Rebar Facts
InteRebar Fabricators
Rebar Facts
Q: What is rebar used for?
A: Rebar is used as a tension device in reinforced concrete and masonry structures, such as buildings, roads and bridges; to add strength and hold the concrete in compression. Concrete is a material that is very strong in compression, but weak in tension. To make up for this imbalance in concrete’s behavior, rebar is inserted into it, to carry the tensile loads.
Q: Where is rebar used?
A: Rebar (short for reinforcing bar) is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used as a tension device in reinforced concrete and masonry structures, such as buildings, roads and bridges; to add strength and hold the concrete in compression.
Q: When is rebar needed in concrete?
A: Concrete which carries heavy loads (such as footings, foundation walls, columns and roads) almost always requires reinforcing steel. Not all concrete work requires rebar. Concrete projects such as pathways, some driveways and small shed floors, generally do not require any steel reinforcing at all. However, adding steel rebar to smaller projects, will always give added strength.
Q: What are rebar sizes?
A: #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #14 #18 are the standard US rebar sizes. US (also known as Imperial) bar sizes give the diameter in units of ⅛ inch for bar sizes #2 through #8, so that #8 = 8⁄8 inch = 1 inch diameter. Bar sizes larger than #8 follow the ⅛ inch rule imperfectly and skip sizes #12-13, and #15-17 due to historical convention.
Q: What are rebar chairs used for?
A: The most common type of rebar chair, is one that will raise your reinforcing bar off the ground, providing the right concrete cover. These chairs, are usually on foundation work, like slabs and cast-in-place concrete slabs.
Q: What are rebar couplers?
A: Rebar couplers are connections made to attach two pieces of rebar when lapping joints are not appropriate or allowed in a certain area of the job. Rebar couplers are nice because they can simplify a design and decrease the amount of rebar needed while keeping the same tension strength required.
Q: What is rebar made out of?
A: Collectively known as reinforcing steel and reinforcement steel, rebar is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used as a tension device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and hold the concrete in compression.
Q: What is rebar fabrication?
A: Once detailed rebar plans have been approved, the rebar fabricator cuts, bends, and finishes the ends of each bar to specification with power equipment. This process must be done with great detail as it will be eventually shipped and used on a job site per those original engineered drawings.
Q: Why does rebar have ridges?
A: Rebar has ridges to improve adhesion of the concrete to the bar and to increase the strength of that adhesion incase movement of the concrete were to take place.
Q: What is rebar threading?
A: Rebar threading is actually taking a piece of rebar at an end, using a machine that will carve it down while leaving a threaded helix end. Threaded rebar is used as an alternative anchoring method such as rebar couplers.
Q: Can rebar be bent?
A: Yes rebar can be bent. More likely than not, you will see bent rebar because it was fabricated to meet certain engineered drawings. Since bending steel alters its strength at the bend, it must be done very carefully to meet code requirements and avoid liability if the structure suffers a failure. If the bar becomes split or broken during the process, it gets tossed to the scrap heap and a new bar goes through the bending machines to replace it. Rebar is very strong, so machines in a fabrication shop are used to bend them to exact dimensions that will be later used to create a structure to strengthen concrete.
Q: Can rebar be cut?
A: Just as rebar can be bent, rebar can be cut. Cutting rebar can be done many ways such as a saw with a metal graded blade, using a torch to cut the bar with extreme heat, a band saw, or a shear. A shear press is what is used in professional fabrication jobs.
Q: How does rebar work?
A: Structural elements need rebar to carry the tension in the reinforced concrete. Rebar helps control concrete cracking due to shrinkage cracks from curing or from temperature changes. Concrete alone is very strong when dried but does not have tension strength to stop cracking and erosion. When rebar is in place before the concrete is poured, once poured they both form a bond that strengthens the structure as a whole.
Q: How much rebar do I need?
A: How much rebar you need will be different for every job. Rebar is needed to strengthen concrete and is required differently per amount of concrete and size of rebar that you are using.
Q: How do you connect rebar?
A: There are many ways to connect rebar. A few examples are Rebar couplers. Rebar couplers are connections made to attach two pieces of rebar when lapping joints are not appropriate or allowed in a certain area of the job. Rebar couplers are nice because they can simplify a design and decrease the amount of rebar needed while keeping the same tension strength required. Another way to connect rebar is through a simple rebar splice. This is a lapping joint that has a required lap length depending on the size of rebar that you are using.
Q: What is wire mesh used for?
A: Wire mesh is used to give concrete tension strength. Laying wire mesh down in driveways or other types of concrete slabs ensures strength and compression of the concrete.
Q: What are dowel bars used for?
A: Dowel bars are installed in a reinforced concrete footing to tie it to another masonry or concrete structure above it. For a home with a concrete footing, concrete block stem wall, and a concrete slab, the dowels will go into the concrete block cells, then bend into the slab itself, to tie everything together for structural strength.
Q: What is epoxy coating for?
A: Epoxy produces a hard, chemical and solvent resistant finish. They are typically used on concrete and steel to give resistance to water, alkali and acids.
Q: How do you tie rebar cages?
A: There are many different types of ties used to secure reinforcing bars to each other. For speed and security, we prefer a double snap tie. This keeps the rebar in position against displacement, due to transportation and concrete placing. The double snap tie is quite simple to execute. The tie wire is doubled over and then wrapped once around the crossing bars in a diagonal manner, with the wire ends on top. The wires are then twisted together with a pair of pliers until they are tight against the rebar. The wire is then cut with pliers. An additional twist may also be applied to guarantee the bars have a snug fit. Repeat the process at all junction points to complete the rebar cage.
Did You Know?
Rebar used to be made from new material but starting in the 1960s it began to be made from scrap. Nowadays, domestically produced rebar contains 97% recycled material—from old cars, appliances, hot water heaters, and the like.
Do You Need Rebar Fabrication Services?
If your business is in need of best-in-class rebar fabrication, look no further. InteRebar Fabricators can help you with any reinforcing project you can dream up.