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CONTRACTION JOINTS
CONSTRUCTION JOINTS
EXPANSION JOINTS
CONCRETE JOINTS
Joints in concrete can serve both to prevent cracking and as a decorative element.
Joints depth should be 25% of the depth of the slab. For instance a 4" thick
slab should have 1" deep cut. Joints Interval (taken in feet) should not be
more than 2 - 3 times the slab thickness (in inches). Let say a 6" slab should
have joints 2 x 6=12 to 3 x 6 = 18 feet apart. For fresh concrete grooving
tools are used while saw is used for hardened concrete.
Both isolation and construction joints are formed before the concrete is
poured; contraction joints (or control joints) are "placed" in the fresh
concrete before it has a chance to create its own joints—also known as
cracks. What a contraction joint really is in the end is a crack in the slab that
we force to follow a line of our own choosing. We create a weakened line
across the slab and let nature take its course. When the slab does crack,
that's called "joint activation."
After concrete is placed it is going to shrink. We can reduce shrinkage with good mixes,
but it is always going to shrink and we need to accept that fact and know how to
accommodate that shrinkage. A smooth, unrutted subbase and a moisture barrier
directly under the slab reduce friction between the slab and the subbase and reduce
internal restraint.
Contraction joints are formed by saw cutting, by tooling a joint with a grooving tool, or by
inserting a plastic strip into the concrete during finishing (zip-strip). Proper timing and
depth of cut are essential. If you wait too long, the slab will crack where it wants to
rather than where you want it to. And if the joint is not cut deep enough it will not create
the plane of weakness needed to guide the crack.
Saw cuts can be made with conventional wet-cut or dry-cut saws or with early-entry
saws.
Using an early-entry saw, saw cuts can be made within 1 to 4 hours, depending on the
air temperature—much earlier than with a conventional saw. Only Soff-Cut (now part of
Husqvarna) makes a true early-entry dry-cut saw (sometimes called ultra-early-entry
saws). The saw-cut is typically 1 inch deep regardless of slab thickness—although even
¾-inch deep early-entry cuts can function properly. Keeping the skid plate and blades in
good condition will improve the cut quality (less raveling). There is now an early entry
saw made specifically for decorative work.
Conventional wet-cut gas-powered concrete saws can be used to cut joints, typically
waiting until the concrete achieves a strength of about 500 psi to prevent raveling of the
cut edges during sawing. The timing varies depending on the temperature and the
relative humidity, but the window is generally 4 to 12 hours after concrete placement.
The cut depth should be at least ¼ the thickness of the slab.
For decorative work or smaller slabs, a regular dry-cut cut-off saw can be used. Be sure
to use a proper respirator—airborne silica is a serious health hazard, leading to silicosis.
Also use eye and ear protection.
There are several methods for tooling a joint into a concrete slab during the finishing
operations, but as with a saw cut, the depth of the groove needs to be at least one-
quarter the slab thickness to weaken the slab enough to get the crack to follow. Zip-
strips are plastic strips embedded into the concrete to create the plane of weaknesses
needed to guide the cracks. Some come with a capping strip that is removed to leave
radius edges or a sealant reservoir in the top part of the joint. ACI 360 and 302 do not
recommend the use of zip-strips to form contraction joints.
The jointing pattern may or may not be specified on your job. Take an active role in this
plan to assure that joints are properly spaced and in the best locations for your work.
For an unreinforced slab, control joints should be spaced in feet 2 to 3 times the slab
thickness in inches. In other words, for a 4-inch slab, space the joints 8 to 12 feet apart.
The spacing is highly dependent on the concrete mix's shrinkage potential. Read more
on low-shrinkage concrete mixes in the Concrete Mix Design section. Low cement
content and larger aggregate are key.
Jointed panels should be as close to square as possible. Keep the length divided by the
width of a panel (aspect ratio) no more than 1.5 (so if the panel is 12 feet long it should
be no less than 8 feet wide). Avoid L- and T-shaped panels.
Contraction joints should be straight and continuous, never staggered.
Try to avoid "re-entrant" corners—inside corners within the slab. You're likely to have
some, though. The best way is simply to locate joints going both ways from a re-entrant
corner. You can also place a couple of pieces of rebar diagonally in the slab near the
corner.
In most cases, do not extend reinforcement through a contraction joint. Although this will
provide load transfer, it will also lead to uncontrolled cracks between contraction joints.
2. Construction Joints
In mega projects there is a starting and stopping points, the entire concrete
work may not be done at once, hence concrete pouring need to be stopped
causing a joint in element known as Construction Joint. Construction joints
are placed at points of ending and beginning of construction for provision of
a smooth transition between pours. These joints are formed between
successive building element parts during construction work, in which one
part is allowed to harden before the next is placed. These joints may be
intentional or unintentional. Reasons for intentionally providing construction
joints are;
Certain time of a day i.e. Labour Hours ( e.g. 8:00 am to 6:00 pm)
Certain day of a week (e.g. Sunday, or Friday)
Certain Months of an year (e.g. extreme weather in Winter or
Summer)
Religious Holidays etc (e.g. Eid or Christmas etc)
Construction joints are formed using some sort of bulkhead, made of wood,
steel, plastic, or precast concrete. These bulkheads are often used as screed
rails during placement and finishing of the slab.
Construction joints should be worked into the overall joint plan, where they
can also function as contraction joints.
A construction joint should also be used in cases of equipment breakdown,
an unexpected shortage of materials, or bad weather, although the joint
should still be worked into the jointing pattern—placed where a contraction
joint was planned. If that's not possible, the odd section may later have to
be removed.
If the slab will have no significant traffic crossing the joint, a plain butt joint,
with no reinforcement crossing the joint, is acceptable. If there is to be
traffic other than foot traffic, you will need to use some sort of load transfer
device—
For many years, the typical way to transfer shear at a construction joint was
with a keyed joint. Many steel bulkhead forms are available with a keyed
profile, however most experts no longer recommend keyed joints since they
seldom stay tight enough to provide positive shear transfer. ACI 360, Design
of Slabs on Ground, states that "the male and female components lose
contact when the joint opens due to drying shrinkage," which can lead to
"breakdown of the joint edges and failure of the top side portion of the key."
Use internal vibration during concrete placement at the construction joint to
assure proper consolidation along the edge and around any dowels, load
transfer devices, or armored joint assemblies--especially if the concrete has
larger top-size aggregate.
Be sure to cure the vertical face after removal of the bulkhead by applying a
liquid curing compound.
3. Expansion Joints
These are structural separation between building elements that allow
independent movement without damage to the assembly. Expansion joints
are designed to safely absorb the thermal expansion and contraction of
various construction materials, to absorb vibration. They are commonly
provided in bridges, railway tracks, piping systems, and other structures.
Concrete Joints Placing Tips
The following recommended tips should be observed:
Jointing the concrete is accomplished by grooving tools (unless the slab will
be sawcut later). The purpose is to control the location of cracks that may
form when the slab "contracts" due to drying shrinkage or temperature
changes.
Look inside tooled joints or sawcuts and you will see the concrete is
cracked—The joint did its job and controlled where the concrete cracked.
Joints are most often hand-tooled into sidewalks, driveways and patios and
sawcut into floors, highways, and city streets.
Groovers are usually made of bronze or stainless steel and have a V-shaped
bit that cuts the groove. Like edgers, they come with wood or comfort-grip
handles. The most common groover size is 6 inches long and 4 1/2 inches
wide, but many other sizes are available, ranging from 2 to 8 inches wide
and 3 to 10 inches long. However, more important is the dimension of the
bit, which can be anywhere from 1/2 inch to 2 inches deep and 1/8 to 1 inch
wide. Bi-directional groovers are also available and have double-end bits
that give you the flexibility to cut forward or backward.
Cordless control joint tools: ideal for use on small to medium size
projects.
Concrete saw: ideal for sawcutting concrete, but be sure to know how deep
that cut needs to be, otherwise you might be creating other problems.
ISOLATION JOINTS
Joints that isolate the slab from a wall, column or drainpipe
Isolation joints have one very simple purpose—they completely isolate the
slab from something else. That something else can be a wall or a column or
a drain pipe. Here are a few things to consider with isolation joints:
Walls and columns, which are on their own footings that are deeper than the
slab subgrade, are not going to move the same way a slab does as it shrinks
or expands from drying or temperature changes or as the subgrade
compresses a little.
Very long unjointed sections can expand enough from the hot sun to cause blowups, but this is rare.
Isolation joints are formed by placing preformed joint material next to the
column or wall or standpipe prior to pouring the slab. Isolation joint material
is typically asphalt-impregnated fiberboard, although plastic, cork, rubber,
and neoprene are also available.
Isolation joint material should go all the way through the slab, starting at
the subbase, but should not extend above the top.
For a cleaner looking isolation joint, the top part of the preformed filler can
be cut off and the space filled with elastomeric sealant. Some proprietary
joints come with removable caps to form this sealant reservoir.
Joint materials range from inexpensive asphalt-impregnated fiberboard to
cork to closed cell neoprene. Cork can expand and contract with the joint,
does not extrude, and seals out water. Scott Whitelam with APS Cork says
that the required performance is what determines the choice of joint
materials. How much motion is expected, exposure to salts or chemicals,
and the value of the structure would all come into play—and of course the
cost.
At columns, contraction joints should approach from all four directions
ending at the isolation joint, which should have a circular or a diamond
shaped configuration around the column. For an I-beam type steel column, a
pinwheel configuration can work. Always place the slab concrete first and do
not install the isolation joint material and fill around the column until the
column is carrying its full dead load.