Masonry work didn't meet specs on Cobb courthouse

By Mary Lou Pickel

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The masonry contractor removed from the Cobb County courthouse project for not checking his employees'  legal work status also failed job inspections. 

Records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed Marietta inspectors last fall cited the contractor for not grouting cement blocks, spacing rebar close enough or installing enough wall anchors to strengthen door jambs. His crew didn't lace concrete blocks together as required. These deficiencies turned up in the courthouse basement, where prisoners will be kept before trial. The county had wanted extra security features there.

"This didn't meet the plans," said Hal Cosper, Marietta building official. "I wouldn't have expected to see this on the courthouse."

In February, contractor Victor Candelaria and his crew were removed from the job after it was determined that Candelaria didn't use a federal data base to confirm  his employees were legally cleared to work in the U.S., which is a state law requirement for public contracts. Candelaria was a sub-contractor for Suwanee-based Zebra Construction Co., which did the masonry work for Turner Construction Co.,  the prime contractor on the $63 million project.

The contractor absorbed the costs for redoing the work and any delays, Cobb County spokesman Robert Quigley said.

Zebra Construction severed its ties with Candelaria and does not know where he is, Victor Cerda, a lawyer representing Zebra, said in a previous interview.

"Any issues identified during the course of the construction of the Cobb County Superior Court project have been fully addressed," Cerda said in a written statement. "We have met the contract’s expectations in terms of quality, timeliness and cost." 

Candelaria's job deficiencies were uncovered on Nov. 9  and Nov. 18, according to Marietta building inspection records.

The work on the concrete basement walls does not effect the structural integrity of the building because those are not weight-bearing walls, said Barry Roziewski, NOVA Engineering and Environmental senior project manager, a contractor who has inspected the courthouse.

Candelaria's crew didn't fully grout cement blocks that strengthen the basement wall and the work had to be redone, Cosper said. . The crew also didn't install the necessary amount of anchor clips in the blocks to create an extra strong door jamb to hold steel doors in the cells.