What does this concrete pre-pour checklist cover?

14 items across 4 sections, covering reinforcement, embeds and penetrations, subgrade and release, pour-day readiness. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.

Who should run this inspection?

The GC's superintendent with the concrete foreman, releasing each pour area, joined by the engineer of record or special inspector where the contract requires them.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

After reinforcement, embeds and forms are complete on a pour area, before the concrete trucks are released to site.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

11 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 20 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.

What most often fails a concrete pre-pour inspection?

Reinforcement walked in from the edge of the slab and assumed continuous through the middle. Embed locations scaled off a print in the field instead of laid out from control lines. Vapor barrier punctured by the rebar and chair work and never re-inspected.

Can I use this checklist in RTI?

Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Free checklist

Concrete

Concrete pre-pour inspection checklist

A concrete pre-pour inspection is the last look at everything the concrete is about to bury: reinforcement, embeds, sleeves, vapor barrier. Once the truck arrives there is no recheck, so this checklist walks the placement in pour order with the photo each item needs before the pour starts. Work is commonly verified against ACI guidance. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.

Start free with this checklist Download as PDF

The checklist

Every item, and the photo evidence it needs

The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.

Reinforcement

Bar size, spacing and lap length match the drawing
Spacing checked across the field of the slab, laps at the specified length and location, grade marks visible.
Reinforcement chaired at the correct depth
Bars supported at the specified cover, chairs spaced to hold under foot traffic, nothing resting on grade.
Dowels and corner bars in place at joints and edges
Dowel alignment and embedment checked, corner and edge reinforcement per the detail.

Embeds and penetrations

Embeds, anchors and sleeves laid out from control lines
Each embed located by measurement, photographed with the layout reference or dimension visible.
Blockouts and formed openings braced and dimensioned
Opening sizes and locations verified, forms braced against float during the pour.
Stub-ups and sleeves capped and protected from the pour
Pipe and conduit ends capped or taped and sleeves plugged so no concrete gets in, wrapped where they pass through the slab surface.
Under-slab rough-in inspections recorded before burial
AHJ results for plumbing, electrical and any other work under the slab on file for this pour area before the concrete buries it.
No photo

Subgrade and release

Vapor barrier lapped, taped and undamaged where specified
Seams lapped per the spec, every puncture and penetration sealed after the reinforcement went in.
Pour area released with a full photographic record
Wide photos per pour section showing reinforcement, embeds and forms in place, tagged to the pour release.
Pour surface free of frost, ice and standing water
Subgrade or form deck clear of snow, ice and puddles; on grade, no soft or pumping spots underfoot and compaction results on file where the spec calls for them.
Slab depth measured at several points across the pour
Depth from the form top or screed to the subgrade or deck checked across the pour, thickened edges and footings at the dimension on the drawings.
Forms and pour surface blown clean before release
Tie wire, sawdust, cut-offs and water cleared from forms and off the vapor barrier or deck, cleanouts closed after the last look.

Pour-day readiness

Testing agency and special inspector booked for the pour
Slump, temperature and cylinder testing scheduled for the first truck, special inspector notified where the contract requires one.
No photo
Weather protection matched to the pour forecast
Forecast for the pour and first nights checked; blankets, heaters, windbreaks, fogging or evaporation retarder on site when the forecast calls for them.
No photo

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

Reinforcement walked in from the edge of the slab and assumed continuous through the middle.
Embed locations scaled off a print in the field instead of laid out from control lines.
Vapor barrier punctured by the rebar and chair work and never re-inspected.

Verified against

ACI concrete practice

Common questions

6 answers

What does this concrete pre-pour checklist cover?: 14 items across 4 sections, covering reinforcement, embeds and penetrations, subgrade and release, pour-day readiness. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
Who should run this inspection?: The GC's superintendent with the concrete foreman, releasing each pour area, joined by the engineer of record or special inspector where the contract requires them.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: After reinforcement, embeds and forms are complete on a pour area, before the concrete trucks are released to site.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 11 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 20 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
What most often fails a concrete pre-pour inspection?: Reinforcement walked in from the edge of the slab and assumed continuous through the middle. Embed locations scaled off a print in the field instead of laid out from control lines. Vapor barrier punctured by the rebar and chair work and never re-inspected.
Can I use this checklist in RTI?: Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Related checklists

Concrete Rough-inConcrete rough-in inspection checklistFormwork, reinforcement and embeds verified on the deck the morning of the pour14 items20 photos Concrete FinalConcrete final inspection checklistStripped concrete walked for surface defects, curing and joint work before turnover13 items18 photos

Run it with the Photo Gate

A checklist nobody can submit half-finished

Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 20 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.