How to Save Money Assembling Concrete-Reinforcing Steel

Technical notes from CRSI tell how to minimize 40% to 60% of concrete structure cost

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SCHAUMBURG, IL (October 7, 2011) -- The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) has released two new Technical Notes to its online collection. The new Technical Notes available are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Reinforcing Bars (Construction Technical Note CTN-G-2-10) and Economical Reinforced Concrete Construction (Engineering Technical Note ETN-C-1-10).

Answering Your Questions about Reinforcing Bars

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Reinforcing Bars (Construction Technical Note CTN-G-2-10) covers the most routinely received inquiries concerning various aspects of reinforcing bars and rein­forced concrete design and construction. The questions in the publication come from engineers, architects, inspectors, code enforcement personnel and contractors. The following topics areas are presented in the publication:

 

• Field bending of reinforcing bars

• Field cutting of reinforcing bars

• Welding of reinforcing bars

• Rust on reinforcing bars

• Cover over reinforcing bars

• Epoxy-coated reinforcing bars

• Properties of old reinforcing bars

• Bar support use & types

• Tying of reinforcing bars

• Availability and application of ASTM A706 reinforcing bars

This Technical Note provides specific information about each area of inquiry, including charts, artwork and images to help illustrate the answers.

Building Economically Every Time

The publication, Economical Reinforced Concrete Construction (Engineering Technical Note ETN-C-1-10), explains how the initial cost of reinforced concrete structures can be reduced through advanced planning and detailing to minimize the expenses related to the materi­als and the construction activities associated with formwork, reinforcement and concrete.

Frequent­ly, these cost-reducing techniques are not obvi­ous to the designer. For example, formwork costs are generally 40 to 60 percent of the completed reinforced concrete structure. Material costs for concrete and reinforcement are on the order of 10 to 30 percent. The labor cost percentage for placing the concrete and the reinforcement is the remainder. This technical note addresses many of the areas that have shown to result in overall cost savings.

The report takes each area — formwork, reinforcement and concrete —and uses a step-by-step approach to what activities and materials can be used to reduce cost. Each recommendation is fully explained in the document. A brief selection of the suggestions include: select one framing system and use it throughout the structure; arrange and organize structural members to fully utilize structural capacity; use concrete members that provide architectural interest and finishes; use Grade 60 reinforcing bars; use the largest bar size possible; consider using #14 and #18 longitudinal column bars; use high-performance concrete where placement and consolidation is expected to be difficult; and specify no more than three mix designs. The entire technical report provides over 40 different cost-saving recommendations.

Both publications are available for free. To order call CRSI at 847-517-1200 or go to www.CRSI.org and click on Webstore, then search under Merchandise and Technical Notes. 

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