The superintendent's guide to logging a concrete pour
Concrete is the one material on the job you can't send back once it's in place. When 28-day breaks come back low, or a slab cracks, or the owner's engineer wants cores, the only thing standing between you and a very expensive argument is what got written down on pour day. This guide walks through the free Excel concrete pour log above — the placement log, cylinder breaks, cure and temperature log, and the rebar and anchor bolt inspection — and what an experienced super or QC manager records on each.
Before the first truck: set your limits
Every project spec sets its own limits, so the Pour Log starts with a Spec Limits block — all inputs:
- Max minutes, batch to discharge complete. ASTM C94/C94M generally requires discharge within 90 minutes of batching or before 300 drum revolutions, and lets the purchaser waive or change it (retarders, cool weather). Enter the number your spec uses.
- Slump range — from the mix submittal or spec (and remember a mid-range or high-range water reducer changes what "normal" looks like).
- Air content range — for air-entrained mixes; leave blank for interior slabs that are not air-entrained.
- Concrete temperature range — from the spec, typically drawing on ACI 305 (hot weather) and ACI 306 (cold weather) guidance.
Out-of-range slump, air and temperature cells turn red as you type, so the finisher foreman and the testing tech see the same thing you do.
Truck by truck: what to record
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Ticket # / truck | Traceability. A low break has to be traced back to a ticket and a batch. |
| Batch time | From the ticket — the clock starts when water meets cement at the plant, not when the truck arrives. |
| Arrival, discharge start, discharge end | Shows where time went: traffic, waiting on the pump, or a slow pour rate. |
| Minutes since batch | Calculated: discharge end minus batch time. Flagged OVER when it exceeds your limit. |
| CY and cumulative CY | Cumulative yards tell you when to call the last truck — and let you reconcile against the supplier's invoice. |
| Water withheld / water added | Flagged EXCEEDS when site water is more than the plant withheld. Write down who authorized every gallon. |
| Slump, air, concrete temp, ambient | Tested at the frequency your spec requires and whenever a load looks different. |
| Cylinders / notes | Which truck each cylinder set came from, rejected loads, pump breakdowns, NCR numbers. |
The Pour Summary rolls up trucks placed, total yards, the longest batch-to-discharge time, trucks over the limit, total water added, trucks exceeding withheld water, and slump tests out of range. That summary is the paragraph you paste into your daily report.
Cylinder breaks: the math and the acceptance check
The Cylinder Break Log uses one row per set per test age — a 7-day row and a 28-day row for the same set, for example. Enter the cylinder diameter (4 or 6 inches) and each cylinder's maximum load in pounds-force from the lab report:
- Strength (psi) = load ÷ (π × d² ÷ 4)
- Set average = average of the cylinders in the set (commonly two 6×12 or three 4×8 cylinders per strength test)
- % of f'c = set average ÷ specified strength
For rows at the acceptance age (28 days by default — some mixes specify 56), the sheet applies the concept in ACI 318 §26.12 using criteria you enter:
- Individual check — each strength test must be at least f'c − 500 psi when f'c ≤ 5,000 psi, or 0.90 f'c above 5,000 psi.
- Consecutive average — the running average of three consecutive tests of the same mix must be at least f'c. The sheet tracks the sequence per mix design automatically.
Seven-day results are for trend only; don't panic at 65–75% of f'c at seven days for a normal mix. If a 28-day result comes back LOW, go back to the pour log first: minutes since batch, water added, concrete temperature, and how the cylinders spent their first 24 hours. Then talk to the engineer of record about additional testing. Acceptance decisions belong to the engineer — this is not engineering advice.
Cure and temperature log
Log concrete and ambient temperature at set intervals through the protection period, with the protection in place (blankets, enclosure and heat, windbreak, shade or fogging) and the curing method (wet cure, curing compound, poly, curing blankets, forms left in place). Enter your spec's minimum and maximum concrete temperature and the sheet flags BELOW MIN or ABOVE MAX. Read the coldest spots — slab edges, corners and near openings — not the middle of the pour.
Rebar and anchor bolt inspection
The last tab is the pre-pour walk. It covers reinforcing (size, grade, spacing, cover, laps, hooks, supports, ties, trim bars at openings, dowels, coating repair, cleanliness), anchor bolts and embeds (diameter, length and grade, templates, location, projection, embedment, plumb, thread protection, embed plates and sleeves, and the concrete-encased grounding electrode where required), and ready-to-pour items. A Measured Values table checks cover, anchor bolt offsets and projections, and lap lengths against the tolerance you enter — see the rebar lap splice chart and ACI 318 cover and development length chart for reference values, and ACI 117 or your spec for tolerances.
If you're using a separate formwork and subgrade checklist, pair this tab with the concrete pre-pour checklist.
Five pour-day habits that prevent low breaks
- Read batch time off every ticket. Trucks queued behind a slow pump are aging the whole time.
- Control the water. One person authorizes site water, and every gallon gets recorded against the ticket.
- Protect the cylinders. Initial curing boxes that hold the right temperature cost less than one core.
- Test the first truck and every truck that looks different. Don't wait for the scheduled test to catch a wet load.
- Close the log the same day. Total yards, trucks over time and water added go into the daily report before you leave.
From paper pour log to a searchable record
On a project with dozens of placements, the pour log, break reports and inspection sheets end up in three different places. Field PM daily reports capture pours, tickets and photos from the field, and QA/QC inspections keep pre-pour checklists, test results and hold points tied to the pour they belong to — so when a break comes back low, the whole history is one search away. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card required.
Related templates and tools
- Concrete calculator — yards for slabs, footings and columns
- Concrete PSI and mix ratio chart
- Rebar size chart
- Concrete pre-pour checklist
- Inspection request log — schedule special inspections before the pour
- Weather delay log — when cold or rain moves the pour
- Browse all free construction templates
Limits and acceptance criteria in this template are inputs. Verify against your project specification and the editions of ASTM C94, ACI 318, ACI 305/306/308 and ACI 117 your contract references and your AHJ adopted. Not engineering advice.
