Reinforced concrete is a material that is very strong in compression, but virtually without strength in tension. To compensate for this imbalance in a concrete slab's behavior, reinforcement bar (also known as rebar) is cast into it to carry the tensile loads.

Common reinforcement bar is supplied with heavy ridges to assist in binding the reinforcement to the concrete mechanically - this is commonly referred to as deformed bar - most concrete beams and footings are specified using this bar, being held together and in place with reinforcement bar fitments (also referred to as ligatures or stirrups) - even reinforcement mesh sheets are fabricated using deformed bars nowdays to give them the same added strength.

Most structural engineers will specify pre fabricated bars of varying diameters and lengths, shapes etc. and lay them at varied distances apart specific to your particular job needs. As such, reinforcing bars come in a range of differing diameters - all made from

Reinforcement bar types and sizes

• Round mild steel reinforcement bar - R6 R10 R12 R16 R20 R24 R28 R32
• Deformed reinforcement bar - N12 N16 N20 N24 N28 N32 N36
• Stock lengths of reinforcement bar - up to 12 metres
• S12 Pool Steel - Mild steel bars (not tempcore) that is very easy to bend by hand
• Processed reinforcement bars - custom cut and bent to required needs
• Dowel Bars - precut, often galvanised round bars used when one slab joins another
• Galvanising - Plain Reinforcement Steel bars can also be supplied galvanised

Deformed Bar was previously called Y-Bar eg: Y12, Y16, Y20,Y24,Y28, Y32 but through product improvements, the tempcore strength was increased (now 500Mpa) and is now denoted as N-Bar as listed above.