Hanging Rebar

I have in previous blogs talked about setting the rebar in chairs, but there are situations when doing so is not practical. I am building an ADU in clay soil. Because clay is considered unstable the footings and slab also is reinforced. This reinforcement is 3/8” or #3 rebar spaced at 126” on center.

Since the depth of the footer is 24” below grade and the width is 12” I have chosen to Run all the footings rebar. They are 2 sticks side by side of 5/8” or #5 rebar top and bottom of footings with a 2’ minimum overlap at joints. I’ll use the outside top run of the rebar as my edges for the #3 rebar as well, and I will tie the rebar into my grounding rod to insure a good ground.

            I place three sticks of rebar horizontally across the slap area and tie them together where they overlap each other. It takes two of the 20” 5/8” rebar to span the slab and tie into the top run of rebar. These legs of rebar also must have a 2’ overlap at their fill in the rest of the meeting points. Once this has been accomplished, I fill in the rest of the 16” grid with #3 rebar both vertically and horizontally. At each intersection I wire tie the placement together. I double every overlap section together.

I use the Marshalltown Rebar Bender for my bends and the Rebar Tie Wire Twisting Tool for all wire ties when ever possible. The bottom double run of rebar will be suspended off of long strands of tie wire and the double loop rebar wire ties where the 7” length permits. I place this grid on 2” concrete chairs to insure it is in the center of the slab and two from top in the footings.

            This is a project most homeowners could preform if the take their time, plan their work and make sharp bends for their connections. As everything else rebar has had a large increase in the past few years. However, there is satisfaction in doing some of the projects yourself.

            I find homeowners sometimes want to do small projects to help them make it their own project. I do not allow the home owners to hang the anchor bolts because their location is critical for the hold down of the sheer walls. This can be hard strenuous work if you don’t plan it out it can become harder. It takes strength to bend the # 5 rebar, so be sure to take your time and drink plenty of fluid.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.