Inspection, Testing, and Defect Remediation
What the candidate must know
Inspection ties the whole process together: verifying subgrade, mix, thickness, compaction, cure, and finish against specification. Concepts: hold points (inspection before covering work), density and moisture testing, thickness checks, straightedge tolerance checks, and defect identification - shrinkage cracks, delamination, dusting, low spots, and soft areas. Understand remediation: minor shrinkage cracks may be acceptable or filled per specification; structural or widespread defects require removal and replacement, not cosmetic patching.
Traps
Common traps: covering work before a hold-point inspection; treating a cosmetic patch as remediation for a structural defect; and testing moisture or density at unrepresentative locations. Questions may ask what to do when a test fails - the answer is usually rework or retest that area, not accept the average. Also watch for confusing a defect's symptom (a crack) with its cause (rapid drying, excess water, or thin placement).
Worked example / rule of thumb
Rule of thumb: inspect and test at each hold point before the next stage covers it, and remediate by cause, not by appearance. Example: widespread map cracking after rapid drying is a curing problem - filling the cracks without addressing cure will not prevent recurrence. If a density test fails in one lift, rework and retest that lift before proceeding.