- Concrete slabs home
- Use a low water-cement ratio: How to calculate
- Subgrades and subbases for concrete slabs: Tips for ensuring good support
- Concrete Slab Finishing Tips
- How to Prevent Cracks
- Guidelines for preventing cracks in concrete slabs
- Be active in deciding where control joints will be placed
- Proper Curing of Concrete Slabs
- Properly curing concrete slabs: Why and how
- Related Information:
- Concrete fasteners
- Concrete forms
- The three types of concrete foundations
- Aggregates in ready-mix concrete
- Vapor barriers for concrete slabs
- Post-tensioned concrete slabs
- Concrete slabjacking
- Concrete testing
Use Fibers for Secondary Reinforcement
"Photo used with permission from SI Concrete Systems,
"Fibermesh" is a registered trademark of SI Corporation"
Fibers can be added to the concrete mix in lieu of welded wire mesh.
The problem with welded wire mesh is that it often ends up on the ground from being stepped on as the concrete is being placed (particularly if no support blocks are used). Another problem is that mesh does not prevent or minimize cracking-it simply holds cracks that have already occurred together.
If you could look into a section of concrete poured with fibers you would see millions of fibers distributed in all directions throughout the concrete mix. As micro cracks begin to appear due to shrinkage as water evaporates form the concrete (plastic shrinkage), the cracks intersect with the fibers which block their growth and provide higher tensile strength capacity at this crucial time.
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