ETL 1110-3-488
1 Mar 98
night. Especially at the beginning of the job, all sawing should be closely inspected while it is
taking place to make sure sawing is done at the proper time and location. The first placement is
frequently where contractors either saw too late to avoid cracking, saw too early and cause
excessive spalling, or saw at the wrong locations. All are very obvious problems, and impossible
to adequately correct once they occur.
After initial sawing is completed, a rope must be placed in the top of the joint to assure it
doesn't fill up with debris, and to provide additional curing in the critical joint area. Curing of this
area is critical to avoid joint spalling which has been occurring with increasing frequency on
recent concrete pavements.
(8) Dowels. Dowel installation and alignment is a recurring problem in concrete pavement
construction. When installing dowels in drilled holes "buttering" of dowels with epoxy (which
many contractors will propose doing) and then pushing them in the drilled hole does not provide
adequate dowel strength. Epoxy must be injected into the rear of the hole, followed by dowel
insertion by a twisting action. Dowels must be installed straight and level to perform adequately.
Misaligned dowels will "lock" the joint and not allow temperature and shrinkage movement.
q. Joint preparation for sealant (para. x in xxxxx). Premature joint sealant failure is a not
uncommon problem with concrete pavements. Joints must have proper dimensions and must be
prepared correctly to insure adequate performance. Regardless of how a joint was originally
constructed, the slot for sealant must be sawed out. Sealant will adhere adequately only to joints
with vertical sides and clean faces. Sandblasting is required to assure all laitance, curing
compound, and debris is removed. All joints should be inspected and measured carefully before
sealant is installed. For hot poured sealants, sealant temperature when installed is critical for
proper performance, and should be monitored closely by the contractor.
r. Measurement and payment (para. x in xxxxx). This project has been designed to be bid on
a unit price basis, so it is extremely important that accurate accounting is done for proper
payment. Concrete is to be measured by the cubic yard (cubic meter) according to the dimensions
shown on the drawings. This is not necessarily the same as the number of cubic yards (cubic
meters) of concrete delivered to the site.
Paragraph x in xxxxx contains a reduction-in-pay clause for thickness deficiency. This clause
has been added to motivate the Contractor to produce quality work. It is not intended to be a
crutch or an excuse for building a sub-standard pavement.
s. Contractor quality control (CQC) (para. x in xxxxx). CQC in a paving job should be more
rigorous than in other kinds of construction. The QC Lab must be an independent lab which has
recently been inspected by a Corps laboratory. All Government and QC staff testing concrete
B2-5
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