"Sure enough, after about a year, we had some cracks—not terrible, but noticeable enough to bug me every time I walked by."
Had pretty much the same deal with fiber-reinforced concrete. Did my driveway extension about three years ago—figured I'd save some cash and skip the mesh. Honestly, prep was solid, compacted base, proper curing...the whole nine yards. Still ended up with hairline cracks within a year or so. Nothing catastrophic, but yeah, annoying enough to notice every single time I pull in.
From what I've seen, fibers are decent for minor shrinkage control but don't really replace structural reinforcement like rebar or even mesh. If you're pouring anything that's gonna see regular traffic or heavier loads (like driveways or patios), I'd stick with rebar. Learned that the hard way myself.
If the cracks are bugging you that much, you might try sealing them with a flexible concrete caulk—won't make 'em disappear completely but helps keep water out and prevents further damage. Worked okay for me as a quick fix anyway.
Had pretty much the same deal with fiber-reinforced concrete. Did my driveway extension about three years ago—figured I'd save some cash and skip the mesh.
Yeah, totally agree on fibers being more about shrinkage control than structural strength. Had a similar experience with our patio—went fiber-only thinking it'd be enough, but nope, cracks showed up pretty quick. Ended up having a pro come out to epoxy-fill the cracks, which helped cosmetically. But lesson learned: next time, I'll definitely pay extra for mesh or rebar, especially for anything load-bearing or heavily used.
Went through something similar with our garage slab. When we built our place, I researched fiber-reinforced concrete pretty heavily and thought it sounded great—less hassle, cheaper, and supposedly strong enough. But after about a year, hairline cracks started popping up, especially near the corners and edges. Nothing catastrophic, but definitely noticeable and annoying.
Ended up talking to a structural engineer friend about it, and he basically confirmed what you guys are saying: fibers help with shrinkage and minor surface cracking, but they're not really a substitute for proper reinforcement like mesh or rebar. He said for anything that sees regular traffic or heavier loads, it's worth the extra cost and effort to reinforce properly.
Lesson learned for sure... next time I'll bite the bullet and go with mesh at minimum.
Interesting experience, but do you think maybe the cracking had more to do with curing conditions or soil prep rather than just the fiber reinforcement? I've seen fiber slabs hold up pretty well when the base prep was spot-on... just a thought.
