Quote:
Originally Posted by javadog
Nah, it's not an Oklohoma thing, or an Oklahoma one, for that matter. I do it the same way in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri... The work that I do is designed by architects and engineers, most of whom do things more or less to industry accepted norms. Often, the work we do is intended to last for a very long time, so we do things to a little higher standard than you see in the average house. Face it, most houses are pretty much absolute crap, from a quality standpoint. The average buyer doesn't know the difference; the purchase price is all they see. Most of us in the commercial or industrial construction business wouldn't touch the housing market with a ten foot pole...
Curbs that are poured by a curb machine, in a housing edition, don't have rebar. The curbs I build, which are poured by hand, do have rebar. Overkill? It depends upon how long you want it to last.
Here's the deal. Disregarding temperature changes, if concrete were placed on a perfect base that would not move in any direction upon the application of a load, you wouldn't need rebar. Sadly, we live in the real world and the dirt that Mr. Webb will have underneath his "curb" will not be compacted very well. Thus, rebar is quite useful.
And, did I mention, it's CHEAP?
JR
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I agree with you all the way. But, there's a difference between industrial commerical construction and a little patch of concrete in front of some guy's house. I am a custom remod. concractor who, like you, built above and beyond general building codes. Do you really need to blue print, balance and have JE piston custom make a set of pistons for 20 year old Hundai Motor when you rebuild it so you can drive it to work? I am sure it is a better built and it will out last a new Hundai many times, but at what cost?
I have done the curb (4'x10') in front of my parent's house ten years ago with a buggy I mention above without rebars, and no city permit on a saturday. They drive over it daily. No cracks, nothing. But then, I am in Socal, so no crazy temp change and almost no water beside the sprinkler system.
That's what I would do. Goog luck
Jeff