Need an Objective Standard for Broom ...

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Author Message Nick New member Username: dagoof Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2023 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - 11:46 am:    Looking through ACI material, all I can find are standards for flatness, strength, and such. For finish quality, all I see is a recommendation that a mockup be done and approved before construction. Broom finish on concrete is not an exact science where absolute perfection is achievable, so when an owner wants to nit-pick the flatwork on their hands and knees after the fact, what objective standards can be referenced? Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 956 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - 11:53 am:    Nick, Please send me an email to wayne.yancey@arcadis.com. I have a SECTION 033510 – MONOLITHIC CONCRETE FLOOR FINISHING that I have used for the past 30 years. It includes sidewalks and exterior ramps. And it is free. Wayne John Bunzick Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1924 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - 03:11 pm:    Wayne, I'd be curious about the general approach for a broom finish used in that section. I never had an issue with this on a project, but I totally have had clients with the kind of mind-set that Nick is talking about (insert eye-roll here). Dennis C. Elrod, AIA, CSI Senior Member Username: delrodtn Post Number: 31 Registered: 04-2010 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 - 03:29 pm:    We've used the terms, "Light Broom Finish" and "Coarse Broom Finish" my entire career with no issues from clients. Still, a subjective term up to interpretation by the GC. I've never run across any other reference to use for this. I found this reference from CSI: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/specifying-broomed-exterior-concrete-surfaces/ Dennis C. Elrod, AIA Anne Whitacre (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2023 - 02:17 pm:    This absolutely requires a mockup in some corner of the site. ACI defines the following: 1) fine broomed (less than 1/32 inch, created with horsehair bristle 2) medium broomed: 1/32 to 3/64 inch, horsehair or synthetic bristle broom 3) heavy broom: 3/64-1/8 inch depth with stiff-bristle concrete broom. ACI 310R-13 "Guide to Decorative Concrete" provides the definitions but that document is very specifically not a specification -- it relies on agreement between owner, architect and finisher.