| Have you ever
watched someone ride a skateboard down a sidewalk and heard
that ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk sound as the wheels make
contact with the expansion joints in the concrete? We are
going to take great pains to avoid that in skatepark
construction. Expansion joints are placed in concrete to
establish a series of controlled cracks just like you see in
sidewalks and driveways. For skatepark construction we strive
for as few expansion joints as possible and settle for random
hairline cracking to insure the best possible ride.
It is important to stress
that modern skatepark construction is a new technology. The
best that we can do is to observe and follow existing patterns
in this newly evolving industry. Currently, this pattern is
to complete construction with a minimum number of expansion
joints, which results in random hairline cracking. That is
why we build to such high material tolerances. Remember the
statement; “we understand that we are making a trade-off, but
random hair-line cracking is better than expansion joints and
will be kept to a minimum because we are using 4000 psi
concrete (as strong as it gets) over compacted fill (3/4
minus) with number three (3/8 inch rebar) as reinforcement.”
Expansion joints are not a pretty sight! Still
have those 65mm Krypto's? You're gonna need 'em.
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