer and chair types
There are three types of spacers and
chairs described in BS 7973:
Ò| plastic spacers
Ò| cementitious spacers
éFIGURE 5: Single-cover
cementitious spacer
ìFIGURE 7: Lattice-type
continuous wire chair
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Professional guidance
Ò| wire chairs.
Each type has its correct use.
Most buildings and structures can
be built using a total of about four
types of spacer and chair. Spacers
manufactured to provide a singular
cover value should always be used.
Spacers with differing cover
values are often placed with the
incorrect cover being provided to
the reinforcement. For example,
triple-cover cementitious spacers
have been found placed in any one
of four cover positions, so there is
only a 25% likelihood that the correct
cover position will be provided once
the concrete is cast. These types of
spacers are also prone to fracture
under load.
Spacer and chair categories and
applications
Three categories of spacers and
one of chairs are included in the
standard, with the applications
specified in Table 1 of BS 7973-1.
These are:
Light category
Light category spacers provide
the cover to the reinforcement in
vertical members, or to horizontal
reinforcement in small sections not
subject to foot traffic, e.g. precast
concrete products. They are not
suitable for use on reinforcement
greater than 16mm in size.
éFIGURE 6: Single-cover cementitious line spacer
îFIGURE 8: Goalpost-type
continuous wire chair
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 Professional guidance Cover to reinforcement (part 1)
Normal category
Normal category spacers are used for
most in situ concrete work, and can be
used for larger precast products. They
provide the cover where the size of the
reinforcement to which they are fixed is
20mm or less.
Heavy category
Heavy category spacers provide
the cover where the size of the
reinforcement is greater than 20mm.
This is typically in bridge decks and
heavily reinforced foundations.
Chairs
Wire chairs are used to support the
top reinforcement from the bottom
reinforcement in slabs to provide the
required top cover. They are also used
to separate layers of reinforcement,
e.g. between the reinforcement in
opposite faces of a wall. Individual
chairs with protective tips can be
used to support the top reinforcement
in slabs where there is no bottom
reinforcement provided, e.g. in
cantilevers.
Plastic spacers
‘A’ spacer
Figure 2 shows a plastic ‘A’ spacer. It
is ‘state of the art’ in plastic spacers,
and the result of many years of
development and use on actual
projects. Plastic ‘A’ spacers are
used for most purposes in buildings,
including foundations, columns,
beams, slabs and walls. They are
designed for use with conventional
formwork (plywood, timber, metal or
glass fibre-reinforced plastic)
and reinforcement sizes from 8mm up
to 20mm.
The spacer clips onto the
reinforcement and overall is the most
cost-effective option because it does
not need tying on with wire. The labour
used in tying is expensive.
It is manufactured for covers of 20,
25, 30, 40, 50 and 90mm.
Soft substrate ‘A’ spacer
Where a plastic ‘A’ spacer must rest
on a soft substrate, such as sand-
blinded hardcore or a polythene
dampproof membrane, a spreader
base is used (Figure 3). This clips to
the base of the ‘A’ spacer and spreads
the load carried by the spacer onto
the soft substrate. The spreader
base can also be used in vertical
applications such as basement walls
where, for example, a reinforced
concrete wall is cast against a
waterproof membrane.
Prof G Reinforcement_TSE OCTOBER 2021_The Structural Engineer.indd 24
PLASTIC ‘A’ SPACERS ARE
USED FOR MOST
PURPOSES IN BUILDINGS,
INCLUDING FOUNDATIONS,
COLUMNS, BEAMS,
SLABS AND WALLS
Soft formwork ‘A’ spacer
This type of ‘A’ spacer (Figure 4) is
used where the concrete is laid on
or against soft formwork, such as
expanded polystyrene, cellular plastic
or similar materials. These are usually
permanent formwork for foundations,
or insulation under slabs. The spacers
are fixed to the links in foundations, and
to the reinforcement or welded steel
fabric in slabs.
They are manufactured for covers
of 25, 40 and 50mm. The 25mm
size (reference ANSF 1714) is used
above dampproof membranes, and
accommodates 6, 8, 10 and 12mm
wire and bar sizes. The 40mm size
(reference ANSF 1706) and 50mm
(reference ANSF 1707) accommodate
bar or welded steel fabric wire sizes of
10, 12 and 16mm.
Other plastic spacers
Other types of plastic spacers, such as
end spacers, circular spacers, and pile
cage-former spacers, are available for
specific applications.
Cementitious spacers
Site-made cementitious spacers, and
double- and triple-cover spacers, are
not permitted in BS 7973, as described
above.
Single-cover cementitious spacers
Single-cover cementitious spacers
(Figure 5) are used to provide cover to
reinforcement of 25mm size and above.
This would include the end cover to
the reinforcement at the edge of a slab
or beam, which should be bent at 90°
to its longitudinal axis. They should be
wired onto the reinforcement with 16
or 18-gauge soft iron wire. In marine
environments, stainless steel tying wire
should be used.
Cementitious line spacers
Cementitious line spacers (Figure 6)
are mainly used for bridge decks and
heavily reinforced foundations. They
should be used in short lengths not
exceeding about 350mm, and the
lengths should be staggered in plan on
the formwork, as shown in Figure 1(a)
of BS 7973-2:2001.
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Wire chairs
Lattice-type chairs
There are two types of continuous wire
chair. One type is the lattice chair (Figure
7). BS 7973 requires this type of chair to
be manufactured from three longitudinal
steel wires of the same size in order to
carry the design load. In practice, for a
lattice support wire spacing of 200mm,
the top wire needs to be of 5mm size.
Beware of non-compliant chairs with
wires of a significantly lesser size.
This type of chair is referenced as
HO followed by the height in millimetres,
and H5 as a suffix. For example, a
135mm high chair would be referenced
HO135H5.
Goalpost-type chairs
BS 7973 requires this type of continuous
chair (Figure 8) to be manufactured
from three longitudinal steel wires of the
same size in order to carry the design
load. In practice, for a goalpost support
wire spacing of 100mm, the top wire
needs to be of 3.5mm size. Beware of
non-compliant chairs with wires of a
significantly lesser size.
This type of chair is referenced
as CHY followed by the height in
millimetres, and H5 as a suffix. For
example, a 165mm high chair would be
referenced CHY165H5.
Next time…
Part 2 of this article will address the fixing
and application of spacers and chairs,
and the tying of reinforcement.
Chris Shaw
CEng, FIStructE, FICE, FIET, MCMI
Chris Shaw is a consultant based in
Guildford, UK, who is responsible for
BS 7973. He provides CPD training
HAVE and advice on the selection and use of
YOUR spacers and chairs.
SAY Tel: 01483 536577
Email: echrisshaw@yahoo.co.uk
tse@istructe.org
REFERENCES
1) British Standards Institution
(2001) BS 7973:2001 Spacers and
@IStructE
#TheStructuralEngineer chairs for steel reinforcement and
their specification, London: BSI
2) British Standards Institution
(2020) BS 8666:2020 Scheduling,
dimensioning, bending and cutting
of steel reinforcement for concrete.
#TheStructuralEngineer
Specification, London: BSI
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