Monolithic’s recommended procedure for splicing rebar has changed. For years and years, we just overlapped the rebar and tied the bars together. In fact, when I first started we overlapped and welded the bars together. But it turns out that unless you’re using A706 rebar – which is very expensive – welding the rebar is not allowed. So we recommend that you stay away from welding.

To bend or not to bend? That is the question if you’re talking about bending reinforcing steel bars (rebar) that are partially embedded in concrete, as we do in the Monolithic Dome construction process.

The construction industry is becoming aware of the existence of reinforcing bars made from fiber-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass rebar has been on the market for some time, making inroads where steel rebar doesn’t work well. There is now a new entry into this field, rebar made from basalt continuous filaments.

Correct rebar hanger placement takes a detailed, well organized process.

It’s important to understand why we use rebar (reinforcing steel bar) in concrete. It’s used to absorb tension forces in concrete, since concrete has very poor strength as a tension material. So correct placement of rebar is essential.