JLC • JULY 1994 The steel reinforcing that we all know as "rebar" is a critical component of quality concrete construction. By enabling concrete to resist bending forces, rebar allows concrete to be used for overhead spans like freeway overpasses or multilevel parking garages. In residential use, rebar enables slender concrete foundation walls to resist horizontal soil pressures, and gives piers, grade beams, and slabs the strength to support the weight of a home. Anyone who's had to break out a concrete structure knows that a slab or wall poured without steel is much easier to demolish than one with even a few pieces of rebar. It's no coincidence that bomb shelters and missile silos are made of steel-reinforced
