Rebar vs. Wire Mesh in a Driveway

Wire mesh is a light welded grid of thin wire, sold in sheets or rolls. Rebar is deformed steel bar — usually 3/8" or 1/2" for flatwork — tied into a grid on site. Rebar carries far more steel per square foot and holds its position during a pour, which turns out to be the whole ballgame.

Steel only works if it sits in the right part of the slab — roughly the middle. Wire mesh is floppy, and the common practice of laying it on the ground and 'pulling it up' with a rake during the pour mostly leaves it lying at the bottom of the slab, where it does approximately nothing. Concrete crews are working fast during a pour; hoping someone lifts the mesh at every square foot is not a plan.

Rebar gets tied into a rigid grid and set on chairs before the truck arrives. It's at the right height when the concrete goes over it and it stays there. You can photograph it — and we do.

Rebar in every pour, on chairs, photographed before the concrete covers it. It's not an upcharge line on our quotes because it isn't optional in how we build.

If you're getting other bids, ask two questions: rebar or mesh, and how is it held at height? Then get a free on-site estimate and Jerry will show you exactly what goes in your slab.