Is cracking at joints acceptable after new pour of concrete?

Answer 1

Cracking at expansion joints is always acceptable and is the reason for the joint itself. There are two kinds of cracks, pretty ones and ugly ones! Ugly ones are random cracks where the concrete relieves itself from drying shrinkage in a random location within the slab of concrete which is normally not appealing to the eye. Expansion joints are placed at predetermined intervals within the slab where random cracks are weakened planes in locations where cracking is predicted prior to fresh concrete placement. All concrete shrinks when it dries, the larger the slab, the greater the overall shrinkage. When the tensile strength of drying shrinkage exceeds the tensile strength of the concrete, cracking will occur. Lets just hopes it cracks in a spot where we planned it instead of a location where didn't. By the way, joints should be cut at least 25% of the depth of the slab.