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Concrete Decor - Index

Concrete Decor - Concrete Decor Magazine, The Journal for Decorative Concrete - Index

by Jack Innis
Most professionals agree that nearly all
concrete slabs will, over the course of
time, crack. The reasons are widely known.
Concrete contracts as it cures. It shrinks
and expands with changes in ambient
temperatures. Unfortunately, due to friction
and other forces, concrete slabs rarely
shrink and expand as solid monolithic
units. Barring extraordinary efforts such
as post-tensioning, cracks usually appear.
Although they generally do not affect the
integrity of the slab, irregular concrete
cracks are unsightly, diffi cult to maintain,
and often pose aesthetic problems for those
in the decorative concrete business.
Disheartening as the concept of inevitable
cracking may seem to home or
business owners, decorative concrete pro -
fessionals have a few tricks up their collective
sleeves to make cracks seem all but
invisible.
“If you can’t beat them, join them,”
could be the motto of seasoned concrete
professionals. Rather than stressing out over
stress cracks, industry professionals have long
relied on contraction joints (see sidebar, “The
72 | www.ConcreteDecor.net | Dec. ’07/Jan. ’08
Photo courtesy of Jack Innis
Photo courtesy of Lakeland Co.