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Hi,

I am to install paving (porcelain tiles) around a new swimming pool on a concrete base, so quite a big area of concrete to pour (100m2+). As standard procedure I would use anti-crack re-mesh in the concrete, but I'm not sure about expansion joints. Should expansion joints be placed every 4m? If expansion joints are installed, then surely the paving is going to crack on top over the expansion joint too.

anyone had any experience of this and what is generally the solution?
thanks

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  • Hi Philip

    mesh wont stop shrinkage cracks, if anything it will encourage them. steel is put in to give the concrete tensile strength. to mitigate shrinkage cracks we would :
    -have a low slump concrete, using a water reducer, mid to high strength
    -pour on visqueen
    -pour on completely flat compacted subbase., differences in the thickness lead to different curing times
    -use a large aggregate mix
    -use large fibres in the mix
    -keep wet during curing
    -instead of movement joints we would saw cut 12hrs after pour. concrete wants to shrink, you make it crack on these joints. about 4m between them.
    cheers

  • PRO

    thanks for your response axeljk all good info...
    ...so if you do a saw cut do you still use re-mesh?
    and imagine porcelain tiles over the concrete - these are always going to crack on the sawn joint aren't they. So I'm thinking this would require a visible movement joint in the tiles every 4 m filled with suitable flexible filler. Would you agree & have you done this before?
    I remember doing a concrete base for resin bound round a swimming pool and we put expansion joint round the pool edge & crack inducers every 4m... still used re-mesh.
    cheers

  • I am not in a position to give you technical advice Phillip, but what I can can say is for you not to take any chances with this job and asking for general advice on here shows you are thinking that way already. Whereas paving will normally show an expansion crack though the joints and can be easily repaired, not so with tiles, where cracks will often transverse across the tiles. There are expansion joints made for such tile work.

  • I reckon you should head over to the brew cabin (part of the paving expert site) the guys on there now a lot about paving and concrete.

  • PRO

    thanks for the advice - yes the brew cabin sounds like a good idea!

  • you can get specialist tile expansion joints which are laid like a tile stop bead.

    You should perhaps rethink and manipulate your bay size to reduce these if possible as they will be a very obvious visual break and disrupt any pattern you are laying.

  • The pattern imprinted concrete companies recommend you line up your contraction joints with an existing joint in your work and then fill with their mastic product. I would have thought this would work in your case using the correct products for the job.

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