Replacement expansion joint for cement
View Patent ↗Replacement Expansion Joint for Cement is an expansion joint for use with concrete. The preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes an arrow shaped plastic expansion joint with two holes bored inside the expansion joint. To use the preferred embodiment of Replacement Expansion Joint For Cement, an individual would remove deteriorating wooden expansion joints located in grooves between concrete slabs. The length of the wooden expansion joints would be measured to permit the user to purchase and install the proper length of replacement expansion joint. The user would then insert the expansion joint of the present invention with the arrow side facing toward the ground into the groove from the wooden expansion joint. The newly installed expansion joint would be much more resistant to the weather elements than the wooden expansion joints. The triangular end would allow the expansion joints of the present invention easily to bore into the ground and the lips of the expansion joint of the present invention would keep the expansion joint in place.
1. A method of installing an expansion joint comprising:
measuring the length of the expansion joint groove;
cutting a length of new expansion joint based upon the measured length, the expansion joint being comprised of an elongated expansion joint body formed from a flexible material having a transverse cross section configured with opposite sidewalls that extend downward from a top of the expansion joint body, the top of the expansion joint body having no recess or cavity formed therein along the length of the expansion joint body, the lower end of the expansion joint body having a transverse cross section that is configured as a triangle, and wherein a pair of opposite projecting lips emanate from each of the sidewalls at the upper end of the triangle; and
positioning the length of expansion joint within the expansion joint groove; and
optionally removing any old preexisting expansion joint material of an expansion joint groove between two previously installed and hardened concrete slab sections prior to positioning the length of expansion joint within the expansion joint groove.
2. The method of 1 , wherein:
the upper end of the triangle forms the pair of opposite projecting lips.
3. The method of 1 , wherein:
the top of the expansion joint body is generally flush along the length of the expansion joint body.
4. The method of 1 , wherein:
the opposite sidewalls of the expansion joint body taper inward from the top to the projecting lips of the triangle forming the lower end of the expansion joint body.
5. The method of 1 , wherein:
the expansion joint has only a single pair of projecting lips.
6. The method of 1 , wherein:
at least one centered hole extends through the length of the expansion joint body.
7. The method of 6 , wherein:
there are only two centered holes that extend through the length of the expansion joint body, the holes being oriented one above the other.
8. The method of 6 , wherein:
there is only a single centered hole that extends through the length of the expansion joint body.
9. The method of 1 , wherein:
the upper surface of each of the projecting lips are generally perpendicular to a vertical axis of the expansion joint body.