Start with the elevations and the issued Section 03 33 00: confirm that the drawings identify every architectural concrete surface, assign each one a finish the section keeps, and show the form panel joints, rustications, tie pattern, and the exterior surfaces to be sealed, since the section relies on “indicated” and “approved” for all of them. Then check that the finish procedures, aggregate, and exposed aggregate blanks are filled in, that form liners, ties, and color the finishes depend on are actually specified, that the reinforcing cover on the structural details matches the galvanized reinforcing requirement, and that sample panels exist for each finish.
Assemble the review package
Gather the exterior and interior elevations that show exposed concrete, any finish legend or architectural concrete key plan, the form joint, rustication, reveal, and tie hole layouts, the wall sections and details at openings, corners, and joints, the structural wall and column details with reinforcing, cover, and embedded plates, the joint sealant schedule, the site plan showing where sample panels can stand, and the issued Section 03 33 00 with Sections 03 30 00, the reinforcing steel section, 07 92 00, and 03 70 00 if it is used. Follow one exposed wall from its elevation to its form joints, ties, reinforcing, and sealant before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 03 33 00: Cast-In-Place Architectural Concrete as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 14, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| What the drawings must show | System Description (Section 03 30 00 applies except as otherwise specified) + Formwork Erection (indicated dimensions, lines, elevations, and finishes) + Concrete Finishes note (the possible finishes are virtually limitless; the project requirements go in this paragraph) + Surface Sealing (indicated exterior exposed surfaces) + Detail Drawings (building elevations, location of cast-in-place elements, interface with adjacent materials) + elevations and finish legend | Do the elevations mark every surface that is architectural concrete, as distinct from concrete finished under Section 03 30 00, give each one a finish that the issued section keeps, show the exterior surfaces to receive sealer, and show where architectural concrete meets glazing, masonry, metal panels, or paving so the interfaces the detail drawings must cover can be checked? |
| Finish options and procedures | Concrete Finishes (as cast with smooth forms; as cast with fluted, sculptured, or board finish form liners; textured form liners; a distress finish that breaks off part of the face of a “raised portion of unit”; exposed aggregate by retarder and washing or blasting, with the depth left blank; acid-brushed exposed aggregate on the “surface of unit”) + procedures for finishes other than standard formwork left blank + Panels (one per type of concrete and finish) + finish legend | Has the specifier kept only the finishes the elevations use and filled in the exposed aggregate depth and the procedure blank, has the precast “unit” wording in the distress and acid-brushed finishes been rewritten for cast-in-place walls, and does each finish on the elevations have a sample panel, a form liner or form surface, and a procedure that produces it? |
| Formwork, form liners, form ties, and joints | Formwork Design (ACI 301 and ACI 347R) + Formwork (approved formwork for special effects) + Formwork Erection (detail drawings; deflection limit; “Cumulative deflections and tolerance are not acceptable”; form lines as necessary for the finish; release agent before reinforcement) + Form Release Agents (nonstaining, compatible with the sealer) + Panels (typical joint between form panels and form tie conditions) + SD-04 note (suggested samples of form ties and form liners, neither specified) + form joint, rustication, and tie layouts | Do the elevations show the form panel joints, rustications, and tie hole pattern, or leave them to the contractor’s detail drawings, has a paragraph been added for form liners, form ties, and the treatment of tie holes, since two finishes depend on liners and the panels must show ties, and has the specifier rewritten the cumulative deflection sentence so it states a limit, with tolerances referred to ACI 117 or Section 03 30 00? |
| Mix, aggregates, and color | Concrete Mix Design (ACI PRC-211.1 and ACI PRC-213, the lightweight-aggregate guide, both unbracketed; finishes to be considered) and note (plasticizer requirements added here) + Aggregates (standard left blank) and note (aggregate for a facing mix or the full thickness) + SD-04 note (cement colors and coarse aggregates suggested as samples) + Section 03 30 00 mix requirements + finish legend | Is the concrete lightweight, and if not, should the lightweight-aggregate guide be removed from the mix design paragraph, has the aggregate blank been filled with the gradation and source that produce the exposed aggregate finish, and if the elevations call for colored concrete, is the cement or pigment specified anywhere, since the section suggests color samples but has no color paragraph? |
| Reinforcing, cover, tie wire, and embedments | Reinforcing Steel (galvanized where clearance to an exterior face is small; no product standard cited) + Tie Wire (monel or stainless steel) + Plates, Angles, Anchors, and Embedments (ASTM A36/A36M; inorganic zinc primer, no product standard) + Detail Drawings (reinforcement and embedments to ACI SP-66 and ACI 318) + SD-04 note (reinforcing chairs suggested as samples, not specified) + structural wall details and the reinforcing section | Does the cover shown on the structural details at rustications, reveals, and exposed aggregate faces trigger the galvanized reinforcing requirement, and if so, does the reinforcing steel section specify galvanized bar to a product standard, are bar supports near exposed faces specified as nonstaining, and are embedded plates and anchors at exposed faces coordinated with the finish so primer and rust do not stain the surface? |
| Detail drawings, sample panels, and approval | Detail Drawings (SD-02; location, elevations, form fabrication, reinforcement, embedments, dimensions, strength, interfaces, and placing instructions sufficient for fabrication, placement, stripping, and finishing) + Panels (each type of concrete and finish; typical joint, ties, finishes, and sealer; job standard; submitted for approval) and SD-04 note (sample panels should not be required on small projects) + Materials (samples for approval; list left blank) + SD-04 Materials and Panels (no “G”) + Surface Sealer (SD-03, “G”) | Is the Panels paragraph kept or deleted to match the size of the project, does the site plan or logistics plan leave room for the panels where they can stay as the job standard, has the Materials sample list been filled in, and who approves the panels and samples, since the text asks for approval while the submittal items carry no “G” for Government approval? |
| Joint sealing, cleaning, sealer, and protection | Joint Sealing (Section 07 92 00) + Cleaning (after joints are sealed; soap and soft brush or other approved procedure; discolorations that cannot be removed are defective work) + Surface Sealer (methyl methacrylate acrylic emulsion, clear) + Surface Sealing (indicated exterior exposed surfaces; protect adjacent surfaces) + Protection of Work + joint sealant schedule and elevations | Does the joint sealant schedule cover the control joints, reveals, and interfaces drawn on the architectural concrete, with a sealant color chosen for the finish and a sealant compatible with the clear sealer, does the schedule leave time between sealing joints, cleaning, and sealing the surface, and do the elevations show which exterior surfaces get sealer and which adjacent glass, metal, and masonry need protection? |
| Defective work and the link to Section 03 30 00 | System Description (Section 03 30 00 applies in full except as otherwise specified, bracketed) + Submittals (all Section 03 30 00 submittals required) + Defective Work (repair or replace as specified in Section 03 30 00 or Section 03 70 00 Mass Concrete, bracketed) + Cleaning (unremovable discoloration is defective) + Section 03 30 00 curing, finishing, and repair articles | Is Section 03 30 00 in the project manual under the title the bracket names, do its curing compounds and patching materials suit an exposed finish and the clear sealer, which repair section has the specifier kept, since mass concrete repairs are rarely what an exposed architectural wall needs, and does the section or the sample panel say how a repaired area is judged against the job standard? |
Worked example: a board-formed entrance wall with an exposed aggregate base and no tie layout
Illustrative example: a headquarters building at an installation has a board-formed concrete entrance wall with an exposed aggregate base band, and the rest of the building is masonry. The issued Section 03 33 00 keeps every finish option, leaves the exposed aggregate depth, aggregate, and procedure blanks empty, keeps the Panels paragraph, and adds no paragraph for form liners or form ties. The elevations show rustication lines but no tie hole pattern, the structural wall detail gives a cover at the rustications that falls within the galvanized reinforcing requirement while the reinforcing section specifies uncoated bar, the joint sealant schedule does not list the wall’s control joints, and the elevations do not say whether the wall is sealed.
Ask the architect to show the tie hole pattern and form panel joints on the elevations, to mark the surfaces that receive sealer, and to add the control joints to the joint sealant schedule with a color for the finish. Ask the structural engineer to confirm the cover at the rustications and whether galvanized bar is needed. Ask the specifier to keep only the board-formed and exposed aggregate finishes, to fill the aggregate, depth, and procedure blanks, to add form liner, form tie, and tie hole paragraphs, to rewrite the precast “unit” wording and the cumulative deflection sentence, and to decide who approves the sample panel.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 03 33 00 covers the architectural requirements added on top of Section 03 30 00. Concrete materials, mixes, curing, and ordinary formed and slab finishes follow Section 03 30 00 and the concrete guide, reinforcing follows its own section, tilt-up and precast walls follow their own sections and guides, joint sealants follow Section 07 92 00 and the joint sealant guide, and tolerances follow ACI 117 and its guide, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Some of the section’s own wording needs resolving: the distress and acid-brushed finishes describe a precast “unit”, the formwork paragraph says cumulative deflections and tolerance are not acceptable without stating a limit, and the submittal note suggests samples of form ties, form liners, cement colors, and chairs that no product paragraph specifies. Ask the specifier which wording the project intends before treating a difference as a design conflict.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.