True or False: Contraction joints are sometimes called control joints.

True or False: Contraction joints are sometimes called control joints.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Cannot determine
• D. Sometimes considered different

Answer: (A)

Contraction joints are installed to control where cracks will form as concrete shrinks during curing. Their purpose is to create a planned cracking plane so the cracks don’t occur randomly across the slab. Because this controlling of cracking is the defining function, contraction joints are commonly called control joints. In practice, many specs use the terms interchangeably, so you’ll see the same joint referred to as either a contraction joint or a control joint. That’s why the statement is true.

Contraction joints are installed to control where cracks will form as concrete shrinks during curing. Their purpose is to create a planned cracking plane so the cracks don’t occur randomly across the slab. Because this controlling of cracking is the defining function, contraction joints are commonly called control joints. In practice, many specs use the terms interchangeably, so you’ll see the same joint referred to as either a contraction joint or a control joint. That’s why the statement is true.