1. Steel Reinforcing in Concrete

2. Steel Reinforcing gives the tensile or pull strength to concrete

3. Concrete gives the compression or push strength to reinforced concrete

4. Steel reinforcing has several different components. Mesh Mesh is placed in the middle of the slab to add tensile strength to the concrete. In a 100 mm slab the steel will be pulled up to a point 50mm from the top and 50mm from the bottom of the slab.

5. Rods There are two types of Reinforcing rods -Deformed - Smooth

6. These rods are often bent and assembled into cages. A cage used for a round pile or column. Typical cage for light to medium construction.

7. Stirrups Soft wire is used to tie the steel in place

8. When placed in the ground the minimum cover to the ground will be 75mm So for our 300x300 footing the cage will be 150x150 to allow 75 mm all around. Stirrup spacing is specified by the cage designer but is often 600mm. The cage would have 4 rods. Rods would need to be lapped as they are not available in 8 metre lengths. The lap is 40 times the diameter of the rod.

9. R6 Cage D12 Rods D means deformed and 12 is the diameter of the rod in mm 75mm

10. Bolt cutters for cutting mesh Steel bender and cutter for cutting and bending rods

11. 437020096_560.jpg hrweldedmesh.en.alibaba.com ( Mesh Photo) askthebuilder.com ( concete poured over mesh) manufacturer.com ( Standard deformed rod) durban.gumtree.co.za ( Bolt cutters) http://www.reinforcingsteelbar.com/reinforcingbar/ reinforcing-bar.htmlhttp://www.reinforcingsteelbar.com/reinforcingbar/ reinforcing-bar.html ( smooth bar) http://www.consysinc.net/sample- specifications.phphttp://www.consysinc.net/sample- specifications.php (Round cage ) http://www.unitedsteel.co.nz/http://www.unitedsteel.co.nz/ ( stirrups) http://www.jfanjoy.com/blog/?s&paged=9http://www.jfanjoy.com/blog/?s&paged=9 ( cage)