What does this post-tensioned concrete rough-in checklist cover?

15 items across 5 sections, covering shop drawings and materials, tendon placement, anchorage, cover, and more. 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 PT subcontractor's foreman, walking the deck ahead of the pre-pour inspection.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

After tendons are placed and tied and before concrete is placed, since the drape and hardware are unrecoverable once the pour starts.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

12 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 15 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 post-tensioned concrete rough-in inspection?

Support bar heights set to a uniform chair height instead of the profile, flattening the drape so the tendon doesn't develop the design moment. Sheathing nicked or torn during placement and left unrepaired, letting grout or paste bond an unbonded tendon or letting water reach the strand. Anchorage pocket formers not seated square to the edge form, so the anchor bears at an angle when it's stressed.

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

Post-tensioned concrete

Post-tensioned concrete rough-in inspection checklist

Post-tensioned concrete rough-in is the last time the work is fully visible. Once the cover inspection passes and the walls, ceilings and slabs close, every defect left behind becomes a demolition bill. This checklist walks the rough-in in the order the work goes in, with the photo each item needs before it gets buried. Work is commonly verified against ACI, the applicable building code. 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.

Shop drawings and materials

Placing crew working from the current approved PT shop drawings
Revision on the sheets at the deck matches the latest approved PT shop drawing issue, with superseded sheets pulled and any RFI changes marked on the set.
No photo
Strand and anchor tags matched to the approved PT submittal
Bundle or coil tags and anchor castings show the manufacturer, strand size and system named in the approved PT submittal, with mill certificates for the strand on file.

Tendon placement

Profile and drape set to the support bar heights on the drawings
High and low points at the locations shown, support bar heights measured along the tendon against the placing drawings, not set to a flat chair height.
Sheathing continuous and undamaged
Extruded sheathing intact along each tendon, nicks and tears taped and repaired, couplers and transitions sealed before the pour.
Tendon count and spacing in each band and bay match the drawings
Tendons counted in every banded and distributed run against the placing drawings, spacing measured, and each tendon's tag mark matching its location on the plan.
Tendons run smooth between supports with no kinks or twists
Each tendon follows a smooth curve from support to support, strands not twisted around each other, and sweeps around openings kept to the gradual radius the drawings show.
Mild reinforcing and tendons stacked in the order detailed
Top and bottom bars at column bands and crossings sit above or below the tendons as the drawings show, not forcing a tendon off its profile height.
Sleeves, conduits and embeds kept off the tendon profile
No sleeve, box or conduit bundle pushing a tendon up, down or sideways; conduits not stacked under tendons at low points where they eat into the drape.

Anchorage

Anchorage hardware and pocket formers placed and square
Dead-end and live-end anchors seated against the edge form, pocket formers square and tight, back-up bars or bursting reinforcement per the detail.
Tendon straight behind each anchor for the length detailed
Tendon leaves every anchor square to its bearing face and runs straight for the length the PT shop drawing detail shows before any vertical or horizontal curve starts.
Anchor height at the slab or beam edge matches the drawings
Anchor centerline measured from the soffit or edge form at live and dead ends against the height on the placing drawings, not wherever the edge form hole landed.

Cover

Concrete cover to the tendon verified
Top and bottom cover to the sheathing checked at high and low points against the drawings, tendons tied down so they don't float during the pour.
Pocket former depth leaves room to cover the cut tail
Anchor recessed behind the edge form by the pocket depth on the detail, so the cut tail and wedges will sit fully inside the patch with the cover the detail calls for.

Release for pour

Special inspector's tendon placement observation recorded
Where the statement of special inspections covers PT placement, the inspector's observation of profile, anchorage and cover is logged for this pour before release.
No photo
Extra cylinders for the stressing strength ordered for the pour
Testing agency has the added cylinder sets the PT supplier needs to confirm stressing strength, with the break schedule set around the planned stressing day.
No photo

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

Support bar heights set to a uniform chair height instead of the profile, flattening the drape so the tendon doesn't develop the design moment.
Sheathing nicked or torn during placement and left unrepaired, letting grout or paste bond an unbonded tendon or letting water reach the strand.
Anchorage pocket formers not seated square to the edge form, so the anchor bears at an angle when it's stressed.

Verified against

ACI concrete practice

Common questions

6 answers

What does this post-tensioned concrete rough-in checklist cover?: 15 items across 5 sections, covering shop drawings and materials, tendon placement, anchorage, cover, and more. 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 PT subcontractor's foreman, walking the deck ahead of the pre-pour inspection.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: After tendons are placed and tied and before concrete is placed, since the drape and hardware are unrecoverable once the pour starts.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 12 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 15 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 post-tensioned concrete rough-in inspection?: Support bar heights set to a uniform chair height instead of the profile, flattening the drape so the tendon doesn't develop the design moment. Sheathing nicked or torn during placement and left unrepaired, letting grout or paste bond an unbonded tendon or letting water reach the strand. Anchorage pocket formers not seated square to the edge form, so the anchor bears at an angle when it's stressed.
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.

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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 15 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.