Start with the opening note of the issued Section 03 62 16: confirm that the drawings mark every place the metallic grout goes, such as column base plates, equipment bases, rails, and blind connection cavities, with a grout depth and edge detail at each. Then check that the Type A or Type B choice and the admixture paragraph agree, that the section says whether the grout is a packaged product or batched at the site, that blind cavities have injection ports and vents, that the compressive strength and its test age agree with the structural or equipment notes, and that the grout is not used where another grout section or a nonmetallic grout is called for.
Assemble the review package
Gather the structural general notes with grout type and strength, the column base plate and anchor rod details with leveling nuts or shims and grout depth, the equipment pad and skid details for pumps, generators, compressors, and fans with the manufacturer’s installation requirements, crane rail, sole plate, and bearing details, precast or steel connection details with grouted keyways, sleeves, or pockets, the architectural details where a grout edge stays exposed, the design analysis or equipment schedules with vibration or exposure notes, and the issued Section 03 62 16 with Sections 03 30 00, 05 12 00, 05 05 20, the equipment sections, and any other grout section in the project. Follow one base plate and one equipment base from the bearing surface to the grout edge before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 03 62 16: Metallic Non-Shrink Grouting as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 12, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Where the grout goes | Opening note (areas of application indicated on the drawings; surface preparation in other sections) + structural general notes on grout + base plate, equipment base, rail, bearing, and connection details + specification table of contents for other grout sections | Do the drawings mark each location where metallic non-shrink grout is used, rather than a general note calling for non-shrink grout everywhere, is a grout depth or range given at each base plate and equipment base so the placing method can be chosen, and where the general notes or another section call for nonmetallic or epoxy grout at some locations, is the boundary between the grouts drawn? |
| Type A or Type B, and the admixture to match | Expansive Admixtures brackets (oxidizable metallic aggregate or aluminum powder) and note (first paragraph for Type A) + Expansive Grout brackets (Type A with an oxidation-promoting ingredient per the manufacturer; Type B with aluminum powder and a percentage limit by weight that does not say of what) and notes (Type A expansion continues until the aggregate is oxidized or the grout is sealed off from oxygen; Type B expansion continues until the gas is spent or the grout stiffens) + details showing confinement and exposed edges | Do the two bracketed pairs keep the same type, has the specifier stated what the Type B percentage limit applies to, and do the details show the grout confined in the way each type’s expansion assumes, with forms or shoulders at the edges, rather than left as a broad unconfined surface? |
| Job-mixed components or a packaged grout | Portland Cement (one type; worded as “portland cement grout”) + Aggregates (ASTM C33/C33M samples; gradation “as directed”) + Water + Expansive Admixtures samples + Expansive Grout and Mixing (manufacturer’s instructions; “both cementitious grout and epoxy grout”) + Field Quality Control (testing to ASTM C1107/C1107M, titled for packaged dry grout) + SD-04 and SD-07 items | Has the specifier said whether the contractor batches the grout from cement, aggregate, and admixture at the site or uses a packaged product, since the materials read as one and the mixing and testing as the other, is the aggregate gradation stated rather than left to direction, and has the mention of epoxy grout been removed or an epoxy grout specified where the drawings call for it? |
| Placement plan and inspection reports | Grout Placement Plan and Inspection Reports (examples of reports per ACI 214R, 211.5R, 311.4R, and the ACI Manual of Concrete Practice; methods of application and manufacturer’s instructions a bracketed number of days before “expansive concrete operations”; cavity preparation, mixing, placement, curing, and discoloration) + SD-01 and SD-06 Grout Placement and Inspection Reports + construction schedule | Is the plan due a stated time before grouting, since the paragraph ties it to expansive concrete operations the section does not cover, does the plan cover each grout location the drawings show, including blind cavities, and is the reports submittal under SD-01 and SD-06 the same item as the plan the paragraph describes? |
| Cavity preparation and bearing surfaces | Preparation article (cleaning foreign matter, laitance, dirt, grease, and oil per the manufacturer; contact surfaces cleaned a set time before grouting) and note (verify that “the section cited below” is included, with no section cited) + Section 03 30 00 surface finish at grouted areas + base plate details (leveling nuts, shims, or leveling plates) + equipment manufacturer’s installation requirements | Do the details show the concrete surface under the grout roughened and the edge shoulders formed as the grout and equipment manufacturers expect, are shims or leveling nuts shown and their removal or retention stated, and since the Preparation note asks the editor to confirm a section it never names, has the specifier named the section that prepares the bearing surfaces? |
| Placing, blind cavities, and pressure injection | Placing Grout (manufacturer’s instructions; no grout that has begun to set or has passed its working time) + blind cavity paragraph (pressure injection under controlled venting; vent blocked for a final pressure; lower pressure where damage may result) + Mixing (mechanical mixers close to the work) + precast and steel connection details with grouted sleeves, keyways, and pockets | Do the details for each blind cavity, such as grouted sleeves, pockets, and keyways, show an injection port and a vent at the high point, can the cavity and its forms take the injection pressure the section allows, or does the detail note a lower pressure, and is the travel distance under wide base plates short enough for the grout to flow within its working time? |
| Acceptance tests and strength | Field Quality Control (testing and reports to ASTM C1107/C1107M; expansion limits at a stated age; compressive strength with a default value and a bracket but no test age) + SD-06 Expansion and Compressive Strength + structural general notes and equipment requirements | Does the compressive strength in the issued section agree with the grout strength in the structural notes and the equipment manufacturer’s requirements, has the specifier added the test age, since the strength line has none, and is a testing frequency or a number of specimens per grout location stated, since the section states neither? |
| Protection, curing, and exposed grout | Protection article (premature drying; cold and hot temperatures; manufacturer’s cold and hot weather protection) + reports paragraph (methods of preventing discoloration) + Type A note (expansion by oxidation of metallic aggregate) + architectural details and finish schedules at exposed base plates and equipment pads | Where a grout edge stays exposed to view or weather, such as column bases in finished spaces or equipment pads outdoors, has the designer accepted metallic grout there, given the discoloration the reports paragraph addresses, or called for a nonmetallic grout, is a curing method stated for each location, and does the construction schedule protect outdoor grout in cold or hot weather? |
Worked example: a generator base, exposed column bases, and a precast stair pocket with no vent
Illustrative example: a fire station addition at an installation has steel columns on grouted base plates in the apparatus bay, a new emergency generator on a skid over a concrete pad outdoors, and a precast stair whose landing bears in grouted pockets on a cast-in-place wall. The structural general notes call for “non-shrink grout” everywhere and give a compressive strength higher than the value the issued Section 03 62 16 keeps, which states no test age. The issued section keeps both the Type A admixture and the Type B grout paragraph, keeps the mixing sentence on epoxy grout, and leaves the aggregate gradation as directed. The generator manufacturer requires an epoxy grout under the skid. The base plate details give no grout depth, and the stair pocket detail shows no injection port or vent.
Ask the structural engineer to state which grout goes at each location, to give grout depths and edge shoulders on the base plate and generator details, to add an injection port and vent at the stair pocket, and to reconcile the grout strength with the specification. Ask the specifier to keep one grout type in both bracketed pairs, to state whether the grout is packaged or batched at the site, to add a test age and test frequency, to specify the epoxy grout the generator needs in its own section or remove the epoxy mention, and to confirm with the architect whether metallic grout may stay exposed at the apparatus bay columns.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 03 62 16 covers expansive grout made with a metallic expansive agent. The concrete and its surface finish follow Section 03 30 00 and the concrete guide, column base plates and anchor rods follow Section 05 12 00 and the structural steel guide, post-installed anchors follow Section 05 05 20 and the post-installed anchor guide, grout for bonded post-tensioning tendons follows Section 03 23 00 and the post-tensioning tendon guide, precast connections follow Section 03 45 33 and the precast structural concrete guide, and equipment manufacturers often name their own grout, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Some of the section’s own wording needs resolving: its mixing paragraph covers an epoxy grout it does not specify, its Preparation note refers to a section it never cites, its placement plan is timed to expansive concrete operations, its materials read as a site-batched grout while its mixing and testing follow a packaged grout, its Type B limit does not say what the percentage is of, and its compressive strength has no test age. 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.