Overheard a guy at the concrete supply place say he stopped using rebar chairs

I was waiting in line at the concrete supply yard yesterday and this older finisher was telling the guy behind the counter that he quit using plastic rebar chairs on flatwork. Said he switched to using broken pieces of brick or small rocks instead to save money and time. It got me thinking because I've had chairs tip over on me before and that drives me crazy. He claimed he hasn't had a rebar push-through or rust spot issue in 3 years since he made the change. Has anyone else tried something like that or am I overthinking this and should just stick with the chairs?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_gonzalez681mo ago

Yeah that thing about chairs tipping over hits close to home. I tried using those little broken brick pieces for a while on a garage slab last summer. Worked okay for the most part but I had trouble keeping the rebar at a consistent height when the pieces were all different sizes. Ended up going back to the concrete blocks that are about two inches tall. They cost a bit more than chairs but they don't tip and you can stack them if you need a higher stand.

rivera.henry1mo ago

@hugo_gonzalez68 it's funny how the cheap fix usually costs more in time and frustration later.