The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that the performance of 50% of the concrete repairs on its structures is unsatisfactory and that after only 10 years 70% were failing. That sort of performance gives building owners and the public little confidence.
With that in mind, about 8 years ago, the American Concrete Institute and the International Concrete Repair Institute jointly formed ACI Committee 562 to develop a Code for structural concrete repair. There are many excellent repair guides, but without the force of law, repair practices have varied and building code officials had little grounds for insisting on certain materials or practices in the design and construction of repairs.
A Code is different. It sets minimum enforceable requirements that can be adopted into local building codes as the law. Designers, material suppliers, and contractors that don’t meet the Code requirements can be held accountable in a court of law. The members of ACI 562 established these minimum standards with the hope that they would help designers, provide a rational basis for repair work, and improve the quality of concrete repairs.
One benefit of this will be to level the playing field. When all those involved in concrete repairs are held accountable to the new Code, those unwilling or unable to comply will be excluded. That alone should elevate the quality of concrete repair work.
At www.concreteconstruction.net we have a detailed analysis of the new ACI 562 Code and what it means for contractors doing concrete repairs. Don’t get caught unaware of the Code’s provisions—it could come back to bite you!