I've seen in parking buildings the rebar is about 1 inch recessed and cut.?

Question

how do the end become like that. Is that because of the cap on the rebar displaces the space and they break off the pretruding end?

Answer 1

Most likely what you are describing is post tension cables. These are steel cables, with a plastic shield, that are run inside the concrete forms, before it is poured. These cables, take the place of re-bar, and can support more weight. They are poured in the concrete, with no tension on them. After the concrete is poured, a machine is attached to each cable, and "pulled" tight, then a clamp is installed on the end, to retain this pressure on the cable. The excess cable is then cut off, so no one gets cut by the jagged edges. Many homes, buildings, and structures, use this type of system. When drilling, care must be taken, so you don't hit one of these cables. If they are damaged, they can break, and the cable will literally explode out of the concrete, and can actually kill someone. These cables can have thousands of pounds of pressure on them. When we remodeled a building at the airport in Houston, Texas, we had to lay out where our pipes were needing a hole cored through the floor. After we layed out our "holes", a ,man with an x-ray machine had to come in and x-ray every "hole". If a cable was within 6", we had to come back, and re-lay our holes, and these were x-rayed, and this process continued, until everyone was certain, that no cable would be anywhere close to our holes. It took about a week for this process, and we didn't even have 1 hole cored yet.

Answer 2

The rebar should be fully imbedded in the concrete. It is cut to size, tied and suspended before the concrete is poured. Visible rebar indicates a fault in the structure, as would chipped, cracked and otherwise damaged concete. Salt and dampness are major contributing factors in the decay of these materials, and would indicate a need for a professional assessment as to the integtity of the structure.

Answer 3

The ends you see I would assume are on the vertical faces of concrete. These are the ties that hold the forms together and yes, like you said they break off the protruding end when they remove the forms.