Alchatek Blog

Today I am reporting in from the APWA conference in Greenville NC. This is the annual event for public works professionals in the state of North Carolina. I'm join Carolina Foundation Solutions in their booth this week as a guest host.

 

Today we've spoken with cities both large and small, as well as DOT engineers and managers.  As far as polyurethane suppliers we are the only company here representing our industry.  So we're getting a lot of attention.

 

You know what we're hearing from these folks? Pipe joints separating and leaking, roads settling, concrete sinking, problems with the storm water systems, sidewalks out of whack. Makes me glad we're here to help. 

 

Alchemy Spetec manufactures an array of polyurethane systems for solving the above mentioned issues. Carolina Foundation Solutions is our certified contractor in the area and they're doing a great job uncovering opportunities to showcase slab lifting, leak sealing, and soil stabilization.

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A few weeks ago, the start of "hurricane season" was officially recognized. Per usual, meteorologists predicted a higher than average degree of activity for this year. It’s easy to pile on the pressure for accuracy from the weather people, but last year they accurately predicted and tracked two storms that affected our coasts.

Hurricane Matthew and tropical storm Hermine both caused significant damage in the gulf and on the east coast. Matthew especially caused a tremendous amount of flooding as opposed to wind damage because of the way it tracked parallel to the coast for so long before making landfall.

Thanks to meteorologists, the death toll from those storms were kept to a minimum. If you didn't know, water and flooding are responsible for 88-90% of deaths from hurricanes. The worst on record being the Galveston hurricane of 1900 where between 6,000 and 12,000 perished. The property damage, however, is unavoidable no matter what the time period.

Last year after the hurricanes, we saw scouring/erosion underneath building footings and parking lot slabs. We saw stairways undermined, as well as historical buildings with huge voids underneath them. Not to mention, roadways, sidewalks, marinas, and infrastructure equally impacted from erosion of soil. A few of the contractors we work with were hired to do void filling underneath some of these buildings, but in a lot of cases these repairs are not addressed immediately - leaving a lot of the market still open.

The AP Lift series of structural polyurethane foams can be used to fill voids caused by scouring, to support suspended slabs by preventing further damage from settling, and to lift concrete that has sunken due to erosion from water. Not only can these products be applied rapidly, they can be pumped into places other products like concrete can’t reach. Displacing water as they react, and having the ability to support loads within 15 minutes, polymers are ideal for these types of repairs. Additionally, polymers are the only product you can shoot under an overhanging slab or footing that will expand and fill up completely.

If you call on people from FEMA or other local emergency management agencies this year, or insurance companies for that matter, let them know there is a solution that is readily available, permanent, and can prevent further damage from occurring to an undermined structure. We can assist with preparing and giving presentations in many cases.  Just give us a call at 404-618-0438.

Want more information on slab repair with polyurethane?

What is Epicol T?

Epicol T is a putty with a simple mixing ratio that's primarily used for surface sealing cracks before the application of Epicol INJ for structural repair. Due to its malleability, it can be worked even after curing to fix mishaps. Its adhesive power is extremely high and once fully cured for a few hours it will become hard and impermeable. (Epicol T can also be applied underwater. It sticks to wood, stone, concrete and metal.)

What is the installation process for Epicol T?

Preparing the Application and Mixing

Make sure the surface is clean. Wear plastic gloves. Fill a bucket with water and wet the gloves.

Use equal quantities of Component A and Component B. Knead both components together until they become a homogeneous grey color. Keep the gloves wet while kneading. For better malleability: place both packets in warm water before mixing.

Application

Apply the putty with a good amount of pressure. Extra pressure ensures better adhesion, even on a rough surface when it is not perfectly clean. The surface can be smoothed out with wet gloves.

Use

Epicol T is cured after 12 hours. It is fully mechanically loadable after 4 days and chemically loadable after 7 days. The curing process can be sped up with warm air (maximum 158°F).

Want more information on structural repair products?

In today’s blog post I am going to talk about Epicol INJ LV.

What is Epicol INJ LV?

Epicol INJ LV is a low-viscosity, long pot life epoxy resin designed for the structural bonding of cracks and micro cracks in dry or wet concrete. The low-viscosity allows this epoxy resin to deeply penetrate micro cracks and the long pot life allows the material to be injected as a single component. It has good chemical resistance to alkalis, petroleum derivatives, acid, diluted organic acids, salts and other solutions.

What is the installation process for Epicol INJ LV?

I'll briefly outline the installation process for you below, so you have an idea how the product is used. As with all of our products, don't hesitate to call us at 404-618-0438 for assistance.

Preparing the Application Surface

Clean the surface. Install injection ports. Apply a 2 to 3 inch wide band of Epicol T to seal the crack. Allow surface seal to cure prior to injection.

Mixing

Use a mechanical mixer to pre-mix Component A before use. Add the full amount of Component B and mix at 300 RPM for 3 minutes or until the mixture is homogeneous. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the container as you mix.

When Injecting Into Concrete

Epicol INJ-LV can be injected with a low pressure pump. The injection starts at the lowest point for vertical applications and at the smallest crack for horizontal ones. Start the injection at the first port. Inject the crack until the resin reaches the next port and repeat this procedure until the crack is completely filled. Never mix more resin than can be used within the pot life. Rinse the pump with a solvent. After one day the ports can be removed.

Use

Epicol INJ-LV can be mechanically loaded after 48 hours

Want more information on Alchemy-Spetec structural repair products?

Over the years, I have been asked countless times for the best way to seal pipe penetrations and other irregular annular spaces, including how to seal pipe penetrations effectively. Pipe penetration scenarios often have to do with water supply lines, electrical conduits and gas lines just to name a few. The main concern is creating a durable watertight seal between the outside of the pipe and the structure the pipe is penetrating through.

Use oakum soaked in a resin such as F400, AP Seal 500, F1000, AP Fill 700 or H100. The soaked oakum can then be packed around the annular space, and forced back into the opening of the cracks with a screwdriver or similar tool. Soaking and packing the oakum this way creates a firm gasket that stops any immediate leaks. The next step is to inject one of these resins behind the gasket using an injection needle (contact us for more information on injection needles).

Want more information on leak seal products?

Alchemy-Spetec products have many uses. Sometimes it's helpful to consider ways in which the products compliment alternate repair applications already being practiced in our industry. Today I'll take a look at how some of our products can assist in the application known as spin casting.

Spin casting is the process of sealing manholes and corrugated pipes that have deteriorated. A spinning machine evenly casts an epoxy coating around the inside surface of the structure. There's one essential pre-requisite, however - that inside surface needs to be dry for the coating to last.

This is where polyurethane leak seal products such as AP Fill 700 and H100 can be very helpful. The resins can be injected from the inside of the structure through drill holes to form a watertight barrier in the soil on the outside. These resins react with moisture to form a watertight seal. 

Our technical staff is very familiar with the process of spin casting. If you're doing this type of work and would like to talk about sealing leaks with resins, give us a call at 404-618-0438.

Want More Information On Leak Seal Products?

Today's blog post is a brief profile of our longtime Operations Manager, Matt Schmitt. 

Matt's responsibilities include: leading the Production Department in manufacturing our resin products, supervising the assembly of customized equipment such as the MixMaster Pro slab lifting gun, overseeing labeling and packaging, tracking inventory, and ordering raw materials. His management skills and acute attention to detail are key components in ensuring that top quality product is available and ready for use in your next project!

Matt's hobbies include fishing, backpacking and woodworking. At one point in his career, Matt was a very successful chef - which is where he became an expert at keeping track of raw materials, mixing ingredients to perfection, and delivering the best results to customers.

Have a question or suggestion for Matt?

As mentioned in the previous blog post Stop Erosion Through Your Seawall with Polyurethane:

When it comes to seawalls, there is a lot more to learn than meets the eye. A seawall is like a living, breathing thing: especially in the way that they are designed to function. But like all living breathing things, they have a finite lifespan. For many of them, it's a mere 20 – 30 years. For many seawalls, their lifespan is a mere 20-30 years and depending on where you live, replacing a seawall can cost anywhere from $150 to $500 per foot. Today however, signs of seawall distress can be solved before they get too bad through the application of polyurethane grouts to seal leaks, fill voids, and stabilize the surrounding soils.

Now that you're armed with this information, let’s take a look at a few advantages of pursuing large industrial seawall projects over residential projects.

Higher Budgets/Larger Areas Needing Repair

Additional Properties

Industrial property owners and managers are more likely to have additional properties needing repair. After you complete your first job for an industrial customer, keep in touch with them regularly so that you're top of mind when their next seawall repair problem arises.

More Bang for Your Buck

Think about it this way. You have to spend a certain amount of your marketing budget per lead anyways. Why not focus that money on industrial sized customers? You're more likely to get a higher return on your investment in the short term and seriously scale up your business in the long term.

Want more information on industrial seawall repair?

Recently in Queens, New York, a property owner came to our customer George Laubshire of LJS Waterproofing with an incredibly dire problem. Previous contractors poured an 8000 square foot, 36 inch deep slab for him. But they skipped a critical step: They did not waterproof the slab. It turns out that there was water running through underneath. Within a few months the concrete began to completely fail.

The property owner tried to use a diesel pump to get the water out. As you can likely guess, this didn't help much (even after 6 months of running the pump 24 hours a day). By this point over 60 psi of water was pouring out of cracks. In some places, water shot out about 6 inches above the concrete floor. Oakum was applied to slow the water down. But the pressure was so high that it essentially blew the oakum back out - even when the contractors were trying to stomp the oakum down into the cracks.

After careful evaluation, we recommended they use AP Fill 700 (paired with the catalyst AP 107). We advised the contractor to drill ports at an even distance from each other, and then slowly inject AP Fill 700. First they curbed the water flow, and then eventually they permanently remedied the problem. The soil under the slab was solidified to the point that the water in the ground had no choice but to flow somewhere else. After months of failed repair attempts by other contractors, the property owner was happy to finally get this problem resolved.

Afterwards our customer George Laubshire said to me, "Anthony, I've been pumping grout for years. And this is the best product that I have ever used. This product will make any contractor into a hero!"

Want more information on concrete leak seal repair products?

In this post I'll provide an overview of the concrete repair equipment that we offer, including slab lifting pumps, crack injection pumps, air compressors and accessories.

Hydraulic Proportioners Customized for Lifting  

PMC plural component proportioners are used to inject AP two-component structural polyurethane foams for slab lifting and soil stabilization.  Rugged and dependable, these pumps utilize relays and circuit breakers instead of circuit boards, vastly increasing reliability and preventing maintenance problems.  Read more...

Airless Sprayers Customized for Crack Injection  

Modified for injecting Alchemy-Spetec leak seal and soil stabilization resins, the world-class Titan pumps we offer are essential tools for sealing both small and gushing leaks as well as filling voids behind and below structures.  Read more...

Air Compressors

The FS Curtis series of air compressors we offer are the go to choice for powering your PMC drum pumps and air powered proportioners.  Dedicated to their customers, this brand name is synonymous with legendary reliability.  Read more...

Custom Slab Lifting Gun

We also manufacture an injection gun designed specifically for slab lifting. It is custom built to handle back-pressure. For detailed information, read this blog post: MixMaster Pro- The Reliable Slab lifting Gun.

Accessories

Want more detailed information on Alchemy-Spetec equipment?