Where a section of shotcrete is left incom-plete at the end of a shooting shift, some provision must be made to ensure that the joint will not develop a plane of weakness at this point. According to the American Concrete Institute™s œGuide to Shotcrete1 and the œUnified Facilities Guide Specifications,2 construction joints should be tapered to a shallow edge form, about 25 mm thick. (1 in.) Therefore, in North America, contract specifications will typically require that shotcrete construction joints be tapered to a 45-degree edge and be thoroughly cleaned and wetted prior to the application of additional shotcrete. When welded wire mesh re-inforcement is used, some contractors will also overlap two layers of mesh at the expected location of construction joints in the antici-pation that the shotcrete at the joint may be weaker than the unjointed portions of the shotcrete.