ᐅ Foundation slab – reinforcement visible from the side

Hello everyone,

I have already gathered some information on this topic through this forum. Our foundation slab was poured last week. The formwork has now been removed, and I noticed the following:

1. At one spot (on the side), the reinforcement is visible (see picture). I am concerned that the concrete cover at the edge of the slab may generally be insufficient to protect the reinforcement from corrosion. Are there spacers used at the edge of a foundation slab to ensure the concrete cover? Before the concrete was poured, I didn’t see any spacers here (only the support strips on the construction foil). Should a concrete cover of 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 inches) also be guaranteed at the edge? Could this be fixed by slightly increasing the size of the slab?

2. The foundation slab measures about 10 x 10 meters (33 x 33 feet). The structural calculations assume a slab thickness of 30 cm (12 inches). However, at one corner (approximately 3 meters (10 feet) long), the slab is only 23 cm (9 inches) thick. Before I take this issue to the structural engineer, I wanted to hear your opinions on whether this could possibly be remedied by adding concrete to fill the 7 cm (2.8 inches) difference?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Best regards

Well, if the structural engineer specifies 30cm (12 inches) and it is only 23cm (9 inches), then it is definitely incorrect....

PS: To me, it also looks like there is no frost protection strip at the edge, right?

According to the architect and the soil report, we did not need a frost skirt, but thank you for the suggestion.

The reinforcement will start to rust, and through the chemical process, the concrete will eventually spall exactly at that spot.

Could this be fixed by slightly enlarging the foundation slab?
Are there spacers available for the edge of the foundation slab to ensure proper concrete cover?