If you have been calling around Tucson looking for concrete pricing chances are you have at least heard someone mention Fiber reinforcing. It seems like it’s a thing of importance but the question is “just how important is it and how should it be used?”
You can look up tons of stats and be swayed one way or another on just how important it is. Full disclosure we use micro fiber in 100% of our work. That being said here is the perspective of a guy who has worked with concrete for over 30 years.
30 years! Time sure gets away. We have torn out a lot of concrete over the years. Wire mesh just lays on the bottom for the most part but just enough sticks in there to make removal miserable. Rebar ruins you day real quick! You need a saw or grinder if you are removing concrete with properly placed rebar. So How about fiber? They say it will replace rebar? It won’t… I can honestly say that I see no difference in difficulty, when it comes to breaking concrete with or without fiber in it. So why do we use fiber in 100% of the work we do?
It’s for the initial set. Concrete shrinks as the moisture leaves. The wetter it is poured, the more it shrinks. The first few days after pouring are when you are most likely to see random cracking. This is where the fiber does it’s job. It seems to help hold everything together during this critical phase. Once the concrete is cured it’s the rebar that keeps it together, not the fiber. Don’t even get me started on Mesh
https://www.tucsoncustomconcretecontractor.com/rebar-vs-wire-mesh/
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Jon Molden
