ABOUT Fairfield Testing Laboratory

Construction Materials Testing & Inspection.

Fairfield Testing has been in the construction business for more than three decades.

Wise, savvy builders throughout history even predating King Solomon have tested and inspected construction material to guarantee a solid foundation and structure.  Fairfield Testing Lab's Mission is to ensure that the materials you are working with meet your design specifications and are installed accordingly. 

Fairfield Testing works strictly with all standards and testing as directed by ACI, AISC and ASTM.  We also perform all testing and inspections as set forth by the Statements of Special Inspections, which is addressed in Section 1705 of the BOCA code. We have been providing Materials Testing excellence since 1973 in Accordance with Provisions of Chapter 391 and 541  Section 29-276e of the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut and with the following institutions

American Concrete Institute

American Institute of Steel Construction

American Society for Testing and Materials

You get what you inspect, not what you expect!

SERVICES

Soil Testing

Soil, the basic structural building material, is the foundation for about 98% of all buildings.  Our soil services include:

• Atterberg Limits
• Bearing Capacity, Penetrometer
• Bearing Capacity, Plate Load Test
• Casisson Field Inspection
• CBR (Recompacted, on-site, in-place)
• Hydrometer Analysis
• In-place Density, Nuclear Densitometer, Sand Cone
• Mechanical Analysis/Sieve Analysis
• Organic Content
• Permeability
• Septic Requirements
• Soil Classification
• Subsurface Investigation, Borings/Test Pits

Concrete Testing

Concrete, one of the four basic building materials, is composed of hydraulic portland cement, sand, gravel or crushed stone, water and in some cases a chemical admixture.  Concrete mixtures typically used for building construction  possess compressive strengths between 3,000 psi and 4,000 psi.  However, concrete mixtures can be designed to produce strengths anywhere between 1,000 psi and 15, 000 psi.  

• Air Content (Pressure)
• Air Content (Volumetric)
• Coarse Aggregate Specific Gravity
• Compressive Strength
• Fine Aggregate Specific Gravity
• Flexural Strength
• Unit Weight
• Core Sampling, Windsor Probes and Swiss Hammer Testing can be accomplished for in-place construction

Asphalt Testing

Our Asphalt Services include, but are not limited to the following: 

• Bulk Specific Gravity of Compacted Mixtures (SSD)
• Determining the Asphalt Content of HMA by the Ignition Method
• Maximum Specific Gravity of Paving Mixtures (Gmm)
• Mechanical Analysis of Extracted Aggregate
• Percent Air Voids in Compacted Paving Mixtures
• Preparing and Determining the Density of HMA by Means of the SHRP Gyratory Compactor
• Quantitative Extraction of Bitumen from Paving Mixtures
• Resistance of Compacted Mixtures to Moisture Damage
• Resistance to Plastic Flow of Bituminous Mixtures
  

Structural Steel

Structural Steel is strong, relatively light weight and exhibits a greater flexible than concrete or masonry products.  Commonly, structural steel is used for industrial and institutional buildings as well as for bridge framing.  Our services for Structural Steel include, but are not limited to the following:

• Bolt Tensioning Evaluation using Calibrated Torque
• Decking Weld
• Liquid Penetrant Testing
• Magnetic Particle Testing
• Mechanical Fastener Inspections
• Paint Adhesion/Thickness Testing
• Shear Stud Weld Testing
• Skidmore-Wilhelm Evaluations of Bolt Tensioning
• Ultrasonic Inspection
• Verification of Plumbness
• Visual Weld Inspection
• AWI and CWI Certified Inspectors

Welding

Our welding division scope of services includes:

• Code Compliance
  
• Nondestructive and Destructive Testing
  
• Petroleum Plant Surveillance
  
• Quality Assurance
  
• Welder Performance and Procedure Development
  
• Welder Training and Testing

Masonry

Masonry products include bricks, blocks (masonry units) and mortar, which is of a mixture of portland cement, lime and water.  Brick are often created from burned clay/shale mixtures. They can also be made using portland cement and fine aggregate.  Our Masonry Services include, but are not limited to the following:

• Absorption of Block (Masonry Units)
• Absorption/Saturation Coefficient of Face Brick 
• Absorption of Concrete Pavers
• Compressive Strength of Block (Masonry Units)
• Compressive Strength of Face Brick
• Compressive Strength of Masonry Mortar
• Compressive Strength of Concrete Pavers
• Drying Shrinkage of Block (Masonry Units)
• Field Testing of Masonry Mortar
• Fire Rating of Block (Masonry Unit)

Fireproofing

At Fairfield Testing we implement spray-applied fireproofing, classified as a passive fire protection because once installed it remains in place and ready to perform. The necessity of fireproofing is based on the classification of building type and occupancy according to the code authority adopted by the city in which the building is to be constructed.  The most common code authorities are the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), the Standard Building Code  (SBC) and the Uniform Building Code (UBC). 

Spray fireproofing materials come in low, medium and high-density cementitious, low and medium-density mineral fiber, interior or exterior grade and intumescent.  Our lab specializes in adhesive and cohesive fireproofing.