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� <br />clearance of the No. 8 bars from the weather face of all the retaining <br />wall panels that I inspected departed appreciably from the 3/4" <br />clearance specified and considered critical by Engineer Carson. The <br />vertical steel in several of these panels was placed on the wrong <br />side of tY,e horizontal bars, a discrepancy also considered important <br />by Mr. Carson. In one panel the 8 bar clearance was 3�," form <br />edge. Resteel is being placed by laborers rather than by experienced <br />ironworkers and it seems probable that this haphazard placement <br />occured in previous panels. Each inch that the steel departs from <br />its optimum position decreases its reinforcement strength by a <br />percentage amount that depends upon the size of the steel and <br />the thickness of the wall. At the beginning of my inspection, the <br />laborers, perhaps to reassure me that the steel was placed correctly, <br />told me that they had placed it exactly as they had previous panels <br />of this type. In view of the placement of the resteel, I failed to <br />find this reassuring. In a previous inspection involving several <br />panels with large openings, I found that the Contractor had placed <br />a single vertical curtain of No. 4 bars at the sides of these openings <br />rather than a double curtain of �5's, and tnat he planned to repeat <br />a previous mistake and space slab dowels in all panels at 4' O.C. <br />WELDING OF 60 GRADE RESTEEL <br />This project design involves extensive welding of 60 grade resteel. <br />The welding of this high carbon steel requires special welding <br />procedures which might have 6een liminated by having the Contractor <br />closed in No. 4 bars for welding purpose. The Contractor acquired <br />a certified welder on August 21, 1981. Prior to that time, welding <br />was performed by an uncertified welder. All welding, including that <br />on August 21, involved low carbon steel, rather than high carbon <br />steel, welding procedures, using a low rather than high carbon steel <br />welding rod, without preheating ot the rod or resteel and without � <br />controlling the temperature of the weld. YJe can inspect the welds <br />; - 2 - <br />