Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - retaining wall expansion joint

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buildit
09-19-07, 01:55 PM
I am pouring a 3' high, 1' thick concrete reataining wall on an 8"-10" slab. I want to put expansion joints in the wall, but do not want to use wood due to moisture. The annual temps are between 45 - 75 F (no freezing ever). What can I I use as n expansion joint? rubber? felt??? Anything commercial exist fo this??? Is scoring it enough? If so, how deep how far apart?


Thx.


Concretemasonry
09-19-07, 03:03 PM
Two obvious questions -

1. How long is the wall?

2. Why do you think you need expansion joints? - concrete shrinks.


Also, as I think about the situation -

Do you have to put the wall on the slab, or can it be on soil?

Do you plan to attach the wall to the slab? If so, how and how often.

Dick

Tscarborough
09-19-07, 06:35 PM
What you want are control joints, not expanision joints. Every 20 foot is normally fine, and you should use some type of blockout that will provide a keyed joint. To maintain moisture integrity, the keyed joint should be waterproofed with a material such as Synkoflex (the footing should be keyed and waterproofed the same way). You do not say how long the wall is, but you should plan it so that alternate sections are poured at the same time.

For instance, if the wall is 45' long, pour the outer 2 15' sections, then pour the center. If it is a 100' long, pour alternate 20' sections. Dont forget the bondbreaker application between adjacent sections.


buildit
09-21-07, 11:31 AM
Thaks for the inputs.

It is on a footer that is 6" - 8" thick. Thanks for the expertise: what is bond breaker application?