When our house was built the slab for the garage and the basement were poured well after the framing and other stuff was done. When I had asked why; they had told me it will help with curing and keep the concrete from flaking.

I remember in the basement they had used wire that looked like chicken wire that was thicker and had bigger squares and in the garage used quarter inch "rebar" meshed out in 4" X 4" pattern.

But where I live, it gets cold and this may be the reason for it.

Keep us posted, I like the HGTV projects. Life hasn't been the same since "This Old House" is no longer available to us.