Field & trade terms
Grout
Grout is a pourable filler that carries load or seals a gap once it hardens. It shows up in several trades: non-shrink grout under a base plate transfers the column's load evenly to the concrete, masonry grout fills the cells of block around the reinforcing to make the wall solid, and tile grout packs the joints between units. What they share is that grout only works if it fully fills the space — voids under a plate or in a wall cell are exactly what grout is supposed to eliminate.
How it shows up on site
Under structural steel you see non-shrink grout packed beneath the base plate after the column is set and shimmed. In masonry you see grout poured into block cells that hold rebar and at bond beams. In finishes you see tile grout worked into the joints. Each has its own mix, consistency and placement method.
What an inspector looks at
The check is the right grout for the use, mixed and placed to fill the space completely — full contact and no voids under a base plate, solid-filled cells with the reinforcing surrounded in masonry, and full, consolidated joints in tile. Under-filled grout is the common defect, and it's usually invisible once the next step covers it.
RTI is photo-gated, so grouting is documented as it's placed — the packed base plate, the filled cells or the finished joints shown before anything covers them, the record that the space was actually full and not just topped.
Standards it's verified against
Checklists that put grout to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- Reinforcement (rebar)The steel bar and mesh cast into concrete to carry the tension the concrete can't, placed to a drawing before the pour buries it.
- Anchor boltA bolt cast into or drilled into concrete that ties structure — sill plates, columns, equipment — down to the foundation.
- Embed plateA steel plate with anchors cast flush into concrete so later steel, connections or supports have something to weld or bolt to.
- MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing)The mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades — the systems run through a building's structure that get inspected at rough-in and again at final.
- FirestoppingSealing openings where pipe, conduit or cable pass through a fire-rated wall or floor so the assembly's rating is restored.
- FlashingThin sheet material lapped into an assembly to direct water back out at joints, edges and openings before it can get behind the finish.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.