Hi Mesfin,

Thanks for your New Year greetings.

1. Concerning the failed Class 10 lean concrete, I suggest the following:

a) Do a Schmidt Hammer test on the failed concrete, including calibrating the hammer
on some lean (or other) concrete that is known to have passed the test.
b) If the above fails, then pond water on the slab for, say, one week to cure it some
more, then repeat the test.
c) If it continues to fail, then the lean concrete must be broken out and relaid. A 30% fail
(6.6 compared to 10 MPa) is too large to pass and will set an unacceptable precedent.

2. Concerning the bulging walls, if they are below ground level, I might accept them, but
not above ground level where they will be visually unacceptable. The specification is
quite clear on tolerances (+- 15mm?). Again, don't accept failed work because it sets an
unacceptable precedent and the contractor will then continue with poor quality work.
The bulging concrete, if localized, it can be chipped /chiseled away then patched, but
you would need to check the cover to the rebar if that is also not bulging.

Kind regards,
Mike