Navy Facility in Virginia Briefed by NRMCA on Pervious Spec Changes

NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Phil Kresge recently met with representatives from the Naval Facilities Engineering Group (NAVFAC) in Norfolk, VA, to discuss proposed changes to the Unified Facilities Guide Specification (UFGS) for pervious concrete. The meeting was requested by Kresge after it was brought to NRMCA’s attention that there was a problem with certain tolerances within the specification.

"I was first made aware of the issue by Tom 'Zeke' Zinchiak," Kresge said. Zinchiak is president and owner of Z-Con Concrete Specialists in Woodbine, MD, and is an NRMCA Certified Pervious Concrete Craftsman. "Zeke told me he was working on a project for the National Security Agency (NSA), but there was a pretty restrictive requirement relating to elevation tolerances. My first thought was that the project had used an outdated specification, but further investigation revealed the error in the UFGS document."

NAVFAC agreed with Kresge that UFGS should follow the recommendations of ACI 522.1, and said it would make the appropriate changes as quickly as possible. "Although it has promised to act quickly, there will certainly be projects out there that may not reflect the changes," Kresge said. "I’d ask anyone with any questions regarding existing pervious projects utilizing UFGS to contact me directly and I’ll assist as needed."