American Concrete Institute
ACI concrete practice
ACI guidance covers the parts of concrete work that stop being inspectable the moment the truck arrives: reinforcement size and placement, cover, embed location, and the curing that determines whether the pour reaches strength.
Adoption varies by jurisdiction — confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction enforces before you run a walk against it.
What it covers
- Reinforcement size, spacing, lap and support
- Concrete cover over steel
- Placement, consolidation and cold joints
- Curing and protection
What the evidence looks like
- Pre-pour photos are the whole record — bar, chairs, embeds and cover, walked in a repeatable order.
- Test cylinders photographed with their identification tag.
- Curing method photographed in place, dated, not described afterwards.
Checklists that verify work against ACI concrete practice
3 free checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Concrete Rough-inConcrete rough-in inspection checklistFormwork, reinforcement and embeds verified on the deck the morning of the pour9 items17 photosConcrete Pre-pourConcrete pre-pour inspection checklistThe hold-point walk before the pour buries reinforcement, embeds and vapor barrier7 items15 photosConcrete FinalConcrete final inspection checklistStripped concrete walked for surface defects, curing and joint work before turnover8 items15 photos
Common questions
- What is ACI concrete practice?
- Concrete work — reinforcement placement, cover, placement and curing. It is published by the American Concrete Institute. ACI guidance covers the parts of concrete work that stop being inspectable the moment the truck arrives: reinforcement size and placement, cover, embed location, and the curing that determines whether the pour reaches strength.
- What does ACI concrete practice cover?
- Reinforcement size, spacing, lap and support; Concrete cover over steel; Placement, consolidation and cold joints; Curing and protection.
- What does a field inspection against ACI concrete practice look at?
- Pre-pour photos are the whole record — bar, chairs, embeds and cover, walked in a repeatable order. Test cylinders photographed with their identification tag. Curing method photographed in place, dated, not described afterwards.
- Which edition of ACI concrete practice applies to my project?
- Adoption varies by jurisdiction — confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction enforces before you run a walk against it.
- Which checklists verify work against ACI concrete practice?
- 3 free checklists in the RTI library reference this family — each listed on this page with the photo evidence every item needs before it can be submitted.
A standard is only met if the evidence exists
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.
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