Breaking Down the Concrete Submittal: From Recipe to Review
In any construction project, the single most critical structural component is the concrete. But concrete isn't an off-the-shelf product; it's a high-performance, custom-manufactured material. The concrete submittal is the essential pre-construction process that details and proves the exact "recipe" of this material.
This submittal, typically tied to specification section 03 30 00 - Cast-in-Place Concrete, is a dense package of engineering data that must be approved by the project's structural engineer before a single yard of concrete can be poured.
Let's break down the key components of a typical concrete submittal package.
1. The Workflow: From Sub to Engineer
Like any formal submittal, the package begins with a cover sheet that tracks its journey. It is created by the concrete supplier, passed to the concrete subcontractor, and then formally submitted to the General Contractor. The GC then routes it to the Architect and, most importantly, the Structural Engineer for review.
The review culminates in an official "stamp" with a response, such as:
Reviewed: The mix design is approved as submitted.
Revise and Resubmit: The design has a deficiency and must be corrected and resubmitted.
This stamp page almost always includes a legal disclaimer, noting that the contractor remains responsible for all quantities, dimensions, and coordination, regardless of the review.
2. The Core: The Mix Design "Recipes"
The heart of the submittal is the Mix Design Sheet. A project will have multiple mixes, each with a unique ID (e.g., 3C30K845) and designed for a specific application.
A submittal will provide a separate data sheet for each, detailing:
Specified Strength: The engineer's requirement (e.g., 3000 PSI @ 28 Days).
Application: What the mix is for (e.g., "Boom Pump," "Small Line Pump"). This dictates the aggregate size.
Key Properties:
W/CM Ratio: The Water-to-Cementitious-Material ratio (e.g., 0.45). This is the single most important factor for determining concrete strength and durability.
Slump: A measure of workability or fluidity (e.g.,
4.0" ± 1.0").Air Content: The amount of entrained air, critical for freeze-thaw durability.
The "Recipe": A precise table of materials by weight (per cubic yard) including:
Cement
Aggregates (e.g., 1" Rock, 3/8" Rock, Sand)
Water
Admixtures
P.E. Stamp: The mix design itself is a piece of engineering, certified and stamped by a Registered Professional Engineer.
3. The Proof: The Supporting Data
A concrete submittal is thick because it must include lab reports and data sheets for every single ingredient in the recipe. The engineer doesn't just trust the recipe; they must verify the components.
Strength vs. W/CM Ratio Curve: A graph showing lab-tested trial batches. This proves that the proposed W/CM ratio (e.g., 0.45) will exceed the required strength (e.g., 3000 PSI), providing a critical factor of safety.
Cement Mill Reports: Certified reports from the cement manufacturer. These prove that the "glue" of the concrete meets required industry standards, such as ASTM C150, and detail its chemical and physical properties.
Admixture Data Sheets: Product data for the chemical "cocktail" used to modify the concrete. The submittal must include data for:
Type A Water-Reducer: To increase workability without adding more water.
Type B/D Retarder: To slow down the setting time, essential for hot weather pours or long hauls.
Type C Accelerator: To speed up the setting time, essential for cold weather.
Aggregate Lab Reports: This is the most extensive section. The sand and rock must be proven to be:
Sized Correctly: A sieve analysis (a chart showing the- size distribution).
Durable: A Sodium Sulfate Soundness test to ensure it won't crumble.
Strong: An L.A. Abrasion test to ensure the rock is hard.
Chemically Stable: An Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR) test. This is critical to ensure the aggregate won't react with the cement paste over time and cause the concrete to crack and fail.
How Submittal.app Manages This Complexity
A 30+ page concrete submittal is a prime example of data overload. A reviewer must manually cross-reference dozens of technical values—PSI, W/CM ratio, aggregate reports, ASTM standards—against the project's specification book. A single missed detail can lead to a costly mistake or a structural-level failure.
This is where Submittal.app streamlines the entire process.
Submittal.app uses AI to analyze these data-heavy submittals in seconds. Instead of a human manually reading 38 pages, our AI does the following:
Extracts Key Data: The AI reads the mix design sheets, lab reports, and mill certs to automatically pull out the critical values:
Mix ID:
3C30K845Strength:
3000 PSI @ 28 DaysW/CM Ratio:
0.45Cement Type:
ASTM C150Admixtures:
Type A, Type CASR Result:
Innocuous
Compares to Specifications: It then instantly compares this extracted data against the project's Spec Section
03 30 00.Flags Non-Compliance: The app immediately flags any discrepancies for the reviewer, such as a mix submitted with a 0.50 W/CM ratio when the spec requires 0.45, or an aggregate report that shows a "Potentially Deleterious" ASR result.
By automating the most tedious and high-risk part of the review, Submittal.app reduces review time from hours to minutes, eliminates human error, and ensures that the most critical material on the jobsite is compliant, safe, and built to last.
