You may need reinforcement for your concrete structure before your Houston concrete supplier pours your concrete.
Whether you need flatwork concrete for a parking lot or need structural concrete for a parking garage or building, it’s important to discuss the right options with your Houston concrete supplier. This helps you ensure you receive a concrete formula that matches your needs. It’s also important to consider whether your concrete structure needs reinforcement. In this article, we’ll discuss why concrete sometimes needs reinforcement by other materials and a few common reinforcement options that may work well for your project.
Talk to Your Houston Concrete Supplier About When Concrete Needs Reinforcement
Concrete is one of the strongest, longest-lasting materials in the world. So, why on earth would it need reinforcement?! While concrete is strong, there are certain stresses that it doesn’t stand up to well. Namely, tension stress.
Concrete withstands compressive stress quite well, which means it tolerates pressure from forces that push it together. However, concrete on its own doesn’t do very well against tension, which is a type of stress associated with pulling something apart. For instance, a rope must stand up to high tension stress.
Therefore, any time your concrete faces tension stress, you likely need reinforcement with materials that do resist tension stress well. A good rule of thumb our Houston concrete supply may suggest is using reinforcement when you’re pouring concrete that is more than five inches thick, or when it’s used in a structural manner (such as in buildings or support beams).
Types of Reinforcement for Concrete
There are many different types of reinforcement materials you can use for concrete. Each type of material offers different advantages and disadvantages. So, one may be better for your project than another.
When using reinforced concrete, generally you start by creating forms in the size and shape you need each piece of concrete. Then, you fill the form with the reinforcement material. Once everything is in place, the Houston cement mixing truck comes and your concrete contractor pours the custom-formulated concrete into a form.
The traditional and most common option for reinforcement is steel bars, also known as rebar. These bars are placed at certain distances based on your engineer’s recommendations to help your concrete structure stand up to strong tension forces.
Another option is wire mesh. Also known as welded steel fabric, this option uses steel bars crisscrossed in a mesh-like pattern. You can use wire mesh on its own or in addition to rebar reinforcement. By itself, it’s best for preventing crack formation in the concrete.
A more recent invention for concrete reinforcement is glass fiber reinforcement. This has been around for a couple of decades and offers a lightweight, anti-corrosion option for reinforcing concrete. It’s similar to steel options and allows for thinner concrete pouring.
Quality Ready Mix Solutions from TEXAN Concrete Ready Mix
When you need superior concrete options, choose our experts at TEXAN Concrete Ready Mix. We offer custom ready mix concrete formulation for commercial and residential projects. We are a leading Houston concrete supplier offering state-of-the-art solutions for you. Use our online concrete calculator to help you estimate how much concrete you need and contact us for a free quote!