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Talking About Welding Equipment and Techniques

Hi there. I’m Nina. Welcome to my website about welding. The process of welding together metal takes a lot more than a hot iron and some metal wire. There are many different machines and practices people use to carefully and skillfully weld together metal. With the right techniques, you can create truly beautiful welds that hold up to the test of time. The strong metal welds are often stronger than the two metal pieces they join together. I would like to use this site to talk about the different types of welding equipment, techniques and safety gear used for this exciting industry. Thanks for visiting.

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Talking About Welding Equipment and Techniques

6 Important Facts About Making Concrete Control Joints

by Matias Keranen

Like any newly finished project, a freshly poured slab of concrete is a beautiful sight, free of cracks and wear and tear. Unfortunately, it won't stay like that for long. Concrete control joints help prevent unwanted cracks in your concrete. If you have a concrete project, check out these six facts you need to know about control joints.

Control Joins Are Controlled Cracks

No matter what anyone tells you, you can't prevent concrete from cracking, but you can control where the cracks appear with control joints. Like many materials, dried concrete expands and contracts in the cold and heat. Without control joints, the cracks are visible, jagged tears across your concrete surface. However, if you create control cracks, the cracks are more likely to appear at those joints. Without control joints, the cement may even create unwanted cracks soon after the cement has dried.

Early-entry Saws Allow You to Cut Sooner

One saw option for making the control joints is an early-entry saw. If you want to start making saw cuts as soon as possible to help prevent unwanted cracks, this is the perfect saw. With an early-entry saw, you can start cutting within about 1 to 4 hours or as soon as you can walk on the concrete without damaging it. With other saws, if you start cutting this early, you will probably cause raveling, or chipping that occurs along the control joint. Early-entry saws prevent this damage thanks to their light weight and anti-ravel skid plate.

Wet-cut Saws Use Water to Reduce Friction

With wet-cut, you can't start cutting until about 4 to 12 hours, and the longer you wait, the greater the risk of unwanted cracks. However, wet-cut saws have their own advantages. For starters, they spray water, which reduces friction on the blade to reduce damage. Because they spray water, wet-cut saws also do a better job of controlling concrete dust, which contains dangerous silica. The water causes the dust to clump together, making it harder for you to inhale. For these two reasons, wet-cut saws are a safer option to prevent damage and health risks.

Dry-cut Saws Have Few Advantages

Like early-entry saws, dry-cut saws don't spray water, but like wet-cut saws, you have to wait about 4 to 12 hours before you can cut. Because of this, dry-cut saws don't have any real advantages over the other two, making the least best option for making control joints. If you do choose to use a dry-cut saw, however, take multiple shallow cuts to prevent friction and damage. Also, while you should make sure to wear protective eye and mouth gear regardless of which saw you use, it is particularly important when you sue a dry-cut saw because of the uncontrolled dust.

The Cuts Should Be Planned and Organized

Another factor to consider when making control cuts is where to place them. Typically, joins are spaced in feet 2-3 times the slab thickness in inches. So if your slab is four inches thick, you'll want to place your joints between 8 and 12 feet apart. Make sure the cuts are continuous, and make square patterns for best results. In hot conditions, it may be a race against the clock to finish the control joints before the concrete creates unwanted cracks. In this instance, it's better to make bigger square cuts first and then make the smaller ones inside those larger squares.

You Shouldn't Cut Too Deep

When cutting, don't cut all the way through the concrete slab. You only want to cut about 25 percent of the thickness of the slab. If you are using an early-entry saw, however, it's common to cut one inch deep, regardless of how thick the slab is. This is thick enough to ensure the cement cracks where you want it too while also hiding the crack. The crack will appear below the saw line, so you don't see the crack, you just see a clean saw cut.

Cracked and broken cement is unsightly, so avoid it from the beginning with control concrete cuts. They'll hide future concrete cracks, leaving your project looking great. If you're ready to get started, start by finding a concrete mixer for rent in your area. For more information or assistance, contact companies like Horizon Equipment Rentals.

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