Structural Steel building never torqued, hand tight bolts only 5

[nonesuch1]

Recently I "toured" a building under construction, 3 floors, I-Beam and column frame. Exterior was complete. Roof was complete. Walls were complete... Q-decking and concrete floors finished, Tile laid over floors. Stairs and elevators installed, and I happened to notice... NONE OF THE BOLTS IN THE IRON HAD EVER BEEN TIGHTENED! TORQUE NOT REACHED! HAND TIGHT ONLY!

ASTM 325 Tension Control Bolts were used... (Smooth rivet like head, Splines on end that SNAP OFF when torqued). Yeah! not even evidence that a torque gun had ever been applied to it. Impossible to torque with a rattle gun or even a spud wrench because the bolt will just spin!

The Prime contractor failed and defaulted, and the project was being completed by the bonding company. When I pointed this problem out, I found that I was the first person who ever spotted or took notice of it. After several meetings THEIR ENGINEERS said this is not a problem.... they will get the proper torque gun and snap off the ends of the bolts if that will make me happy! Once again, this building is fully loaded now! Walls are complete. How do I know that the faces of the flanges are "faced" up? That there are no air gaps in between? If not, aren't the flanges now a shear-plane? I've never even heard of something like this happening before. Now that the concrete is cured, is the structure stable?

I need some input please. Am I concerned about nothing? Making mountains out of mole hills? I get it, No one wants to demo a brand new 150 million dollar building because one "safety guy" say's so... I am not a P.E., I don't even play one on television, but as a "former" Structural Iron Worker, I DO know the sequences of raising a building and doing it right!

 

[GeorgeTheCivilEngineer]

Depends why they are TCBs... if there are slip critical connections then could be a serious problem. If they're used for convenience and act in shear, then not much of an issue.

Edit - just to clarify, then do need tightening in either case, it's just that if non-slip critical then no harm done if doing it later.

 

[phamENG]

I think it can be okay. It has full dead load applied, not full live load and not full lateral load. I would be surprised if there's significant separation within the connection at this point. But it certainly should be investigated in greater detail. You found a pretty serious construction defect and it should be taken seriously.

The only possible reason I can think of that the EOR said it's okay: they have a blanket spec calling for twist off bolts in all connections (F1852, not A325). I worked for a firm that did a lot of government work, and since one very large client required this it worked its way into the firm's 'standard' and had to be removed for jobs that weren't done for that client (didn't always happen!). If that's the case, then they didn't actually need to be pretensioned, and it really is okay. But, again, it would have to be investigated.

Sadly it sounds more likely that the EOR is trying downplay it to avoid accepting blame for passing inspections on them. Because if they acknowledge fault now, and a major problem manifests itself later, they'll be on the hook.

 

[AgMechEngr]

Sadly, a punch list item on every one of my projects involving PEMBs is to tighten all fasteners. Many times, the nuts on the anchors will simply threaded enough to not fall of the top of the anchor if you brushed against it.

 

[Once20036]

I understand you are concerned, but what's the actual condition of the bolts?

"ONE OF THE BOLTS IN THE IRON HAD EVER BEEN TIGHTENED!
TORQUE NOT REACHED!
HAND TIGHT ONLY!"

These are three totally different conditions. If they`ve never been tightened (at all) its likely that the nuts spin freely when turned by hand.
Torque not reach seems to indicate that they have been tightened (to some extent) but not enough to snap the splines.
Hand tight could be the same as "snug tight" which is the standard procedure for a normal connection. It's defined by RSCS which I don't have in front of me, but that definition is loosely "all plies of steel in firm contact" and "the effort created by an ordinary steel worker with an ordinary spud wrench"

What's required by the structural drawings? If slip critical connections aren't required, it could be 100% acceptable for the contractor to choose to use TC bolts and not snap the splines.

...a rattle gun or even a spud wrench because the bolt will just spin!

Do you know that these will just spin? Or are you assuming they will just spin?

How do I know that the faces of the flanges are "faced" up? That there are no air gaps in between?

I think a random inspection on some percentage of the connections would answer that question.

What's your role on the building? It doesn't sound like you`re the EOR or the Special Inspections company. What do they have to say on the topic?

 

[LittleInch]

Also it looks like these bolts are specially lubricated and failure to tighten out of the protective packet in more than a few days risks loosing the lubricant and not getting the correct torque and hence not the same tension force.

I would have thought you need to look at each joint and decide if this is an issue or not.

I think it's a serious issue that needs more than the kind of brush off you seem to be receiving. Not enough to demolish the building, but needs more attention than you seem to be getting.

But now the building is being completed, presumably to reduce losses to the lender, it's not clear who would be interested. The owner?

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[phamENG]

It's not just so slip critical. Pretensioned bolts would also need the splines snapped.

You contact the building official, they can review the files special inspection reports.

 

[MotorCity]

Hand tight is not ok per the AISC Code of Standard Practice (if thats your governing code). Snug tight is ok under most conditions, save slip critical connections. Snug tight is provided by the full effort of an iron worker.......etc. Hand tightening involves no tools other than, you guessed it....your hands.

 

[nonesuch1]

Thank you everyone for your replies. If there is a way to reply to an individual inquiry or answer I haven't figured it out yet. (I've been a member for many years, but I think this is my first actual post). ? How do I know they (the bolts) will only spin? At this point with the building loaded, I don't for a moment believe any bolt will spin, however as an Iron worker years ago; after the building was racked and plumbed and all the bolts were in place, I know that 99% of the time I had to place one spud wrench on the head of the bolt and another to the nut in order to snug it up. Usually, we came back with a rattle gun after everything was "hand tight". These bolts do not have a hex head on them, they are smooth round like a rivet. "FINGER TIGHT" is all you can achieve without applying the gun that slips over the end splines of the bolt and then snaps off the end when sufficient torque has been met. As for a representative sampling, ... There are only perhaps 4 or 5 locations where one can observe the actual flange faces and see where the bolt splines were not snapped. The rest of the connections are now hidden behind Masonry walls. I am going back out there next week and will attempt to insert a feeler gage between the faces of those which I can observe and depending on the outcome of that hopefully accept it as "not my problem" or take a stand and fight it out. I discovered this "problem" while covering for another inspector while he was away taking care of family business.

 

[human909]

nonesuch1.... Your concern is highly warranted.

There might already be some connections that have undergone rotation where they shouldn't have. Posting photos or drawings of the typical bolted connections on this structure will help inform us more.

There are certainly plenty of cases where 'hand tight' will not be detrimental, despite it not being acceptable. But likewise there are many cases where it is detrimental and once the building is loaded up rectification is much harder.

 

[JStructsteel]

Do you know the EOR? Can you talk to him? If not, Building official.

 

[oldrunner]

A round headed bolt? What is the specification number for these?

 

[LittleInch]

Your biggest conundrum though is that you can't unknow what you've found. A bit of a bitch of a position as the consequences look substantial, both in terms of schedule and damage to the interior to access all the bolts.

But I can't imagine in a few years time when the building gets some serious force from wind, snow, rain etc that it won't start to move or creak or crack the interior walls and one part might just fail.

I would start with the inspector you took over from and see where you stand, legally, ethically and what the options are.

And yes, you can't answer individual posts directly, only address the person in the reply with an @XXX as a start for each person or paragraph.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[BridgeSmith]

A round headed bolt? What is the specification number for these?

ASTM F1852 (for the A325 equivalent) or F2280 (A490 equivalent). All 4 of those, as well as the metric equivalents (A325M & A490M), are now consolidated as "grades" under F3125. Twist-off type are the typical high-strength fasteners for bridge construction, and I think most other heavy steel construction.

Rod Smith, P.E., The artist formerly known as HotRod10

 

[phamENG]

ASTM F3148 is another one. And also make sure these aren't what they installed...

Torque+Angle Fastening Systems

I had never heard of these until I was reading the latest Modern Steel a week or so ago and they mentioned "fixed spline" bolts.

 

[oldrunner]

From the manufacturer's web page:
"Inspection after Snug Tightening
Perform routine observation of the snug tightening process to verify proper techniques are followed as described in Step 1: Snug Tightening
Verify that the plies in the connection are in firm contact.
Verify that the proper bolt length was used. The face of the nut shall be at least flush with the first thread of the bolt and there should be no more than 3 threads stick-out beyond the face of the nut to prevent thread runout.

Inspection after Angle Tightening

Perform routine observation of the final angle tightening process to verify proper techniques are followed as described in Step 2: Angle Tightening

NOTE: If routine observation is not possible, match marking for final installation may be required during the angle tightening process. This step of visual inspection should be included in the scope of work or contract documents to avoid disputes"