Alchatek Blog

National Sanitation Foundation develops public health standards and certification programs that help protect the world’s food, water, consumer products and environment.

On some jobs, it can be very important for you to make sure the products you use meet NSF/ANSI 61-5 standards for contact with drinking water. This testing covers all products that will be used in or around drinking water from source to tap. We have eight products that are NSF approved. These products are used for crack injection, curtain wall grouting and slab lifting.

The products are as follows:

AP Fill 700	AP Seal 600
AP Lift 430	Spetec H100
AP Lift 475	Spetec F400
AP Seal 500	Spetec F1000

A few years back I received a call from a large tunnel contractor asking me if we had NSF approval on our products.  They were using a competitors product and were having problems with what they were using. This particular tunnel was tasked with bringing all of the drinking water from upstate New York into New York City.  I set up a meeting with the contractor and the DEP to go over our products.  As it turned out, they accepted our product and are still using it to this day in potable water applications for this tunnel and many more. 

It can also be important to have NSF approval on products that don't come into contact with drinking water, in order to be sure they're safe for the environment in general.  Having NSF approval on your products is important and a market differentiator. 

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Winter is coming fast and it is already the time of year when winter storms are a possibility. High winds, heavy rain, high tidal changes and large waves have already begun in some of the coastal areas of the country. Winter weather plays havoc with our beaches and shorelines and our seawalls really take a beating.

Alchemy-Spetec can help. We make soil stabilization resins that can stop erosion of unstable soils and sand. We can help stabilize the areas behind seawalls suffering from soil erosion and settling. AP Fill 700, AP Soil 600, Spetec PUR H40 and Spetec PUR H100 are just a few of the resins we have to address soil stabilization, erosion and water leak issues. We also have the AP Lift 430, AP Lift 440 and AP Lift 475 lifting resins to raise areas like concrete structures that have sink due to erosion.

Don’t wait for potential problems to become worse or serious. Let us offer you solutions with our powerful polymers and painless procedures that will give you rapid results. A lasting repair and peace of mind for your soil stabilization problems are only part of what we do.

At Alchemy-Spetec, we’ve got your back!

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Polyurethane chemical grouts fall into two categories when it comes to how they relate with water: hydrophilic and hydrophobic. 

Hydrophilic grouts are ideal for areas that are constantly wet, because they bond better to wet concrete.  They are water loving grouts which means they thrive in moist environments.  They perform very well when they are subjected to water 24 hours a day. 

However, if that water goes away, hydrophilic grouts are not ideal because they could shrink and crack when the area dries out.  Now you take that chance it will leak all over again on the next rain event.  We call this a wet/dry situation.  What does wet/dry situation mean?  This means that water can be present in a crack or void after a hard rain and then a few days later that water is no longer present in the crack and void.  The water table drops or the weather dries out and now you have a crack or void with no moisture present.  In situations like these, you want to use a hydrophobic grout.

This leads me to a call I received a few months back.  The owner of a storage building in Virginia was upset because he had hired a grouter to come to his storage facility and fix leaking cracks inside the storage bins. While the leaks remained sealed initially, they eventually started leaking again after a few rainy day/sunny day cycles.  They were very worried that water was going to leak and damage the items that customers had in the storage units.  It turned out the contractor had used a hydrophilic grout in this wet/dry situation, which was not the best choice for the reasons explained above.

The solution was simple.  The owner went with my grouter, who used a hydrophobic grout to permanently seal the leaks.  Knowledge is power, folks!

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Personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as “PPE”, is essential for minimizing hazards on the job.  Neglect can result in very serious injuries and possible death.  These injuries or illnesses can result from electrical, chemical, mechanical and many other hazards.

Personal protective equipment such as gloves, safety glasses, shields, protective shoes, hard hats, ear plugs and respirators are just some of the protective gear that is worn every day.  It is so important to know what to wear and when to wear it.  It's also very important to know is how to properly put on the safety equipment.  By law, workers must use protective equipment in the work place when it is required.

This brings me to a story about a on a project I was on many years ago.  I was training a new contractor's crew on sealing manhole leaks with polyurethane chemical grout.  When training work crews, I always put a heavy emphasis on safety.  Since we were working with polyurethane, I also made clear how important it is wear safety glasses or shields to cover your face.

A little later, when I was showing them how to mix the chemical grout, I absent-mindedly left my safety glasses on top of my head instead of pulled down over my eyes.  As I was pouring the chemical grout out of the 5 gallon pail and into a bucket - a tiny drop hit me in my left eye.  I was blind in that eye for two days.  I even thought I might end up losing sight in that eye. 

Fortunately I was fine a few days later.  But it was a very close call.  One I don't ever want to repeat.  This was all due to me forgetting to pull my safety glasses down over my face.  That is how quick it can happen!  So needless to say, it is important to follow safety procedures no matter what.  Accidents happen, but we want to follow every possible measure to prevent any tragic consequences.  

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When it comes to soil stabilization and void filling, I get a lot of calls to help local contractors. Recently I was advising LJS Waterproofing on a structure that had issues with unstable floors. I instructed them to use the technique of probe grouting.

They inserted the grout pipes about 22 feet in the ground. Next, they began to pull the probes out of the ground while pumping about 2 gallons of AP Fill 700 every foot. This was done 5 times until they reached the 17 foot marker.

After the grouting was complete, the damaged floors were removed and replaced. This time around the floors should have a longer lifespan since they are supported by solid, stable soil.

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What Causes Leaks & Voids in Concrete Infrastructure?

Imperfect Construction

Concrete construction is by no means a perfect science. New construction often requires leak seal treatment follow up work. If the initial construction isn’t properly sealed at the time of construction, leaks are bound to appear sooner rather than later.

Weather and Wear

Concrete naturally decays over time. Exposure to extreme hot temperatures and extreme cold temperatures can take their toll over time. Even structures located in mild climates will begin to decay purely due to the aging process.

Unstable Soil

Unstable soil can undermine the integrity of concrete structures to cause cracks and voids to appear. Loose soil has four main causes: soil erosion, poor compaction, freeze/thaw cycles, and biological decay. If soil is the main culprit, additional stabilization and slab lifting treatments may be required in order to prevent further cracks from appearing.

How Does Injection Grout Help?

Water Activation

Leaking concrete structures can be permanently repaired with concrete crack injection by using a water activated flexible foam.

Pressure Injection

Pressure injection of these liquid polyurethane resins forces the material into leaking cracks, joints, voids and other defects.

Flexible, Watertight Seal

After the polyurethane crack injection is complete, the polyurethane resin rapidly reacts with water to form a flexible, watertight seal.

Want more information on infrastructure leak seal and void fill?

A warehouse is only as good as the foundation it’s built on. And regardless of how well-constructed your warehouse may be, most foundations settle. That’s just a fact of life. Shifting soil, compaction, and many other environmental conditions tend to cause settling. Sometimes warehouse floors settle gradually, and in other cases they may just suddenly cave-in. These situations obviously create problems for property owners, and opportunities for the contractors who know how to fix them.

Alchemy-Spetec manufactures the AP Lift 430, 440 and 475 polyurethane lifting foams for slab jacking and structure lifting. Among the most dependable products for jacking and leveling concrete slabs, these two-component, high-strength, hydro-insensitive structural foams serve as an extremely effective solution for contractors.

Want more info on warehouse and industrial slab repair?

I recently consulted with LJS Waterproofing on a job involving leaking concrete slabs. This job involved a control joint (a planned crack which allows for movement caused by temperature changes and drying shrinkage). The joint seal that had begun to leak rain water into a conference room below.

To fix this problem, I suggested the use of Spetec F400. This polyurethane resin was chosen due to its high flexibility. When dealing with structures that move, such as parking decks, you do not want to use a resin that is rigid in any way. It will lead to cracking in the near future, which can result in job failure.

Armed with Spetec F400, LJS Waterproofing contractors began drilling into the control joint and pumping resin. After filling in the cracks, the leaks were completely repaired - with no water leaking into the room below. This job was completed within one work day.

Want more information on leak seal with Alchemy-Spetec resins?

 

We talk a lot about soil stabilization underneath existing structures, but what about new construction? Before construction can begin on any new structure, stable ground underneath is obviously an essential prerequisite.

Unstable soil can be defined as soil that will not stay in place on its own, and therefore requires extra support. It should be noted that unstable soil can threaten the stability, security, and safety of any potential new construction projects, such as buildings, bridges, and roads. There are a variety of factors that can cause unstable soil including erosion, poor compaction, freeze/thaw cycles and decomposition.

Soil can be stabilized with AP Soil 600, Spetec H40, Spetec AG100 and Spetec AG200. Once the bearing capacity of the soil has been increased, then the new construction can begin.

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A few things have changed since I posted the previous version of this article. So I've updated it to reflect our current waterstop product line. While similar in function, there is a difference between leak seal products and waterstop products. Waterstop products are designed to prevent water leaks from occurring, while leak seal products are designed to repair existing leaks.  

Here's an overview of Alchemy-Spetec waterstop products:

Spetec WT400

This is a caulk designed to swell and/or expand in the presence of water.  It is safe for marine environments and can be applied under water. Spetec WT400 is used to seal pipe penetrations, wall joints, and sheet pile joints. It is available in two package sizes:

12 Sausage Case (20 oz)

 

Spetec ITS Kit

The Spetec ITS Kit is a complete injection tubing system for sealing of construction joints in concrete. It can also be used to seal cold joints, expansion joints, pipe penetrations, and tunnel segment joints. In addition, this kit can be used as a primary waterstop system. It includes four parts:

100 lf of injection tube. 20 lf of 3/8" reinforced PVC tube. 1/4" clips (100). 12 3/8" elbow hose barbs.

 

Spetec SST500

This is a black hydrophilic synthetic waterproofing strip. Spetec SST500 swells up to 500% of its original size upon contact with water and is used to seal pipe penetrations as well as wall/floor joints. This product is available in two sizes:

20mm Width x 5mm Thickness (10 Meter Rolls)
20mm Width x 10mm Thickness (10 Meter Rolls)

For ultimate waterstop protection, call Alchemy-Spetec at 404-618-0438 for instructions on how to use all three of these products together.  

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