Hot-rolled steel bar with raised ribs that lock it into the concrete, most often ASTM A615 Grade 60 with a 60,000 psi yield strength. US bar sizes through #8 are numbered by diameter in eighths of an inch, so a #4 is 1/2 in and a #8 is 1 in, and larger sizes run up to #18 on heavy work. Bars are cut and bent to shop drawings, tied in place, held at the right cover on chairs and lapped where they splice.
Rebar for the grade beams shows up at seven, so have the forklift ready and the bar list printed.
Also heard as
- reinforcing steel
- bar
- steel
- iron
Related terms
Chair
A wire or plastic stand that holds rebar or mesh at the right height inside the form.
Cover
The depth of concrete protecting the outermost bar, measured from the bar to the nearest face.
Green bar
Epoxy-coated rebar, named for its usual green coating, used where salt and chlorides threaten corrosion.
Rod buster
An ironworker who places and ties the reinforcing steel on concrete jobs.
WWR
Welded wire reinforcement, a grid of steel wires welded at every crossing and sold in sheets or rolls.