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Hot take: I used to think control joints were just for looks until a guy in Tucson set me straight
I used to cut joints just because the plans said so, no real thought behind it. Then I was finishing a 40 by 60 shop pad outside Tucson and an old finisher watched me lay out my cuts. He said the joint is not decoration, it tells the slab where to crack so it cracks there and not across your nice floor. I cut them a day late on that pour and got a random crack right through the middle anyway. What is your cutoff for sawing, do you go by the clock or by how the concrete feels under your feet?
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zarat372d ago
Ha, that finisher basically gave you the concrete version of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." Cut it late and the slab picks its own spot to crack, usually right where you don't want it. I've had good luck going by feel more than the clock, like when you can walk on it and the blade doesn't throw a bunch of paste, that's your window. But man, timing that on a hot Tucson day is rough because the top sets fast while the middle is still soft. Ask ten finishers and you'll get ten answers, but the guy who watches the slab instead of his watch is usually right.
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