Construction Joints and its Types

1. Construction Joints And Its Types

2. What are Construction Joints?  • Construction Joints are placed in the concrete to compensate for the expansion and contraction of the material due to weather conditions. • In order to avoid cracks, concrete installers will predict where the concrete will crack and how it will expand.

3. Based on their assessment, they will create forming, saw, tool, and place joint formers at different locations. These pre-formed cracks will help improve the overall performance of the concrete surface and ensure it has room to expand and contract without causing any harm to the surrounding structures.

4. Types of Construction Joints in Concrete • Contractors can install different kinds of joints based on your requirements. A single slab can have different kinds of joints in order to make it more secure and resilient. Here’s a brief explanation of all the types of joints contractors can install on your concrete surface:

5. Isolation Joints • As the name suggests, this joint exists to isolate the concrete slab from the surrounding constructions. When the concrete slab expands or contracts, the isolation joints will ensure the slab doesn’t crack or cause any problems to nearby pipes, pillars, walls, and columns. These joints are almost always placed in outdoor installations because the concrete surface doesn’t expand as much in indoor, climate-controlled environments.

6. Construction Joints These joints are placed to keep new concrete in place. They’re essentially screed rails made from wood, metal, or plastic and are placed during the pouring and finishing of concrete. The construction joints will allow you to pour the concrete in steps and control the slab placement according to your requirements. You can also use construction joints as contraction joints if you plan the placement well.

7. Contraction Joints • This is one of the most troublesome but commonly used joints. Both isolation and construction joints are placed before the concrete is poured in and therefore they’re in place as the slab dries and settles into the subgrade. Contraction joints aren’t placed before the concrete is poured. They are added to the surface as the concrete settles and before it has a chance to form cracks. The contractors will create cracks in the direction they desire to control it and preserve the structural integrity of the concrete.

8. Decorative Concrete Joints • Constructing joints in decorative concrete requires a little more planning and careful execution. The decorative stamping on the concrete doesn’t sink in deep enough to provide the stability the slab will need. The joint should penetrate at least 1/4th of the surface to ensure the cracks are carefully controlled. You just need to cut along the pattern of the stamped design to ensure the joints aren’t visible from the surface.

9. Construction Joint