What it is
Dowels transfer load from one slab panel to the next across a joint, while one end is free to slide so the concrete can expand and shrink without cracking.
Key points
- Used in driveways, roads and large floor slabs
- Smooth and greased on one side so it can slide
- Placed at mid-depth, parallel to the surface
- Also used to join new concrete to old
Why it matters
They stop the step-like cracks you see where one panel of a driveway or floor sinks below the next.
How Elamentt handles it
We use dowels in large paved areas and where new concrete must be tied to existing work.