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A. CONCRETE
The term concrete of a suitable quality and similar
phrases used in this book refer to concrete that will
perform satisfactorily in its intended use. To do so,
it must possess:
• Strength to carry superimposed loads
• Sufficient watertightness to prevent water
penetration
• Durability to resist wear and weather
• Workability to ensure proper handling, placing,
finishing, and curing
CONCRETE MATERIALS
Concrete is made by combining four materials into
a mixture of basically two parts: aggregate and
Portland cement paste.
Concrete is often reinforced with steel mesh or rods
to increase its tensile strength.
PORTLAND CEMENT
Portland cement is a finely pulverized material
consisting principally of compounds of lime, silica,
alumina, and iron. It is manufactured from selected
materials in closely controlled processes.
AGGREGATES
Aggregates constitute 60% to 75% of the volume of
concrete. Therefore, both the cost and quality of a
concrete are affected by the kinds of aggregates
used in it.
FINE AGGREGATE
Fine aggregate consists of sand or another suitable
fine material. A good concrete sand will contain
particles varying uniformly in size from very fine
up to ¼ in. (6.4 mm) in diameter.
COARSE AGGREGATE
Coarse aggregate consists of gravel, crushed stone,
or another suitable material larger than ¼ in. (6.4
mm) in diameter. Coarse aggregate that is sound,
hard, and durable is best suited for making
concrete.
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ADMIXTURES
Admixtures are materials other than Portland
cement, aggregates, and water that are added to
concrete either immediately before or during its
mixing to alter the properties of the concrete in a
variety of ways. For example, they can be used to:
• Improve workability
• Reduce separation of coarse and fine aggregates
due to settling out of the heavier coarse
aggregate
• Entrain air
• Accelerate or retard setting and hardening
FORMWORK
[MAY 2022] Because concrete is unable to
maintain a particular shape before it sets, it must be
placed in a form or mold. In building construction,
this form or mold is called formwork.
MATERIALS
Forms are made from wood, metal, and plastic.
They can be divided into two classes: temporary
forms and permanent forms.
TEMPORARY FORMS
Most formwork is temporary for two reasons: (1)
permanent forms would detract from the desired
finish, and (2) it is more economical to reuse
formwork.
PERMANENT FORMS
Permanent corrugated steel forms are used to make
supported concrete slabs. A supported slab rests on
beams or columns rather than on earth (slab on
grade). Permanent steel forms are made from
corrugated sheet steel.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Formwork must be designed and built using the
same skills and practices that would be applied to a
permanent structure. It must be strong enough to
withstand the great pressures imposed by heavy,
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wet concrete and the additional stresses that result
from placing and consolidating the concrete.
SLABS ON GRADE
The edges of and openings through slabs on grade
require forming. This is usually done using wood or
metal forms staked to the ground, similar to the
wall footing form.
SUPPORTED FLOORS
In general, beams and girders are formed first; then
the slab is formed. Flat slabs are formed with
plywood supported on joists.
WATER-CEMENT RATIO
A concrete mixture's water-cement ratio is the ratio
by weight of water to portland cement in the mixture.
The water-cement ratio selected should be the lowest
value required to meet design requirements such as
durability, strength, and impermeability. For
instance, concrete that will be exposed to a
combination of wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycling and
de-icing chemicals requires the following for
durability: (1) a low water-cement ratio, (2) air-
entrainment, (3) suitable materials, (4) adequate
curing, and (5) good construction practices.
CONSISTENCY OF THE MIX
Mixes should always be of a consistency and
workability that will permit the concrete to be
worked into the angles and corners of forms and
around reinforcement without permitting the
materials to segregate or excess free water to collect
on the surface.
A plastic concrete is one that is readily molded and
yet will change its form only slowly if the mold is
removed.
The ease or difficulty of placing concrete in a
particular location is referred to as workability.
SLUMP TEST [NOV 2019]
A slump test conforming with the requirements
of ASTM C143 may be used as a rough measure of
the consistency of concrete. This test is not a
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measure of workability, and it should not be used to
compare mixes of entirely different proportions or
containing different kinds of aggregate.
COMPRESSION TEST
Compression tests are made in accordance with
ASTM C31 to determine whether a concrete has the
specified compressive strength. In these tests,
concrete specimens are tested at 7 days and at 28
days after they are taken to determine the concrete's
rate of strength gain.
SHOTCRETE
Shotcrete is pneumatically placed concrete, used
primarily for swimming pools and other in-ground
and aboveground free-form structures and for
repairing damaged concrete. Its major advantage is
that it does not require formwork even when placed
on vertical surfaces. Shotcrete concrete is forced
through a hose by compressed air onto earth, rock,
existing concrete, or another layer of shotcrete.
CONSOLIDATING
Concrete should be compacted by a method
appropriate to the material and its location to:
• Eliminate stone pockets and large air
bubbles
• Consolidate each layer with that previously
placed
• Completely embed reinforcing and fixtures
• Bring just enough fine material to the faces
and top surfaces to produce the desired
finish
BLEEDING
Generally, the dry materials used in making quality
concrete are heavier than water. Thus, shortly after
placement, they tend to settle to the bottom and
displace the mixing water to the surface, which is
called bleeding.
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SCREEDING [NOV 2019]
The surface of newly placed concrete is struck off
(screeded) by moving a straightedge back and forth
with a sawlike motion across the top of the forms and
screeds.

EDGING
When all bleed water and water sheen have left the
surface and the concrete has started to stiffen, other
finishing operations such as edging may be started.

Of all the placing and finishing operations, screeding

the surface to a predetermined grade has the greatest
effect on surface tolerances.

LEVELING
Leveling is the bringing of a concrete surface to true
grade with enough mortar to produce the desired
finish. After a concrete slab has been screeded, it
should be immediately smoothed with a darby to
level raised spots and fill depressions left after
screeding. has been done.
Leveling using a darby
FLOATING
After edging and hand jointing operations, a slab
should be floated. In general, floating may be done
when the water sheen has disappeared, and the
concrete will support the weight of the finisher.
The purpose of floating is to:

• Embed large aggregate just beneath the surface

• Remove slight imperfections, humps, and voids
to produce a level or plane surface
• Consolidate mortar at the surface in preparation
for other finishing operations
• Open the surface to permit excess moisture to
escape
Leveling using a bull float

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Power troweling

Power floating

BROOM FINISHING
Steel-troweled concrete surfaces are very smooth
and become slippery when wet. They can be slightly
roughened to produce a nonslip surface by brushing
or brooming them.

Broom finishing.

TROWELING
Troweling is done on slabs that are to be left exposed
or to receive thin finishes, such as resilient flooring,
carpet, tile, or paint.

Hand troweling.

CURING AND PROTECTION

Concrete curing is an important construction
operation that is often neglected. Even when
concrete has been properly mixed, carefully placed,
and correctly finished, a poor job will result if proper
curing techniques are not followed.

PURPOSE OF CURING
The strength and watertightness of concrete improve
with age as long as conditions are favorable for
continued hydration of its Portland cement. Other
qualities, such as weathering and resistance to
freezing and thawing, are affected similarly.
Improvement is rapid early and continues more
slowly for an indefinite period as long as moisture
and favorable temperatures are present.

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[MAY 2022] Therefore, concrete should be
protected so that moisture is not lost during the early
stages of hardening, and it should be kept at a
temperature that will promote hydration and protect
against injury from subsequent construction
activities.
CURING METHODS
Concrete can be kept moist in a number of ways,
including leaving its forms in place, sprinkling,
ponding, and using moisture-retention covers or a
seal coat that is applied as liquid and then hardens to
form a thin membrane.
LEAVING FORMS IN PLACE
Leaving forms in place is of great assistance in
retaining moisture. In hot, dry weather, wood forms
will dry out and should be kept moist by sprinkling.
SPRINKLING
When concrete is kept moist by sprinkling, the
drying of surfaces between water applications must
be prevented.
PONDING
Ponding is sometimes used on flat surfaces, such as
pavements, sidewalks, and floors. Ponding provides
a more constant condition than does sprinkling.
LENGTH OF CURING
Sufficient curing time should always be allowed for
concrete to develop adequate strength before it is
loaded.
Length of Curing
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CONCRETE FOUNDATION SYSTEMS
A building's foundations form its substructure and
support its superstructure, transmitting loads to the
earth. They also resist lateral (horizontal) loads from
the ground and the superstructure and provide
anchorage for the superstructure against uplift.
Spread foundations, such as footings and mat and
raft foundations, resting on the soil receive loads
from foundation walls, piers, pilasters, and columns
and must be able to distribute them directly to the
soil without exceeding its allowable bearing
capacity.
SETTLEMENT
A building's substructure must distribute building
loads so that settlement will be either negligible or
uniform under all parts of the building. Differential
(uneven) settlement under different parts of a
foundation may cause substantial problems.
FOUNDATION TYPES
Foundations are of two general types: (1) spread
foundations, which distribute a building's loads
directly to a sufficient area of soil to obtain adequate
bearing capacity, and (2) pile and caisson
foundations, which transmit a building's loads
through soils that have inadequate bearing capacity
for spread footings to deeper layers of soil or rock
that have adequate bearing value.
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SPREAD FOUNDATIONS
Spread foundations support transmitting elements,
such as walls, pilasters, columns, piers, or grade
beams, on an abruptly enlarged base called a footing,
mat foundation, or raft foundation. These, in turn,
spread the load directly to the supporting soil.
FOOTINGS
Except on bedrock, or in the extremely rare instances
when the bearing capacity of the soil is inadequate to
support a foundation wall or pier alone, a footing is
required to spread the loads on the supporting soil.
CONTINUOUS FOOTINGS
Continuous footings support foundation walls of
either concrete or masonry. They also may be used
to support a row of several metal or wood columns
or masonry piers to minimize differential
settlement. When a single footing supports more
than one column or masonry pier, it is called a
combined footing (d).
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STEPPED FOOTINGS
Stepped footings change levels in stages to
accommodate a sloping grade (b). Typically, the
number of steps necessary to traverse a slope is
minimized by making them large both vertically
and horizontally.
ISOLATED FOOTINGS
Isolated footings are independent footings that
receive the loads of free-standing columns or piers
(c).
MAT AND RAFT FOUNDATIONS
Mat and raft foundations are used over soils of low
bearing capacity when other foundations would be
inadequate. They are made of concrete and heavily
reinforced with steel so that the entire foundation
will act as a unit.
A mat foundation is a thickened slab that supports
loads and transmits them as a single structural unit
over the entire slab and soil surface area. Mat
foundations are used when the foundations for a
building become so large, usually due to poor soil,
that it is more economical to join them into a single
unit than to cast them each separately.
PILES AND CAISSONS
Piles and caissons are used as foundation support
for buildings when the soil is not capable of
supporting the loads that will be imposed by a
building using spread foundations.
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GROUND-SUPPORTED SLABS
CONCRETE SLABS ON GRADE Ground-supported slabs can be designated as
The suitability of a particular slab-on-grade Types I, II, or III.
construction is generally influenced by the
geographic location of the building, the building TYPE I SLABS
site, and the construction of the superstructure. This A Type I slab is mostly unreinforced and is
section includes recommendations for selecting and separated from the elements that support the
constructing concrete slabs on grade. superstructure so that it carries no superstructure
loads.
DESIGN
Slabs on grade may be either independent floors or
combination foundation and floor systems. In
independent floors, the slab is separate from the
building's load-carrying elements which transmit
their loads directly to the supporting soil (a). In
combination foundation and floor systems, the slab
is an integral part of the foundation, and carries
superstructure loads and transmits them to the soil
(b).

Differential movement in the slab bed may produce

enough tensile stress in the concrete to crack the
slab. Random cracking due to drying shrinkage is
controlled by:

• Isolation joints
• Construction joints
• Limiting the area between control joints
placed to induce cracking at preselected
locations
Slab construction depends on the following factors: • Fiber reinforcing

• Slab type The controlling factors in the suitable performance

• Site preparation, including preparation of the of a Type I slab are:
slab bed, grading, and backfilling
• Precautions to control ground and surface • Selection of the correct slab bed
moisture • Concrete quality
• Thermal control when required • Slab location
• Control joint spacing

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TYPE II SLABS
A Type II slab is also separated from the elements
that support the superstructure but contains welded
wire fabric or reinforcing bars in localized areas. The
controlling factors in the suitable performance of a
Type II slab include:
• Correct slab bed preparation
• Concrete quality
• Correct size and placement of the welded
wire fabric reinforcement
SLAB FLATNESS AND LEVELNESS
Flatness is a measure of the degree to which the
surface of a slab deviates from a plane. Levelness is
a measure of the degree to which a slab deviates
from horizontal. A slab can be flat (having no
depressions or rises in its surface) and still not be
level.

TYPE III SLABS

Type III slabs are combination foundation-and-
floor systems that are structurally reinforced to
make them usable over problem soils that undergo
substantial volume changes with time and climate.

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B. Earthwork
This chapter discusses the below-grade aspects of
site construction, including site clearing; dewatering;
excavation and backfilling for site improvements and
buildings; surface water and groundwater control,
including dewatering during construction and
prevention of water intrusion into the completed
building; and grading.
Site characteristics that may affect the design and
construction of slabs on grade, building foundations,
and site improvements include:
• Underlying soil type and properties
• Moisture conditions
• Thermal conditions
• Geographic factors that may require
construction precautions to control termites or
unusual condition
SITE CLEARING
Site clearing consists of removing site improvements
and vegetation that will not be a part of the new work.
This includes removal of trees and other vegetation,
clearing and grubbing, topsoil stripping, and
removing above- and below-grade site
improvements.
Clearing and grubbing consists of removing trees,
shrubs, and other vegetation, including their roots
and stumps. Depressions caused by these procedures
should be filled with satisfactory backfill material.
Topsoil should be stripped from areas where new
construction is to take place. Topsoil is often
stockpiled on the site and later reused in lawn and
planting areas.
One means of disposing of materials removed from
a building site is dumping it in public or private
landfill or spoil areas. Landfill areas often accept
organic materials and construction debris, whereas
spoil areas usually accept only earth materials, such
as excavated soil and unusable topsoil
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EARTHWORK
Earthwork includes:
• Excavation and filling to make way for a
building
• Backfilling after the building has been built
• Grading preparatory to installing paving,
walkways, lawns, and landscaping
Related site construction components include:
• Underpinning existing structures to protect
them from damage during adjacent excavation
• Slope protection and erosion control
• Chemically treating the soil to protect the
building against subterranean termites
UNDERPINNING
Underpinning is the time-consuming and expensive
process of supporting the foundations of an existing
building by placing new footings, pilings, or caissons
beneath the existing footings.
Underpinning can be accomplished in many different
ways, depending on the nature of the problem. Only
two of the many possibilities are covered here:
• Placing a new footing and foundation wall
below the existing ones
• Using piles
EXCAVATING
Building excavation is usually defined as the
removal of whatever materials are found down to the
level required by the contract documents and
disposal of the materials excavated. In some small
applications, excavation is done using hand tools, but
most excavation requires power equipment
FILL AND BACKFILL
Compacted fills are used for building sites in
undulating or hilly terrain to create reasonably level
ground for slab construction. Engineered fill, which
is fill whose material selection, installation, and
compacting are done according to engineering
principles, is also sometimes used below foundations
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in small buildings when the existing soil is
unsuitable. In any case, the bad soil is removed and
replaced with engineered fill.
BASE COURSE FOR SLABS ON GRADE
For slab-on-grade construction, some preparation
must be made to the subgrade, depending on the type
of soil and other conditions encountered at the site.
At the least, the area beneath the slab must be cleared
and grubbed and unsuitable soils, such as topsoil,
must be removed. The slab bed for ground-supported
slabs should:
• Provide the necessary bearing capacity for
slab support
• Control ground moisture
• Establish the proper slab elevation
Slab beds for ground-supported slabs. A base course
or a vapor retarder may be needed to control
moisture.
GRADING
The rough and final grades on a building site are
established by grading using a combination of power
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equipment and hand tools. Grading is necessary
where lawns, planting, pavement, walks, and
building slabs will be placed.
COMPACTING
[NOV 2021] Compacting applies energy to soil to
consolidate it by compressing air voids to increase
the soil's dry density. Proper compacting:
Minimizes settling
Increases load-bearing characteristics
Increases soil stability
Reduces water penetration
Proper compacting will usually prevent slab and
pavement cracking caused by differential settlement
of the soil. It will also reduce settling of backfill
placed against foundation and retaining walls and in
other locations to prevent low spots where water will
pond.
SLOPE PROTECTION AND EROSION
CONTROL
Exposed earth on a construction site should be
protected from erosion; indeed, most jurisdictions
have codes, ordinances, or rules that dictate such
controls.
A diversion ditch at the top of a slope will slow down
the flow of groundwater and can be used to direct this
flow to a paved outfall or into an interceptor drain
that will conduct it to the lower level through pipes.
Terraces cut into a slope will reduce the velocity of
groundwater and reduce erosion.
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GROUNDWATER
Groundwater is water that is in the ground most of
the time, although its level (water table) may
fluctuate during dry and rainy seasons. Most
groundwater problems result from locating
foundations too close to the subsurface water table.
Filter fabrics are open woven mats of nylon or other
DEWATERING
synthetic fibers. They are staked down over a slope
Dewatering is the prevention of water from entering
to permit water to flow without eroding the
an excavation, when possible, and the removal of
underlying soil.
water that does find its way in. Groundwater can be
Filter fabric installed to protect a slope.
prevented from entering an excavation by means of
berms and drainage channels or ditches.

SLABS ON GRADE
Settlement or differential movement of slabs and
foundations caused by moisture fluctuations in
problem soils
The methods and extent of protection depend on:
• Slab elevation with respect to the elevation
Riprap is a layer of stone or broken concrete
and slope of the finished grade
designed to form a pathway for the flow of water and
• Elevation of the groundwater table or man-
to prevent erosion of underlying soil.
made water sources, such as seepage fields
• Drainage properties of the soil or fill
beneath the slab
• Type of finish flooring

DRIVEN PILES
Driven piles are column-like units that transmit loads
through poor soil to rock or lower levels of soil that
SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER have adequate bearing capacity.
PROBLEMS
Provisions must be made to prevent surface water
and groundwater from entering a building through
the walls or floors.

SURFACE WATER
Surface water is water that runs along the surface of
the ground as a result of rain, downspout discharge,
melting snow, or another source. Most surface water
problems come from improper grading of the site
adjacent to a building.

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Piles receive building loads from isolated columns surface friction between the pile and the ground.
and from grade beams by means of reinforced Piles are driven with heavy hammers in large
concrete pile caps. machines called pile drivers. Drop hammers are
simply raised and dropped on a pile by the force of
gravity. Differential-acting steam hammers are
rammed into the top of a pile by steam pressure or
compressed air. Modern vibratory hammers and
diesel-driven hammers are also being used today.
Friction piles are driven to a predetermined depth or
resistance based on soil boring analysis and field
tests. Point-bearing piles are driven until additional
blows of the hammer produce very little movement
in the pile (refusal).

Pile caps formed integrally with a grade beam are

sometimes used when the load distributing element
is a bearing wall.

Pile foundations are either (1) point-bearing types,

which transmit loads to lower, stronger soil or rock
through their points, or (2) friction types, which
develop the necessary bearing capacity through

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C. PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Materials can be classified according to these basic
structural elements and bonds into three major
categories with different properties:
1. Ceramics and glasses—hard, brittle, poor
conductors of heat and electricity
2. Metals—more ductile than ceramics, good
conductors of heat and electricity
3. Molecular materials—low melting temperatures,
fair strength, poor conductors of heat and electricity
STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Matter is formed by the chemical bonding of atoms,
ions, and molecules.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER
There are 102 chemical substances that cannot be
subdivided into other substances. These basic
materials are called chemical elements.
The smallest particle which retains the properties of
the original material, is called an atom.
When atoms acquire a positive or negative charge by
losing or attracting negatively charged particles, they
are called ions. Atoms may combine into simple
units called molecules.
ATOMS
The atom has at its core a nucleus consisting of
positively charged protons and electrically neutral
neutrons. Orbiting about the nucleus are negatively
charged electrons. The sum of the weights of the
protons and neutrons in one of its individual atoms
is called the atomic weight of an element. The
number of electrons in each of its atoms, which is
equal to the number of protons in a single atom, is
the atomic number of an element.
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IONS
Under certain conditions, electrons may leave an
atom, resulting in a net positive charge. The atom
then becomes a positive ion.
Certain other elements show a strong tendency to
acquire excess electrons in their outer orbits and to
become negative ions.
MOLECULE
Other substances are formed by the joining together
of units, each unit consisting of a number of atoms.
These units are called molecules and can be broken
into their constituent atoms only with difficulty.
PROPERTIES OF MATTER
[NOV 2021] Anyone who has been alone in a
building on a quiet evening knows that materials
are “alive.” The creaks and groans are material
responses to external stimuli such as heat, wind,
and gravity loads. These stimuli fall into four
categories, which define the four major properties
exhibited by materials: mechanical, thermal,
electrical, and chemical.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Mechanical properties describe the response of a
material to static (continuous) or dynamic
(intermittent) loads.
Mechanical Properties: Stress and Strain
Stress (σ) is equal to the applied load (L) divided by
the area (A) on which the load is acting:
Strain ( ) correspondingly accounts for the fact that
deformation may be distributed over a large area or
localized in a small region.
ELASTIC DEFORMATION
Deflection is present only so long as the applied
load is present, and its effect can be reversed by
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simply removing the load. This reversible type of
strain is called elastic deformation.
The most common measure of a material's stiffness,
or ability to resist elastic deformation, is its
modulus of elasticity, E.
PLASTIC DEFORMATION
Permanent or irreversible deformation is called
plastic deformation.
THE STRESS-STRAIN TEST
Many of a material's mechanical properties can be
accurately determined from its performance in a
stress-strain tensile test, in which a material sample
is stretched to fracture (breaking), and a continuous
record is made of both the applied stress and the
resulting strain.
Typical stress-strain behavior of a ductile metal.
The proportionality constant between stress (σ) and
strain ( ) is the modulus of elasticity (E) and is
represented by the slope of line OA.
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MISCELLANEOUS MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES
Hardness is a measure of a material's ability to
resist indentation or penetration. In general, the
harder a material, the greater its wear and abrasion
resistance.
Fatigue resistance is a measure of a material's
ability to withstand cyclic (repeated) stresses.
[MAY 2022] Damping capacity is a measure of a
material's ability to dissipate or deaden mechanical
vibration. Because sound is mechanical vibration, a
material's ability to absorb sound is directly related
to its damping capacity.
Impact strength or toughness marks a material's
capacity to absorb impact without fracturing. It is
defined as the total energy, from elastic
deformation to fracture, that a material can absorb
before breaking under impact.
THERMAL PROPERTIES
When subjected to temperature changes, a material
may change its state (solidify, melt, or vaporize),
expand or contract, and conduct or reflect heat.
MELTING TEMPERATURE
Materials with high melting points usually retain
their mechanical properties over a greater
temperature range. In addition, they tend to be
stronger and more chemically inert than materials
with lower melting points.
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
Of special importance is the material's thermal
conductivity, which is its ability to transfer heat
from a region of high temperature to a region of
lower temperature.
THERMAL EXPANSION
Thermal expansion is measured by the coefficient
of thermal expansion, which is stated in terms of
length change per unit of length per degree of
temperature change (in./in./°F [mm/mm/°C]).
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ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
The primary electrical property of interest to a
building designer is electrical conductivity, a
characteristic that is closely related to a material's
thermal conductivity.

Electrical conductivity is usually given in mho

(ohm spelled backward) per foot of conductor
length. It is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity,
which is expressed in ohms per square foot.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Air and airborne moisture contain small amounts of
active chemical compounds, which, under certain
conditions, react with building materials and
degrade their properties.
Metals degrade or corrode through the transport of
minute amounts of electricity from regions called
anodes to other regions called cathodes. A cathode
accepts electrons and remains intact, but an anode
is degraded by the chemical reaction.

The essential elements in a corroding system are the

anode, the cathode, and the current-carrying
medium (electrolyte) connecting them. An
electrolyte is usually a solution of water and a gas,
such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide.

Preventing corrosion, therefore, is simply a matter

of removing one of the three elements from the
system.

NOV 2022
Engr. J.A.D. Malesido