Yes. Contact us about our Guarantee.
They get a safe path that will last, a road that isn’t blocked due to concrete path repairs, peace of mind and the safety we all need.
An extruded special high strength UV stabilized, Lead and Cadmium [heavy metal] free Virgin PVC. PVC will handle aggressive alkaline [salty] conditions.
No. The virgin PVC compound used to make TripStop is UV and Ozone stabilized. More so the working parts are deep inside the slab.
Yes. All PVC is. Virgin PVC even more so. As it is now when we extrude and it’s out of tolerance its re-ground and used again to make TripStop.
75X weighs 1.18 kg and 100X weighs 1.74 kg per metre.
75S weighs .60 kg, 100S weighs .77 kg, 125S profile weighs .99 kg and 150S weighs 1.21 kg per metre.
TripStop is cut and drilled to order with whatever profile and length you desire [width of your path] with sufficient 6.3mm Galvanized Steel Pegs and height adjustable Plastic Wedges to do the install per box. Let us know what sort of soil you have on your site and we can advise you of the length of peg is best.
The lifespan of PVC and thus TripStop is measured in decades. Encased in concrete and buried underground it’s well protected. All facts point to the TripStop outlasting the engineered life of the concrete path.
TripStop is available in 75mm, 100mm, 125mm and 150mm profiles in off the shelf cut lengths of 1.0, 1.2, 1.35, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.4, 2.5 and 3.0.
A minimum of 3 steel pegs per piece are driven through pre-drilled holes and into the Earth to hold the TripStop in place during the pour. We supply the correct amount of Pegs and Wedges for each length in the price. The height is set via the supplied plastic wedges. There are down-loadable guides or download the Installation movie. In most cases it takes less time to install a piece of TripStop than do a troweled or diamond cut dummy joint. Time to place the piece of TripStop in the trench and drive in pegs may be 2 minutes apiece. A few minutes per piece to make sure the concrete is well packed around the joint. TripStop can also be used as a Screeding guide which is handy against fences. No need for any wooden depth markers.
Good engineering practice requires that the sub-grade be adequately prepared with compacted aggregate, and then wet prior to the pour. For best results the sub-grade should smooth and free of any irregularities. An aggregate base will not improve or hinder the TripStop efficiency. Some engineers specify the laying of a plastic membrane in the forms to eliminate bleeding of the water into the sub-grade.
Ideally concrete likes to be placed and cured in squares, so on a 1 to 1 aspect ratio is best. Some engineers use a 1 to 1.5 aspect ratio. Best practices suggest a 1 to 1 aspect ratio. If your forms are 1.5 meters wide, put a joint at every 1.5 meters, and AVOID expansion joints. The TripStop Concrete path System frowns on expansion joints for 2 reasons. Expansion joints are a guaranteed failure if there is any movement of the slabs, and it also reduces the efficiency of the system as it allows the slabs to move away from the hinging properties of the joint, thereby increasing displacement. Slabs with an aspect ratio in excess of 1 to 1.5 are more than likely to experience mid-panel failure due to differential curing. The old story that there are only 2 types of concrete, that is one that has cracked and the other that will crack still hold true. Better it crack where you want it to.
Yes, it is recommended that you do this. During pouring operations, concrete should be poured uniformly on each side of the TripStop joint to ensure the TripStop does not move from its pegged and wedged position. This will prevent possibilities of the joint bowing in the centre. Pouring on both sides of the joint also stop the joint being tilted on its side due to too much concrete on one side of the joint. Make sure that the joint is properly pegged and wedged to reduce the chance of it sliding down the pegs. The net result is the slab is poured into [ideally square] sections which eliminate shrinkage problems. Each slab is completely segregated at the pour.
No. This makes removing a broken slab so easy. Simply crack the concrete and slide the broken pieces away from the TripStop. The TripStop should stay in place against the other unbroken slab ready to pour new concrete connecting the path again. No need to diamond cut a slab again.
You can, but we suggest it looks better if you don’t. There are no real benefits in edging the TripStop joints apart from keeping that picture frame look. Downsides of double edging the TripStop joint are edging will cause the TripStop to be a fraction higher than the adjacent concrete, although at the same height as the general height of the slab.Edging also causes a trap for small debris to accumulate. Benefits of NOT double edging the TripStop joint include ending up with more anti slip surface on the slabs e.g. 20% more on a 1.2 x 1.2 panel, a significant time gain for concreters during installation and the finished surface looks better overall giving a dead flat surface. No bump as with traditional picture frame joints. NOTE. Comment has been made that the sharper edge created by NOT edging might mean the sharp edge will chip off. Our experience is this is not the case. One NSW council that has installed approximately 8,000 pieces have noticed NO chipping of the corners adjacent to the TripStop joint. Most Victorian, NSW and Qld councils have tried both and nearly all don’t edge the joint.
The concrete has not been finished flush with the top of the TripStop joint. The concrete should be finished flush with the top of the TripStop, not over it. Any concrete over the top level of the TripStop joint will inevitably crack unevenly along the general direction of the joint. It doesn’t seem to affect performance, but is unsightly.
No, extensive testing both in house and at RMIT University has shown no sign of cracking in that or any scenario. We put extreme weights on the articulated slabs and could not damage the TripStop itself. This is due the joint itself being under compression which makes concrete stronger. The joint itself has never failed in any test even when raised up under load one sided or twisted.
Yes. Use a clamp [steel Vice Grips work best] to clamp the 2 pieces together during the pour. Lay and peg the first piece of TripStop in position. Then line up, lay and peg the 2nd piece then finish off clamping the tops of the 2 pieces together making sure the 2 pieces are level and pour away. Remove the clamp after the pour and screed as usual. The TripStop doesn’t have to be in one continuous piece to work but it looks better. You cannot glue 2 pieces of TripStop together.
Yes the hole can be used as a services conduit. No the service will not interfere with movement but as the slab is lifted it will lift the service with it. The hole in TripStop is there to enable cooling during manufacture and to save on material and weight. The hole can be round or slightly oval.
History tells us that you couldn’t have both, but you can have both if you use TripStop. It is recommended that TripStop is installed in front of every tree starting at the trunk line and extending out from there to the drip line where the most active roots are at work. However tree roots go much further than this in their quest for moisture and nutrients. Up to double and even triple the width of the canopy in some cases. These roots are finer than the ones on the drip line and probably won’t affect the path that much but as the tree grows they will get thicker and cause displacement.
No, alone TripStop is not an expansion joint. TripStop is a new type of Construction joint called an articulation or double hinge Joint. Now where TripStop is used exclusively in a concrete path, it becomes a universal joint. Then it addresses expansion, contraction and differential movement. All expansion joints will cause trip hazards and maintenance nightmares unless they are doweled. However a Dowel will not articulate like TripStop. The steel Dowel must bend and will only transfer load equivalent to the strength of the slab resulting in slab failure and Displacement.
Yes and more. Not only does TripStop give a complete break between one slab and another, TripStop also controls displacement. Where a well made Contraction/Control joint gives a break there is no connection between the slabs apart from aggregate interlock and all these normal joints [Troweled/Saw cut] will displace if tree root invasion or soil movement occurs.
A key Joint is like a tongue and groove joint made to join 2 slabs of concrete. The key is shaped into the concrete by the bent metal shape. By the form of the joint, 4 angles are introduced into the concrete slabs. There are 2 on the male side and 2 on the female side. The key joint itself does not transfer load. The key was an attempt to improve on the old type expansion joint. The key can snap, but most likely it will be the female side that will crack off can snap or break off when faced with the stresses of rotation. A TripStop joint itself is the means to transfer the load unlike Key Joints and uses the strength of the radius to transfer the load from the lifting slab to the lifted slab through the TripStop. There has never been an overload failure with TripStop, even under exaggerated loads.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRIPSTOP JOINT AND A STEEL DOWELED JOINT OFTEN CALLED A SLIP JOINT?
A TripStop joint is designed to rotate and transfer load in compression, whereas a slip joint is designed to do just that…slip sideways to accommodate expansion and contraction, assuming the steel Dowels have been installed correctly ie level. If the Dowels have not been set level they will lock up. If sufficient load is applied the Dowels will bend and be rendered useless, or the concrete will break at the end of the dowels and pop through the surface of the concrete. We have all seen this.
Properly consolidated concrete is always important. Massive air pockets around any joint are not the best of practices. Over vibrating causes segregation, and excessive surface bleed. A good mix that it properly worked in and around the joint is important. A good mix coupled with good workmanship and a rake or some other tool to insure that there is concrete around the whole surface of the joint is fine. A vibrator in the wrong hands on a 75mm and a 100mm slab is a scary thing.
Yes. So long as the Mesh is covered and finished with 50mm of concrete and this includes 50mm from the edge of the TripStop joint. According to good engineering practice and AS3727 8(e) steel mesh must not be run through joints and must be covered with at least 50mm from all edges of the concrete at all times to protect the steel from the elements. The end result of not protecting the steel mesh is concrete cancer.
TripStop transfers load very well as we have tested it under the most extreme situations and it passed all the tests with flying colours. All our reports and videos are published in our website. TripStop allows rotation under compression. This compression is caused by the slab getting longer as it articulates keeping the joint tight. Australian Standards AS37278(e) clearly state not to run wire mesh through control joints. The mesh would have no cover at the joints once it is subject to movement and must corrode. More so we now have proven that when there is uplift the Mesh stretches and snaps.
Yes.
RMIT tested TripStop TS75X, TS100X AND TS125X in our full scale test bed with an incremental lifts to 50mm and published deflection/displacement results.
MTS tested the TS75S and TS100S in our full scale test bed with an incremental lifts to 108mm and published deflection/displacement results for both.
All the tests are available as downloads on our website.
Over 13 years and thousands of meters of TripStop has been installed in the harshest Australian locations. TripStop has also been installed throughout New Zealand, Canada and the USA. TripStop has never failed. While installing TripStop is not rocket science, to install one still has to follow good engineering practices. Simply, install the TripStop upright with no concrete over or under the TripStop and ensure the concrete has been suitably worked or compacted around the joint. Don’t tread on the joint while its wet and so on. We have seen a number of badly installed TripStop where the TripStop was not installed in the correct upright position. If you cant see the top surface of the TripStop it also indicates poor installation.
Yes. TripStop being made from PVC is used in all extremes of climate. After more than 13 years in situ we haven’t heard of any problems.
Yes. TripStop passed the Freeze and Thaw test with flying colours. See the download. RMIT report on FREEZE / THAW tests on TripStop PVC Joiners for residential concrete pavement (footpath / sidewalk) of 125 mm thickness.TripStop has also gone through 4 freeze thaw cycles in one Canadian City/Council with no problems.