Beware of troweling air-entrained concrete floors

Some designers specify air-entrained concrete for interior floors subject to a few freeze-thaw cycles during construction. But be aware that this shifts the risk of surface damage from the designer to the contractor.
BY BRUCE A. SUPRENANT AND WARD R. MALISCH

n the past year, weve heard from five contractors who have been expected to pay for floorslab delamination repairs related to high entrained-air contents. In all of these slabs, the hardenedconcrete air content exceeded 10%. Since ACI 302.1R-96, Guide for Concrete Floor and Slab Construction (Ref. 1), recommends an air content less than 3% for floors receiving a hard-trowel finish, are contractors liable for the cost of these delamination repairs? And why was air-entrained concrete specified for an interior floor?

The designers rationale

Under service conditions, most interior slabs dont have a high moisture content or a chance to Machine-troweled surface Machine-troweled surface freeze, so air-entrained concrete isnt needed to ensure a durable floor surface. But what about Scaling Delamination concrete exposed to freezing during construction? Non-air-entrained concrete Delamination caused by an Scaling caused by freezing with a moisture content near accumulation of air and and thawing of wet, nonwater beneath the troweled air-entrained concrete saturation is susceptible to sursurface face scaling caused by freezethaw cycles. Because of this, deWhich is more likelyscaling of non-air-entrained concrete exposed to freezing and signers often require interior thawing, but only during construction, or delamination of machine-troweled, air-enconcrete slabs to be air-entrained concrete? Designers, owners and contractors should consider this question when trained if the slabs will be exmaking decisions on specification requirements for interior concrete floors.

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posed to a cold, wet environment during construction. In addition to requiring entrained air, designers may also specify a lower water-cement ratio and higher compressive strength, which, in some regions, can increase concrete costs by as much as $5 per cubic yard. Designers take these precautions to minimize the owners risk of a damaged slab surface and the subsequent cost of repairs. If they didnt require air-entrained concrete and the slab was exposed to a freezing construction environment for one winter, scaling could damage the slab surface in areas where water ponds, requiring local repairs. In extreme cases, the entire slab surface could scale, requiring a full-surface

topping. But owners who opt to use air-entrained concrete to reduce the risk of surface scaling and the cost of any resulting repairs may face another threatthe potential for delaminations when air-entrained concrete is machine troweled.

Balancing the risk: scaling vs. delamination potential

Because of the risk of delaminations, ACI 302.1R and ACI 301-96, Specifications for Structural Concrete (Ref. 2), recommend against incorporating entrained air in normalweight concrete slabs requiring a machine-troweled finish. A field trial (Ref. 3) and our studies of petrographic reports related to

BEWARE OF TROWELING continued

delaminations indicate that entrained air increases the likelihood that machine-troweled floors will delaminate. When designers recommend reducing the owners risk of slab damage due to freeze-thaw exposure by specifying air-entrained concrete, they should also point out the increased likelihood of delamination. In cases where the use of air-entrained concrete increases materials costs, owners may decide the cost of

air entrainment and the increased risk of delaminations doesnt justify the added protection against scaling. If the slab does scale, owners would then be expected to bear the cost of repairs because they accepted the risk of scaling when they elected to use non-air-entrained concrete. But the cost of localized surface repairs might still be less than the extra cost for air-entrained concrete. However, if the owner decides to use air-entrained concrete, and the

Bending the rules and accepting trade-offs

Although finishers cant prevent all delaminations, they can minimize them if they can bend the rules for what is considered to be good finishing practice. David Rossetti of DJ Rossetti Inc., Schenectady, N.Y., and Dennis Phillips of Baker Concrete Inc., Monroe, Ohio, both suggest the following approach, based on their experiences: 1. Delay floating until all bleedwater has evaporated and the concrete is sufficiently stiff. 2. Make two passes with float blades or pans, waiting the normal time interval between passes. Make the second pass at a right angle to the first pass. 3. Delay troweling until the surface is too stiff to close up. This allows the concrete to continue breathing. Heres a good rule of thumb for deciding when to start troweling passes: If you can close up the surface without misting it with water or evaporation retarder, its too soon to be troweling. 4. Make two passes with trowel blades (or combination blades, if you prefer), lightly misting ahead of the power trowel to close up the surface. Again, wait the normal interval between passes, and make the second pass at a right angle to the first. 5. If a burn finish is required, make additional trowel passes with the blades tilted. Before using this finishing approach to solve the delamination problem, be aware of the possible effects on floor quality. Because final troweling is delayed until the surface sets, floor flatness may suffer. If high floor flatness numbers are required, the delay in troweling may cause an out-of-spec value. Adding water to the surface may also reduce abrasion resistance. But this water is a necessary consequence of allowing the concrete to breathe until it sets. Although you can attain a good, lasting finish using this procedure, says Rossetti, it will be risky because finishers may try to use conventional finishing methods that theyve learned over the years. The best policy is to get involved in the mix design before approvals by the engineer and seek to eliminate the requirement for air-entrained concrete. If this cant be achieved, insist on a release of liability for any delamination repairs.

slab delaminates, the cost burden shifts to the contractor. Because delaminations are considered to be a construction defect, the contractor is expected to pay for the repairs, even though the designer specified the use of the air-entrained concrete that increased the delamination risk. By expecting finishers to hard trowel an air-entrained floor without delaminations occurring, designers transfer risk from the owner to the contractor. To be properly compensated for this risk, contractors should be paid a higher price per square foot of floor finished. However, thats seldom done. Before requiring air-entrained concrete for interior slabs with a machine-troweled finish, designers should assess: The risk of concrete scaling due to cold-weather exposure The cost of air-entrained concrete vs. non-air-entrained concrete The cost of repairing scaling or other freeze-thaw damage The risk of delaminations when air-entrained concrete slabs are machine troweled The cost of repairing slab delaminations These risks and associated consequences should be explained to the owner before the project begins. Contractors who are expected to place and finish air-entrained floors should also be aware of the risks.
References 1. ACI 302.1R-96, Guide for Concrete Floor and Slab Construction, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich., 1996. 2. ACI 301-96, Standard Specifications for Structural Concrete, ACI, 1996. 3. Bruce A. Suprenant and Ward R. Malisch, Diagnosing Slab Delaminations, Concrete Construction, January 1998, pp. 29-35.

Publication #C99B035
Copyright 1999, The Aberdeen Group a division of Hanley-Wood, Inc. All rights reserved

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION / MONTH 1999