Talking to a civil engineer made me question our standard detail for rebar cover

I was at a local contractor meetup in Boise last week and got chatting with a civil engineer named Mark. He said he always specs a 3-inch clear cover for rebar in footings, even though our office standard detail calls for 2.5 inches. His point was that the extra half-inch is cheap insurance against long-term corrosion, especially with our soil conditions. I'd always just followed the office detail without much thought. Has anyone else had a similar conversation that made them rethink a standard spec?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery_lopez11d ago

That extra half-inch can mess with your effective depth though.

williams.kim11d ago

Yeah, and @emery_lopez is totally right... that small change throws everything off. I learned the hard way with some cabinet hinges last year. You have to check the full travel of the door or drawer, not just the listed size. A lot of times the specs don't account for how things actually fit together in real life. It's frustrating, but measuring twice for the whole motion saves a ton of trouble later.