What Did I See at The Pre-Pour Foundation Inspection Today?

This video is longer than the normal ones I create for the RUclips channel and deals with the Pre-Prour Foundation Inspection. In the construction of the home, this would be the first inspection done on the property and is completed BEFORE the concrete is poured. The purpose is to identify deficiencies in how the forms are created and how closely they meet the requirements of the engineering drawing.
The structural engineer for the home will have created a set of drawings defining the dimensions and locations of what is required to provide a foundation that will support the weight of the home and ensure it's strength over the life of the structure.
The key here is that the concrete foundation supports the home and it transfers the weight of the home to the soil beneath. The primary strength of the foundation and the major load path is through the beams of the foundation. The beams are shown in the video as the trenches around the perimeter and across the foundation. You will see both in the video.
The soil at the property has to be prepped first before the forms are installed. Inspectors have no way of determining that, so that aspect is not inspected. We deal with the forms after the soil has been prepped.
Another important aspect of the inspection is the foundation drawings must be on site for the inspector to reference during the inspection. While performing the inspection, I will take measurements of several different items at random and then compare those with the drawing. Without the drawing the reference, the measurements are just that, measurements.
Once I start the inspection, the first thing I do is walk through the form looking for items like trash, torn vapor retarder, missing tape, chairs or stands that are missing, improperly installed, etc, and ensuring that everything is secured in the foundation. After that, a quick walk around the forms to see if he soil around the forms are addressed. The soil around the form supports the forms and keep the concrete inside the the forms and doesn't allow it to leak out.
After that, everthing else is fair game for checking. If it has a dimension on the drawing, you can check the foundation forms.
Tools required:
25 ft tape measure
100 ft tape measure
Rubber boots (often muddy)
Point & shoot camera or tablet
Level
Below is a list of items I often check regularly and other items are based on the design of the forms. Example, sometime I measure the length and width of a patio. Some houses won't have one, so that won't be part of the process.
Length of the forms (house depth)
Width of the forms (house width)
Depth of the beams internally & externally to the top of the slab
Width of the beam at he bottom of the beam
Width of the beam at the top of the beam
Dimensions of the tendons & beams from front to back of the forms
Dimensions of the tendons & beams from left to right of the forms
Tendon height in the middle of the beam
Attachment height of the tendon retainers
Etc
If you are building or planning to build a home, please call Boxer Inspections to discuss your inspection needs.
281-783-3030