Mesh vs fibre - that chat again....

[Doing it for the kids]

Local concrete prices have gone up as we were about to redo our yard So I’m less keen to do it in house.

yard takes artic tankers, grain lorries etc daily so needs to be to commercial spec, no livestock around though.

planning on replacing what’s there with an 8 inch pad.

labour less to lay fibre, I have hang ups about It though (no reason in particular).

have used mesh before and in my head feel it will be better.

what would others do looming long term?

@RWG Contracts

 

[Pebd99]

Mesh or mesh to be honest. Fibres are for surface cracking I’m told. Mesh for real strength.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

How long do you plan to keep traffic off after laying?

 

[Doing it for the kids]

At least 4 weeks, ideally 6

 

[pembsarable]

Always mesh. Never skimp on concrete. Make sure sub base is vibrated to within an inch of its life. Allow expansion joints. Jobs expensive so do it right first time, cost will soon be forgotten about over time where as a poor job will always be there to remind you.

 

[Lincsman]

You might want to consider two layers of mesh in that depth, for really heavy traffic.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

You might want to consider two layers of mesh in that depth, for really heavy traffic.

whats heavy traffic Though? We don’t have 100 lorries a day in here, it’s still a farm. If we do get heavy loads in.

 

[Lincsman]

whats heavy traffic Though? We don’t have 100 lorries a day in here, it’s still a farm. If we do get heavy loads in.

Its loaded tri axles turning thats the killer, but a very good base helps.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Always mesh. Never skimp on concrete. Make sure sub base is vibrated to within an inch of its life. Allow expansion joints. Jobs expensive so do it right first time, cost will soon be forgotten about over time where as a poor job will always be there to remind you.

i agree. 3-4 inches of old school is coming up but has no sub base So we have dig down at least 400mm to back fill 300 of stone with membrane before we can pour new.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Its loaded tri axles turning thats the killer, but a very good base helps.

YES! drivers don’t seem to care., winds me up, would rather spin around then take a shunt, plenty of space!

 

[Lincsman]

YES! drivers don’t seem to care., winds me up, would rather spin around then take a shunt, plenty of space!

I was waiting at the dock one day when a driver managed to pop one off the rim,, it was very loud!

 

[Wombat]

We did a part of the yard with 6” plus structural fibres 3 Yrs ago adds about £20 a cube to the price and been fine since.

 

[Steevo]

Mesh well worth it.

Plastic fibres waste of time.

 

[FarmerBruce]

We use both in that situation

 

[JD6920s]

YES! drivers don’t seem to care., winds me up, would rather spin around then take a shunt, plenty of space!

Local haulier drivers always screw round in our yard loaded with fert, I said to one “why didn’t you turn round after I unloaded you?”
To which he replied “I’m not paid enough so I’ll take it out of the tyres!”
I said I’m glad I don’t employ you!

 

[Garry Martin]

Mesh or mesh to be honest. Fibres are for surface cracking I’m told. Mesh for real strength.

I have been employed in the fibre business for 20 years and although you might say I am an interested party, I can show you a huge range of agricultural applications that have been built using a mix of structural fibres and micro fibres over many years. Not only do we design the slabs or wall units or clamps, but we also put our money where our mouth is and back up what we say with a professional indemnity insurance worth £2,000,000 if what we say is wrong and the slab or element fails. I can provide you with free of charge fibre designs and show a comparative cost saving example (based on your costings) compared to mesh at no risk to you whatsoever. To know more about fibres from a professional - [email protected]

 

[HatsOff]

Mesh and fibres do different jobs in concrete.

Steel mesh = will enable the concrete to span across any soft spots in the ground below and provides some cracking control.
Short plastic/metal fibres = will not provide any structural capacity for soft spots. Provides excellent crack control and lessens the effect of cracks that do appear.

In short, mesh makes concrete stronger; fibres make concrete tougher.

If you have an excellent sub-base you can forgo the mesh and use some fibres, but for most agriculture applications where you haven't got access to CBR testing and heavy duty rollers, I'd stick with mesh and accept a few hairlines cracks will appear with time.

 

[David.]

Always use fibron if temp is more than about 16C, it really does help with surface cracking, for the four quid a metre it costs. Makes a mix more difficult to finish on a drying day though.
All the mesh in Christendom is no substitute for a good hard base.