How deep do you cut control joints in concrete. Space joints in feet no more than 2 3 times the slab thickness in inches. In these cases consider using a lightweight saw that allows you to cut within a few hours after final concrete finishing. A 4 slab should. It will also save you a lot of strain time and money.
Often times people will cut their floors and not cut them deep enough which of course will result in random cracking. If not you need to have a minimum of a 1 depth but you can also base it off the thickness of the slab. Joint spacing normally ranges between 10 to 18 feet depending on the amount of reinforcement the slab has. Theyre placed at regular intervals in pavements.
Some control joints are dummy joints placed to balance the specified joints aesthetically. These saws cut 1 to 3 deep depending on the model. This video will provide you with a couple math formulas that will provide you with step by step instructions on how to figure out where to locate control joints in a concrete slab patio walkway. Control joints in concrete slabs which are poured on grade on top of the ground are placed so that the concrete is in a square or rectangle pattern or shape.
Sometimes concrete cracks before the saw can cut the joint without causing raveling. Control joints are tooled or sawn to a depth of about one third the depth of the concrete. The timing of the control joint cut. Control joints in concrete slabs control the location and extent of cracking.
If you are working on a project with a spec included there should be a depth listed that you need to achieve. The next thing that we are going to look at is the proper depth for cutting your concrete control joints. In this condition if you dont want to use a grooving tool to cut joints there are early entry dry cut lightweight saws that can be used almost immediately after finishing. A good rule of thumb is to make your cut the thickness of your concrete.
Joints shall be spaced at 24 to 36 times the slab thickness but this need to be confirmed by a structural engineer. How deep should a cut be. When in a rectangle shape the rectangle ratio seldom exceeds a length to width ratio of 15 to 1. How deep to cut control joints in concrete.
Factors such as concrete mix weather conditions hardness of concrete and types of machines used for making the control joints determine when to cut the concrete slab. If you are using high shrinkage concrete you might want to decrease the cut spacing.