Scrap Wire And Metal Not Suitable For Reinforcement

Any attempt to substitute barbed wire, old scrap iron, pipes or similar odds and ends of scrap metal, will not result in the same success and security of construction as will follow the use of proper reinforcing materials.

Round bars will be found easiest to obtain under most conditions and will be suited to the general run of home or school concrete work. One should remember that the steel or iron bars which he may be able to obtain from the local blacksmith shop will not necessarily have the desired quality for the structural demands in concrete construction. For such work it is best to purchase reinforcing steel from some dealer or manufacturer making a specialty of such materials.

Sometimes poultry netting may be used as reinforcement for small flower boxes and similar objects. A netting of 1-inch mesh made of No. 19 gage wire will be found to meet average requirements.

When it is necessary to splice reinforcing, either rods or netting, care must be taken that this is done in a way to get the effect of the metal, that is, so that the tensile strains may at once be taken by it and not by the concrete. Ends of netting should be lapped at least 4 inches and bound together securely by wires. Rods should be lapped from 50 to 60 times their diameter. Reinforcing metal should be kept clean until used. Any coating of scaly rust or mill scale or a coating of oil will prevent the concrete from adhering to it.

Concrete tennis courts have long been popular, although not everywhere common.