Using higher quality rebar that will last in coastal areas

The moisture seeps into the hole and then spreads to the rest of the rebar that is underneath the coating

Depending on where you live and the kind of environment it poses, you’ll be forced to approach long term building projects in weird ways. For instance, roads in the north are consistently susceptible to chilly, thawing, and rechilly every single year. Cracks form in both concrete and asphalt and will line the highways in these areas. When I lived up north, I distinctly remember the feeling of hitting all of those bumps in the road while careening down the interstate at 79 to 79 miles per hour. The best thing the federal highway commission could do was fill the cracks with more asphalt, creating the distinctive ridge-shaped bumps that line the highways up north. But in the south near the coast lines, there are other stresses from the environment that pose extreme risk for concrete and reinforced concrete alike. If you’re going to build something with reinforced concrete near the coasts, you better use corrosion resistant rebar tie wire or you could have a catastrophe after so several years of weathering and moisture exposure. That’s why some building contractors will utilize epoxy or PVC coated rebar, however those products are dangerous if the outer coating gets punctured during upgrade. The moisture seeps into the hole and then spreads to the rest of the rebar that is underneath the coating. This can lead to catastrophic corrosion and is extremely hard to fix. Otherwise you can use galvanized or stainless steel rebar tie wire for your reinforced concrete projects in coastal areas, however you will guess the extra cost burn a hole through your purse.

16 gauge double loop rebar ties

I donated my leftover rebar to the university’s art studio

When I quit my part time handyman dealer to go back to work my old dealer full time, I had a lot of old equipment in a storage equipment that I needed to find uses for so I could get rid of the expense.

  • A lot of the storage locker was filled with containers of paint & stain of all colors, mainly from tasks I would do for local residents.

Aside from paint, I also had a lot of roofing materials because those tasks are in high demand as well. Coincidentally, my cousin was interested in becoming a handyman himself & I called him & told him to acdealer me to my storage equipment to discuss donating my remaining supplies to him. To no surprise, my cousin was ecstatic with this news & the two of us arranged a meetup time later in the week. He was amazed by the boxes of tools, paint cans, roofing materials, & wire spools that I had ready to go in the dumpster. The only supplies he didn’t take were the extra coils of rebar tie wire & the double loop ties that are stored next to them. I have traditional black carbon steel rebar tie wire, stainless steel rebar tie wire, & galvanized rebar tie wire. I even have 14 gauge up to 18 gauge rebar tie wire. After he left, I realized that I could donate the additional rebar to the local university’s art studio. When I was a student myself, my friend Jonathan used black rebar to make these amazing geometric sculptures. He used welding equipment to bend & conjoin sections of rebar, ending in appealing pieces that caught the eyes of people as far north as Toronto.

 

 

14 gauge double loop rebar ties

Using higher quality rebar that will last in coastal areas

Depending on where you live as well as the kind of environment it poses, you’ll be forced to approach long term building projects in different ways.

For instance, roads in the north are always susceptible to freezing, thawing, as well as refreezing every single year.

Cracks form in both concrete as well as asphalt as well as will line the highways in these areas. When I lived up north, I distinctly remember the feeling of hitting all of those bumps in the road while careening down the interstate at 68 to 72 miles per hour. The best thing the federal highway commission could do was fill the cracks with more asphalt, creating the distinctive ridge-shaped bumps that line the highways up north. But in the south near the coast lines, there are other stresses from the environment that pose extreme risk for concrete as well as reinforced concrete alike. If you’re going to build something with reinforced concrete near the coasts, you better use corrosion resistant rebar tie wire or you could have a catastrophe after so several years of weathering as well as moisture exposure. That’s why some building contractors will utilize epoxy or PVC coated rebar, but those products are dangerous if the outer coating gets punctured during upgrade. The moisture seeps into the hole as well as then spreads to the rest of the rebar that is underneath the coating. This can lead to catastrophic corrosion as well as is drastically hard to fix. Otherwise you can use galvanized or stainless steel rebar tie wire for your reinforced concrete projects in coastal areas, but you will know the extra cost burn a hole through your wallet.

rebar tie wire

Newer coastal buildings are utilizing new kinds of rebar tie wire to prevent disasters

When my parents took me on a cross country road trip to visit my grandfather’s subtropical condominium, I had no idea what to expect.

My sister and I had only been in our midwestern state and had been on short car road trips only.

We were told that we would see the ocean for the first time with our own eyes, having only seen the sea in movies and television shows. It was a phenomenal experience, especially since there was a small lagoon at the beach and a large sandbar on the other side. Now I have been living near the beach for decades and I still haven’t seen a lagoon like this form at any of our local beaches. I saw a starfish on that initial trip, as well as a jellyfish and several snook. One thing I remember well was all of the salt. Not only was it in the water, but it inevitably was in the air as well from being surrounded by the ocean. We had a large coastal waterway on the back side of the condominium giving us even more salty humidity. For years I have wondered how some of these buildings and structures are able to stand the test of time despite the unavoidable corrosion. I’ve seen some steel rebar that wouldn’t last five years of oceanic abuse, let alone decades. I didn’t realize that a lot of newer coastal buildings are utilizing new kinds of rebar tie wire that are resistant to corrosion. While stainless steel rebar has been used for bridges, overpasses, and tunnels in the past, now companies produce other options like PVC coated, galvanized, and black annealed rebar tie wire and double loop ties.

14 gauge double loop ties

I am working for a highly rated building developer now that I am out of school

I wasn’t sure if college was the right decision for me.

I considered being a car mechanic like my father, but he was always cynical about the future of his profession.

He hated how car manufacturers were making their systems both digital and proprietary, making automobiles even harder to repair for both the mechanic and the average Joe. This was a deliberate ploy to take business away from small-time auto mechanics, forcing automobile owners to leave their cars with the dealership mechanics whenever needing repairs or quick service. He always said that he found it incredibly disheartening to hear that many auto mechanic school graduates are encouraged to work for car dealerships if they want to survive in the industry. The pay might be better right out of school compared to a small business, but there aren’t exactly opportunities in the future for perpetual upward mobility. You could be stuck as an employee for the rest of your life, although that might be desirable for many people. I worry the same might happen with me as a construction worker. Granted, I managed to find a high paying job right out of trade school, but I wonder at what cost in the future? I want to own a business someday, but that’s becoming increasingly less likely as time goes on. Right now I am tasked with laying steel rebar tie wire and welding it into place with double loop wire ties before the concrete guys come in behind me. I’m glad that I’m getting invaluable welding experience, but working with steel rebar all day long can get a little monotonous after you’ve done it for several months straight.

 

Galvanized Rebar wire ties

My class is studying the different aspects of building design this month

I told my parents that I wanted to be like my grandfather before he started his landscape development company.

My mother’s father went to architecture school after being inspired by the gorgeous buildings he saw in Japan right after World War II when he was an Army Paratrooper.

He went to the big state university in the city where I was born, but he dropped out as a sophomore to start his own business. With my grandmother’s help and a small team of workers, he formed his initial business as a residential landscaper. His dreams were modest at the time, as he simply wanted to see his business through the path of success. As time went on and he obtained more clients, he reinvested the money he made directly back into the business itself. At first he was only doing residential landscaping, but soon he had commercial clients as well. Before he knew it, my grandfather was developing roads and plots of land for commercial and residential building projects. He created one of our city’s most beloved parks, although the name of the beneficiary is the one you will see on the sign these days. Right now I’m in an engineering class going over aspects of building and bridge development design, in particular rebar tie wire and concrete structures. It’s important for bridges, roads, and sidewalks to keep concrete from crumbling under the pressures of weight, weather, and humidity. Corrosion resistant steel rebar tie wire is important in places where the rebar is potentially exposed to water and salt, leading to rust in shorter spans of time.

 

rebar tie wire made in USA

Rebar wire in concrete slab patios keep cracks from spreading and getting bigger

I like learning new DIY skills through various home improvement projects.

It gives me both a source and excuse for practicing things like wood working, electrical wiring, and basic plumbing.

I built a large awning for our back porch last year and my wife has been making positive comments about it ever since. When that project was complete, I then built a wooden fence to wrap the entirety of our backyard. While my brother was enthusiastic about helping me put a new roof on the house this summer when the weather is pleasant, I told him that I’d feel more comfortable getting a professional roofing company for a job like that. I’m happy to learn as much as possible so I can do whatever job—within reason—without needing professional help. At the same time, I have my limits like anyone else. But I told him that I’d be happy to use his help on a different project altogether. I wanted a new concrete patio for the front of my house to replace the old one here that is broken and falling apart. I asked a concrete specialist and he told me that its state is due to a lack of rebar wire as structural support. I had no idea that rebar tie wire was so important for concrete structural stability. I learned that any concrete thicker than five inches should have rebar inside to prevent cracking. If any cracks form, a product like black annealed rebar tie wire will stop the cracks from spreading and worsening with time. Both black annealed and stainless steel rebar tie wire are corrosion resistant.

 

Zinc coated Double loop rebar ties

It’s great that our condo building was made with almost all America made materials

It wasn’t my plan to downsize after retiring, in fact I always dreamed about having a large house on a huge plot of land.

I saw my kids growing older, moving away, having families of their own, and bringing their children back home to the property to play like they did when they were that age.

But at some point, my wife and I both realized that we were living beyond our means and with more junk than we needed or could ever conceivably use. When she proposed the idea of selling this house and moving down south into a beach condo, she was already convinced I would react poorly. She was so worried about my reaction that she almost didn’t tell me, but I surprised her when I immediately agreed with her and smiled. My wife was right, we were living beyond a life that was adequate for us both, and it took admitting that we needed a serious change to get to a place where we could finally let go of the past and all of the junk we’ve accumulated over the years. The only worry I had at first was the long term stability of some of the condo buildings along the coastal beaches down south, but our building was constructed with mostly all American made materials, in particular the concrete and the stainless steel rebar tie wire forming the structural skeleton. It’s important to make any buildings exposed to moisture and salt corrosion resistant, which starts with the kind of steel rebar tie wire used. Stainless steel, galvanized and black annealed rebar tie wire are much more resistant to corrosion than basic steel rebar tie wire.

 

 

Rod wire made in USA