ONCRETE BASICS

SETTING ANCHOR BOLTS

By Joe Nasvik

Layout work is increasingly being performed by using total stations. They're

fast and very accurate, and robotic total stations make it a one-person job.

Setting anchor bolts may sound like a simple task in preparing a slab or foundation for placement. But
for industrial/commercial concrete contractors it can become a very complicated and important detail.
Some contractors are selected specifically because they can accurately and efficiently set anchor bolts
for heavy machinery and steel columns. Locating and installing anchor bolts can have a tremendous
impact on the rest of the project. Here are some of the steps that professionals take.

Layout

Two silos holding fly ash will be anchored to this mat slab. The circular
templates will hold the anchor bolts for securing the tanks.

When Lavy Concrete Construction, Piqua, Ohio, decided to purchase a robotic total station (a surveying
instrument that combines the features of a digital theodolite and electronic distance measuring (EDM)
technology) for its commercial/residential concrete foundation business, it also began working for other
construction companies to lay out anchor bolts for machine pads and steel columns. Ben Lavy, the
company's layout specialist, says they start by drawing out the locations with computer assisted design
(CAD) software, correcting any errors on plans, and making the inevitable changes that occur in most
projects. Dimensions are included for all anchor bolt locations, which CAD automatically converts to x-y
coordinates. The coordinates are loaded into the data collector of the robotic total station. Then the
layout person does the layout work alone on the jobsite.

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Traditionally anchor bolts are located by string line and tape measures, but Lavy says accuracy,
efficiency, and consistency are greatly improved with total station technology. Human error and
cumulative errors are greatly reduced compared with tape measured layouts. Lavy's goal is accuracy
within 1/8 inch of the true point on most projects, but he can get closer tolerances.

Positioning and securing

Anchor-bolt assemblies are securely positioned with welded template

supports. The bottom rebar is set before the anchor bolts are positioned, then the anchor bolts, and
finally the top rebar.

Setting anchor bolts can be as easy as cutting out a plywood jig to hold the bolts and positioning the
assembly just above a slab during concrete placement. More precision requires much more elaborate
methods. Brian Long, a superintendent for Lindblad Construction, Joliet, Ill., specializes in highly
accurate anchor bolt placements. His company's goal is to do the job right so that remedial action isn't
needed after concrete is placed.

Long says that the length of an anchor bolt is important, too. Shorter bolts are much easier to secure
than longer ones. In either case, before work starts in the field, Lindblad constructs CAD shop drawings
for each of the templates needed for a project. Its steel fabricator uses the CAD files to guide the
machines in the production of extremely accurate templates from ¼-inch-thick steel plate. The
templates hold the anchor bolts, and usually two or three template plates hold each anchor assembly in
position.

For this assembly, universal strut was used to position the anchor bolts, and
there were no steel templates.

On the jobsite, concrete “mud mats” are first cast under the slab. Layout on the mud mats locates the
position for the templates. Long says his company hires surveyors who use theodolites to locate the
centerlines in both directions for the templates. With the centerlines marked on the mud mats, workers
can use tape measures to mark out the template locations.

After locations are marked, rigid steel frames are erected and bolted into the mud mats to hold the
templates at the proper position and elevation. Depending on the size and complexity of a template,
either angle-iron or universal strut is used to build the frame. The final step is checking. By setting lines

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at the top of a slab on the template center marks, workers can easily check to see that the positioning is
right.

Even though anchor bolts are very secure when concrete is being placed, Long says the placing crew is
told: “Don't touch the anchor bolts.” There is constant monitoring during placement. Long adds that it's
helpful to have the same concrete crew for each placement.

The process starts with the installation of mud mats. Layout is done, and
framework for the anchor bolts is bolted into the mud mats so that there is no movement during
concrete placement.

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