Two Reasons To Use Wire Mesh Instead Rebar For Concrete Reinforcement
Posted on: 19 November 2021
When constructing a concrete installation such as a driveway, patio, or slab, it is essential to reinforce the concrete to prevent cracking or crumbling over time. Typically, there are several products you can use for reinforcing concrete, namely:
- Wire mesh
- Fiber mesh
- Rebar
Fiber mesh is fairly new, and it is not as commonly used as wire mesh and rebar. Thus, you have to decide between utilizing wire mesh and rebar mesh in most cases. Though both are ideal options for reinforcing your concrete installations, it is essential to note they differ in terms of pricing and malleability.
Before deciding on either option, it is advisable to consider the pros and cons of each. Nonetheless, as you will come to see, wire mesh provides more benefits than rebar mesh.
With that said, here are two reasons you should opt for wire mesh instead of rebar mesh.
Costs
It is common for raw materials to make up a significant portion of your budget during a construction project. Thus if you are not careful, it is pretty easy for the raw material costs to exceed your budget. As a result, it is always advisable to opt for the most affordable construction materials in order to stay within your budget.
As a result, when deciding between wire mesh and rebar for your concrete installation, it is essential to note that rebar costs significantly more than wire mesh. The significant difference in pricing is because rebar is composed of interlocking carbon steel bars, whereas wire mesh is composed of interlocking stainless steel/carbon steel wires.
Thus, buying carbon steel bars to construct rebar is more expensive than buying a readymade wire mesh. Hence, you get to save money by opting for wire mesh instead of rebar.
Less Labor Costs
Wire mesh comes in rolls that are ready to be laid on the construction site. On the other hand, rebar gets constructed on the site.
Typically when working with rebar, you first have to purchase the steel bars, then have the contractors cut and adjoin the bars to form the rebar. As a result, when you opt for a rebar, you will encounter higher labor costs because you will have to pay the contractors for the time they spend constructing the rebar. Additionally, the time used to construct rebar onsite delays the construction because the rebar has to be constructed and placed before the concrete pouring can commence.
However, because wire mesh comes ready to be unrolled and placed onto the site, no time gets wasted in preparing it. Instead, as soon as the wire mesh arrives at the site, it is immediately placed on the ground and concrete poured immediately.
Thus, wire mesh also saves you time and money in terms of labor costs because there is no time wasted in preparing the wire mesh
For more information on concrete construction wire mesh, contact a company near you.
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