On 4/17/2011 9:25 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:37:36 -0500, "Joe
wrote:

Still getting estimates on paving the remainder of my driveway. Latest
concrete guy comes in and says they no longer use wire mesh, it ends up
rusting and then popping the concrete, so they mix a fiber mesh right into
the concrete before they pour it. 4 inches.

I'm skeptical, but not against new technology. Any opinions because I've
never heard of this, or seen it. I've always just seen wire mesh laid down.

Called 4 asphalt contractors and not one has returned my calls so far. I
thought contractors and the economy are hurting?
3 concrete guys so far. Two with wire mesh and the above mentioned guy.
Two at 4" and one at 5".

Thanks,
Are they talking about "macro fibers"? macro fibers are the new
thing, the old thing was micro fibers. Macro are thin filaments of a
plastic sort of material about 2 - 3 inches long. One question to
ask them is what percent of fiber they will be using and how does that
compare to the manufacturers recommendations. The have been several
advantages found for using fiber instead of mesh or rebar in the major
construction industry. One big difference is that with mesh or rebar
you will get larger cracks farther apart. With fiber the cracks will
tend to be smaller and closer together, usually they will be pretty
tight. Even though the fibers don't usually add compressive strength
to the concrete they do make it "tougher". And since they are not
metal they don't rust and cause problems. If the dosage rate meets
the manufacturers recommendations I would not hesitate to use it.
I had a large residential concrete job done last fall, costing about
$22,000. The best and most respected contractors, one of whom I chose to
do the job, recommended the same approach using fiber material added to
the mix instead of rebar or steel mesh. It has been in less than a year
so I can't tell if the approach was ultimately a good one, but a lot of
satisfied customers from the past apparently have found this to be a
good solution. Time will tell.........