Control Joint
Although concrete masonry expands during warm weather, it generally expands less than it shrinks. Control joints are often constructed to transfer lateral loads across the joint.
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Control joints are typically used in concrete masonry to reduce the occurrence of shrinkage-related cracking. A control joint is a continuous vertical joint filled with mortar, but with a bond breaker on one side so that tensile stress cannot develop across the joint. If control joints are not provided, a concrete masonry wall may crack as it shrinks over time. Where control joints are provided in such a wall, they widen as the concrete masonry shrinks, preventing it from cracking. Control joints should be provided at regular intervals along the wall's length and near corners, returns and changes in the wall's height, support or stiffness. Control joints will not relieve masonry expansion.
