Reo Bars, Starter Bars & Dowel Bars

Round Dowel Bar

A dowel bar is a short round steel rod used in concrete to connect one slab to another, a column or pavement mechanically without restricting the horizontal joint movements.

Dowels are strong enough to reduce joint deflection and stress adding to the effectiveness of the concrete slab. As concrete is affected by changes in temperature from season to season a concrete slab will move horizontally by expansion and contraction.

In pavement construction dowel bars will transfer loads between adjacent pavement slabs, and should be placed perpendicular to the join extending into each adjoining slab lengthwise.

Proper installations of dowel bars can also minimise maintenance and prolong pavement service life, please consult your concrete engineer for correct size and spacing of dowel bars.

Advantages & Benefits:

• Load transfer provided between adjacent concrete slabs, aiding the distribution of loads and prevention of differential settlement
• Improve joint stability stabilising adjacent slabs and reducing the likelihood of cracking
• Improved pavement durability and safety by reducing join movement and the prevention of developing cracks, adding dowel bars to your construction improves the life of the pavement, maintaining a more consistent surface reducing pedestrian and or vehicle hazards

Starter Bars

A concrete or masonry wall or slab maybe tied together using starter bars, this steel element is made from reinforcement steel (aka, rebar or deformed steel). Starter bars a single lengths of steel rebar that are fixed into footings, slabs or walls providing a reinforced overlap. It is a vital step in maintain the structural integrity at all points of constructing a building, and starter bars are one element of steel that can be used.

Starter bars are often seen sticking out vertically from footings, waiting for a concrete or masonry wall to be built up or protruding horizontally waiting for concrete to be poured. The simplest starter bars are straight or L shaped and other more specialised situations rebar can be hooked or even threaded at each end to provide extension.

Threaded starter bars are utilised with female couplers to provide extension of the protruding reinforcement. The first threaded rebar is embedded in the first concrete element with the female coupler protruding, once in position and fully cured the second threaded rebar with the protruding male thread can be a fixed to the female coupler.

When new concrete construction need to be joined to pre-existing concrete element, starter bars can be inserted to the pre-existing concrete column or slab. Drilled holes at the required spacings are made and starter bars are fixed using chemical anchor injection, in some application Reo ScrewBar can be used.

Advantages & Benefits:

• Provide lateral strength whenever two elements in construction have to be joined together
• Provide strucutal integrity to retaining walls, used internally in columns to join concrete or masonry walls to the concrete slab
• Available in a range of lengths and diameters as straight or bent bars for specified appliation
• Threaded starter bars are available for more complex application
• Chemically anchored to concrete columns (post-installed), starter bars can be tied into reinforced steel mesh for retaining wall construction