JOINTS IN SLABS

By Bill Palmer
A concrete slab on grade or floor is going to crack. There are some exceptions to that rule when
heroic measures are taken, like post tensioning or shrinkage-compensating concrete, but most
slabs are going to crack. It may appear that concrete doesn't move very much, but it moves
enough to crack itself, especially as it dries out after placement. Even after it hardens, a concrete
slab moves because of temperature changes or settling of the base course.

That's why we need joints in slabs. We put joints where we think the concrete is going to crack
anyway, and use the joint to create a nice straight crack with sharp well-defined edges that can
be sealed or filled and more easily maintained.

Cracks are a result of tension (pulling) in the concrete. Any time the slab is “restrained,” kept
from moving freely, it will crack, because tension is created. This restraint can be from
something next to the slab, from the ground underneath the slab, or within the concrete itself.
And when a crack does form, you know that the restraint created tension that was directly
perpendicular to the crack.

There are three kinds of joints used in slabs on grade to prevent “uncontrolled” cracks:

 Contraction joints (sometimes called control joints)

 Isolation joints
 Construction joints

Contraction joints

This contraction joint worked perfectly,

despite the early entry saw cut being less than an inch deep on a thick slab.
When concrete is placed, there is almost always more water in the mix than will be consumed by
the hydration reaction of the cement. This “water of convenience” keeps the guys placing the
floor from breaking their backs because it makes the concrete somewhat fluid (workable). That
water also makes it possible to get a nice smooth surface on the concrete (finishable). But this
extra water doesn't just sit there as the concrete hardens; it moves through the concrete to an
exposed surface and evaporates. As the concrete dries out, both as it is setting and over the
longer term, it shrinks. If it isn't allowed to shrink freely, if the shrinkage is restrained, it cracks.
Theoretically, if the slab could shrink without any restraint from the subgrade, if that surface
was frictionless, we wouldn't need joints. But that never happens. So knowing that the slab will
crack, we compromise and give it places to crack, weakened lines that the crack is sure to follow.
It's like cutting glass—make a line of weakness and the crack will follow.

The designer should specify the location of the contraction joints. The typical spacing in feet is 2
to 3 times the slab thickness in inches. So, for example, contraction joints in a 6-inch-thick slab
would be 12 to 18 feet apart. These joints should be continuous across the slab and should
ideally create square panels, although the panels can be rectangular as long as the ratio of the
long side to the short side is not greater than 1.5. (So a 10x15-foot panel is OK, but a 10x20 panel
will probably develop a crack across the middle.) Contraction joints should also be placed
wherever there is an abrupt change in the thickness of the slab.

Contraction joints are created with groovers or saws. There are also plastic joint-forming strips,
but they are not recommended. A grooving tool can be effective at making a contraction joint,
but the groove has to be deep enough to function. The finisher can use the point of a mason's
trowel to make sure that the cut is deep enough and then finish it with a groover. The groove
should be at least ¼ the thickness of the slab.

Sawing is the best way to make contraction joints, especially on larger slabs. Timing is critical
because if it's too late, the cracks will already have formed. Sawing should begin as soon as the
concrete begins to cool so that you are beating the buildup of tensile stresses from shrinkage.
For conventional saws, either wet-cut or dry-cut, the joints are cut 4 to 12 hours after the
conclusion of finishing—4 hours in hot weather, 12 hours in cold. The depth of the cut needs to
be at least ¼ the slab thickness.

Another way to cut contraction joints is with an early-entry, dry-cut saw. This saw allows the
joints to be cut much sooner without damaging the surface and, since the saw is used before the
concrete has gained much strength, the cut need not be as deep for the crack to follow it. Early
entry saws can be used within 1 to 4 hours after finishing, depending on the ambient
temperature. The depth of the cut is usually 1 inch.
Isolation joints
A slab will settle and move (from temperature changes) independent of other parts of the
structure, such as walls, columns, or stairways. If the slab moves only slightly more or less than
the adjacent element, either horizontally or vertically, then we will get a crack. To prevent that
crack, we isolate the slab from the other parts of the structure. For example, say the slab butts
up against a wall inside a building. After the slab is poured, it will shrink away from the wall,
unless it's tied to the wall. If tied, it will crack.

To create an isolation joint, use preformed joint filler that is the full depth of the slab. Along
walls, the isolation joint is placed directly between the wall and the slab. At columns, the
isolation joint can be round or diamond shaped (with a contraction joint coming off each point).
Fill in the open area around the column with concrete after the slab is placed and after the
column is carrying its full load.

Construction joints
Unless the entire slab is cast all at the same time, you'll have some construction joints where the
pour is stopped—typically against a bulkhead or edge form. If possible, plan to have the
construction joint at a spot where there would have been a contraction joint. If that's not
possible, then you may need to tie the construction joint together with tie bars.

If the construction joint is going to also serve as a contraction joint, coat the first part with form
release agent to keep the second part of the slab from bonding. But there's one problem—there is
no support across the joint to transfer vertical loads. In a normal contraction joint, the cracked
concrete transfers the load by aggregate interlock, the irregular broken concrete. At a smooth
construction joint that can't happen, so we use dowels. The traditional way to transfer load was
with a keyed joint, but most experts don't recommend keyed joints because they don't transfer
load very well once the concrete shrinks and the joint opens. Dowels may also be specified at
contraction joints, if aggregate interlock won't provide the necessary load transfer across the
joint. There are many proprietary dowel systems that work better than a simple greased rebar
stuck through the edge form. For a list of load transfer devices, see our Material Selection Guide
in the April 2004 issue of Concrete Construction.

If you want to know more about joints in slabs, or anything to do with slab construction, the best
resource is ACI 302.1-04, “Concrete Floor and Slab Construction.” Besides what's discussed in
this article, ACI 302.1 can teach you more about reinforcement and doweling, placing sequence
(strips, not checkerboard), saw cutting, curing at joints (important), and joint filling and sealing
(delay as long as possible to let the slab shrink).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer is editor at large of Hanley Wood’s Commercial Construction Group, which includes
digital and print versions of Concrete Construction, Concrete Surfaces, The Concrete Producer,
Public Works, and Masonry Construction. Previously, he worked for the American Concrete
Institute for 10 years as engineering editor and director of educational programs and was the
executive director of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) and of The Masonry
Society. He has been the editor in chief of Concrete Construction for 16 years. Bill is a Fellow of
the American Concrete Institute and is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan and
Colorado. He lives in Lyons, Colorado and can be reached at wpalmer@hanleywood.com. Follow
on twitter @WmPalmer.