Clause 1.4 Documentation

The information listed in these extracts is required by all sections of the construction chain from the designing and checking engineers, draftsmen, quantity surveyors and reinforcement schedulers, through to steel fixers and site supervisors. Without these details quality assurance will break down. Poorly detailed drawings result in increased construction costs and site delays as time is lost determining the requirements for the structure.

The drawings and/or specification for concrete structures and members shall include, as appropriate, the following:

(a) Reference number and date of issue of applicable design Standards
(b) Imposed actions (live loads) used in design
(c) The appropriate earthquake design category determined from AS 1170.4
(d) Any constraint on construction assumed in the design
(e) Exposure classification for durability
(f) Fire resistance level (FRL), if applicable
(g) Class and, where appropriate, grade designation of concrete
(h) Any required properties of the concrete
(i) The curing procedure
(j) Grade, Ductility Class and type of reinforcement and grade and type of tendons
(k) The size, quantity and location of all reinforcement, tendons and structural fixings and the cover to each
(l) The location and details of any splices, mechanical connections and welding of any reinforcement or tendon
(m) The maximum jacking force to be applied in each tendon and the order in which tendons are to be stressed
(n) The shape and size of each member
(o) The finish and method of control for unformed surfaces
(p) Class of formwork in accordance with AS 3610 for the surface finish specified
(q) The minimum period of time after placing of concrete before stripping of forms and removal of shores
(r) The location and details of planned construction and movement joints, and the method to be used for their protection

Examples of preferred specifications in a drawing:

SL92

The style of standard D500L fabric covering the whole area of a slab. There is no need to specify either the number of sheets required to provide full coverage or the lap dimension.

8-N28

The number (8) of 28 mm deformed bars of Grade D500N in a layer or cross-section.

20-N16-200

The number (20) of 16 mm deformed bars of Grade D500N spaced at 200 mm centres across the width of a slab.

6-R10-150-T1

The number (6) of 10 mm plain round bars of grade R250N used for fitments of shape T1 and spaced at 150 mm centres.

ARCN102

R500N mesh with 10 mm nominal diameter wires at 200 mm centres each way covering the whole area of a slab. There is no need to specify either the number of sheets required to provide full coverage or the lap dimension.