In brief
- A signature on an inspection sheet records that someone looked at the work, not that a cube, a compaction test or a weld test met the specification.
- Clerk of works test gaps open wherever a result is set by a test the contract never scheduled, sampled or paid for.
- Close the gap by listing the tests your specification requires before the pour starts and by recording in writing that acceptance depends on the signed result.
Contents
A clerk of works who approves work without test records signs off on a result nobody measured. A cube result, a compaction reading or a weld test report is the only evidence that the concrete, fill or connection met the specification. Without it, the client carries the risk when a slab cracks or a fill layer settles during the next Gu rains.
What does a clerk of works actually certify in Qardho?
A clerk of works certifies that the work matches the specification, and that is a different job from certifying that the work looks tidy. On any building site the clerk of works may watch the pour, check the formwork and count the bars. None of that tells you the concrete strength at 28 days or the compaction of the layer under a floor slab. Confirm on your own project whether the clerk of works is expected to witness tests or only to inspect finished work.
Those answers come from tests: cube crushing, compaction or plate load tests on fill, weld tests on steel, pressure tests on buried pipe. The clerk of works approves the work when the records show the results meet the specification. Without records, approval is an opinion about appearance. Ask the municipal engineer's office what documentation it expects for a completed pour, and ask the structural engineer which tests the specification actually names.
Where do the clerk of works test gaps bite on a Qardho build?
They bite where the work goes out of sight: under a slab, inside a footing, along a buried pipe, in a welded joint. Cover can be checked with a cover meter before the pour, but it cannot be checked afterwards without breaking the element. A layer of fill compacted and then covered by a floor slab hides its own density.
The gap widens because the clerk of works often has no laboratory rate agreed in the contract, no sampling schedule and no chain of custody for cubes. A cube taken by the contractor and stored on site may not represent the pour. General practice is to cast cubes, label them and send them to a laboratory the client accepts, with results returned in writing, but confirm this against your project's specification or engineer. If nobody lists which tests apply, nobody misses them until a defect appears.
How do you detect missing test records before approval?
You detect it by asking for the records at the moment of approval, not after handover. Before the next pour, ask the clerk of works for the cube results from the previous pour and the sampling location. Ask for the compaction test on the layer under the slab, or the plate load result. Ask for the weld inspection report where steel is joined.
If the answer is that the test was not done, the approval should wait. Check the clerk of works appointment letter and the contract to see whether testing is inside the scope or a separate item the client pays for. Ask a contractor for the completion records handed over on a comparable job, and read what was actually filed. Ask any testing laboratory the engineer accepts for its written sampling and reporting schedule. Ask the municipal engineer's office whether it holds records from comparable completed buildings.
What to do next
Before the next pour or fill layer, write a one-page testing schedule for your build: the element, the test, who samples, who pays and where the report goes. Send it to the clerk of works and the contractor for written agreement. Record in writing that approval depends on the signed result, and check the contract's acceptance conditions before you rely on it. Keep every report in one handover file.
Frequently asked questions
Can the clerk of works approve work if the cube results arrive later?
Approval should wait for the signed result where the specification makes the test a condition of acceptance. If the contract allows provisional approval, record in writing that acceptance depends on the result, and check what your contract says before you rely on it.
Who pays for material testing on a Qardho build?
It depends on what the contract and the clerk of works appointment say. Some contracts carry testing as a provisional item the client pays; others place it on the contractor. Ask the engineer to confirm which, and get the laboratory's written rate before work starts.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Qardho and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.