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Slab Lifting with Polyurethane Foam

Posted by Kreg Thornley on Feb 11, 2021 10:00:00 AM

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Body - Slab Lifting with Polyurethane FoamPrecision Concrete Leveling

A structure is only as good as the foundation it’s built on. Regardless of how well-constructed a structure may be, most foundations settle. That’s just a fact of life. Erosion, shifting soil, compaction, and many other environmental conditions tend to cause settling. These situations create problems for property owners and opportunities for the contractors who know how to fix them.

Sunken concrete slabs can be lifted back into place with Alchemy-Spetec two-component polymer foam designed to work in wet or dry conditions. The expansion force of these concrete leveling foams coupled with the pressure of a specialized pump generate enough controlled force to lift virtually any structure back into position with 1/8” precision.

Watch this video portraying a typical concrete leveling driveway job...

 Want more information on lifting slabs?

Download an Info-Packed Slab Lift Brochure!

Topics: All Posts, Lift Slabs

Alchemy-Spetec Welcomes Brian Oeder as VP of Sales and Marketing

Posted by Kreg Thornley on Feb 9, 2021 10:00:00 AM
Banner - Alchemy-Spetec Welcomes Brian Oeder as VP of Sales and Marketing
 
Body - Alchemy-Spetec Welcomes Brian Oeder as VP of Sales and MarketingAlchemy-Spetec is excited to welcome Brian Oeder as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Brian brings with him over 25 years of experience in manufacturing and growth-oriented companies. He has extensive business experience in over 30 countries across 6 continents, due to his leadership positions at two internationally based companies. He has served a wide variety of clients in industries such as petrochemical, oil & gas, mining, and automotive. His diverse background includes management of marketing and sales teams, service, internal support, and training. He especially enjoys on-site technical support and managing technical support professionals. Brian holds degrees in International Business and Marketing from Ohio State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University. He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and three children.
 
Former Vice President Jim Spiegel has decided to get into the real estate game as a high-end agent in California. We wish him the best of luck! Brian Oeder enjoyed working with Jim on the transition, “I wanted to take a moment to offer my appreciation to Jim. The experience of being new to the team, and in a new role, is always a challenge. Having the ability to spend a week with an expert and to learn from him is not something most new team members would get to experience, but Jim was very generous with his time and advice and was a huge help in my learning process.”
 
President/CEO Stephen Barton has this to say about Alchemy-Spetec’s new executive, "We are thrilled to have a man of Brian's caliber join us as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Brian brings over two decades of leadership experience exclusively with fast-growing manufacturing companies that provide engineered solutions to their customers. In his last role, Brian served as President of a European-based technology firm. I love bringing in talent who has experience leading a company and has the battle scars to prove it."

Want more info on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Download the Info-Packed Geotech Product Catalog!
 
Download the Info-Packed Leak Seal Product Catalog!

Topics: All Posts

Paul Layman: Most Interesting Grout Jobs

Posted by Kreg Thornley on Feb 4, 2021 10:00:00 AM

Banner - Paul Layman - Most Interesting Grout Jobs

Body - Paul Layman - Most Interesting Grout JobsThis article is an excerpt from Episode 11 of The Injection Connection, featuring a highlight from the landmark conversation between retired industry legend Captain Grout (aka Paul Layman) and his number one protégé and unofficial successor, The Grout Geek (podcast host Charlie Lerman). If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.

Charlie Lerman: What are some of the most unique and interesting jobs that you've been on?

Paul Layman: Well, we did the Hoover Dam and we did the Seattle tunnels. But on the job I did up in Canada on the water system for the city of Vancouver, we were in shafts that went down 1800 feet, 600 meters. When you get down there, it's pretty dark and cold and when the pumps go off or the electric goes off, it gets pretty dark. Those are some of the neat projects. Then of course, the projects we did up in Alaska, above the Arctic Circle. We did a huge tank up there for CH2M Hill. The tank was over a million gallons and we had to stabilize the whole bottom underneath it, over permafrost! We had to fly everything up in an airplane of course and then unload it. And the mechanics up there, the kids at work, they were just as smart as could be. They knew how that structure was going to work. And so, from Arizona, the Salt River Project down along the Colorado all the way to the Arctic Circle -  and then being in gold mines...every structure was different and neat. It was a challenge. It was fun because you met a lot of neat people and a lot of characters too. Everybody had their little niche and it was just a neat job. It really was. It wasn't work, it was every day you got a new adventure.

Charlie: A lot of times when you talk to people in the grouting industry, and maybe I'm biased because that's where I've been for the last 15 to 16 years, but they're passionate about it. They find it interesting. It's not just the standard, "I'm just going to apply a coat of this and we move on to the next tank" or something. It's always unique. You brought up some remote sites there and I found it interesting in my career where I've had engineers talk to me about a project and I'm like, “Well, that sounds like you should do cementitious grouting.” And it turns out not to be cementitious grouting just because of the remoteness. They can't get concrete out to a site or something like that. I've seen urethane jobs where just because of mobilization they had to use the chemical grout. So, it's not always the most cost effective when you compare materials but, when you need mobilization then the chemical grout comes in.

Paul: One time we had to go out to the Aleutians. And we put I think about 15, 20 pails of grout in the airplane and then we put in another 15 pails of fuel. We had to put the fuel in the airplane too because we got out on the islands and they had to get themselves back. So, we had the grout and the fuel, and the plane had to carry all of it out there.

Charlie: That is so cool.

Paul: When we got out there, the guys pull out the 15 pails of fuel and start fueling the airplane up so they can get back. They leave us with our grout there on the Aleutians. It was just neat stuff like that, along with the people you meet out there.

Charlie: Right, very much so. That's awesome.

Paul: And all the equipment we put in big trunks. What we didn't take with us we weren't going to find at the local hardware store because there were none for a thousand miles.

Charlie: That is real important and specifically there. But it's similar even when you're just a couple miles in a tunnel and just the 20 minutes to get back out to get that screwdriver your team forgot. So, it's important to make those lists and know what you need to have.

Paul: Yeah. We were doing a mine up in Alaska and the grout started getting away from us. We were down two miles in the mine but luckily, we had enough catalyst and cleaning agent that we could save the grout and the pump, because otherwise we would never have time to take it up to the entrance and fix it. We would have lost a pump and we're 100 miles, 200 miles from the closest civilization. So, we would have been toasted up there. Again, those are things you just learn after the years of doing this stuff.

View the video version of this excerpt...

Want some information on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Download the Info-Packed Leak Seal Product Catalog!

Download the Info-Packed Geotech Product Catalog!

Topics: All Posts, Seal Leaks, Business Tips

Paul Layman: Common Pitfalls for New Grouters

Posted by Kreg Thornley on Feb 2, 2021 10:00:00 AM

Banner - Paul Layman - Common Pitfalls for New Grouters

Body - Paul Layman - Common Pitfalls for New GroutersThis article is an excerpt from Episode 11 of The Injection Connection, featuring a highlight from the landmark conversation between retired industry legend Captain Grout (aka Paul Layman) and his number one protégé and unofficial successor, The Grout Geek (podcast host Charlie Lerman). If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.

Charlie Lerman: What are your top, maybe one, two or three common mistakes you see when people get into grouting?

Paul Layman: I think they get overambitious and say, “We can fix this and we can fix that,” or they don't have quite the right knowledge or they don't recommend the right product. Like one of the projects we were on, they were going to recommend an acrylate. And really it wouldn't have worked well for an acrylate because the way it was designed, it was about 50% water. That's probably the thing, they overthink the job too much. It's a fairly simple process but you don't want to overthink it. Just be straightforward and just take your normal steps and work from there because the products really work well and depending where you're at you can massage these products and change them in the field if you have to, but the simpler the process, the easier it is.

Charlie: Right and that's real important. Jim (Alchemy-Spetec VP Jim Spiegel) likes to use a term, he calls it fail forward. And I like that. Fail is not necessarily maybe the right exact term for grouting but there's a lot of theory crafting where people say, “Oh, well, we know in a lab the grout does this, this and this.” And then they assume that they have lab conditions out there in the field. And you don't. You have field conditions; you don't know what's out there. So, all the theory crafting you do, until you get out and actually pump some grout and see what you've got going on, it's all guesswork at that point. I think that kind of ties into what you're saying there.

Paul: Absolutely. And then you've got the mechanics in the field and you've got some smart guys in the field and when you come up on a project, they may already have figured it out. And so, listen to the people in the field because that's where I've learned a lot of my techniques. These guys in the field are smart people, they're intelligent people and they can give you some really good guidance and little tricks. Then you can pass those on. Don't be afraid to listen to them.

View the video version of this excerpt...

Want some information on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Download the Info-Packed Leak Seal Product Catalog!

Download the Info-Packed Geotech Product Catalog!

Topics: All Posts, Seal Leaks, Business Tips

Essential Seawall Repair Blogs

Posted by Kreg Thornley on Jan 28, 2021 10:00:00 AM

Banner - Essential Seawall Repair Blogs

Body - Essential Seawall Repair BlogsThis article features intros and links to our top 5 most popular seawall repair blogs:

Get up to speed quickly with these blog posts.  You may also want to visit the seawall repair application page for an animated explainer video, product info, and links to all seawall repair blog posts.

Stop Erosion Through Your Seawall with Polyurethane

A seawall is like a living, breathing thing: especially in the way that it is designed to function. But like all living breathing things, seawalls have a finite lifespan. For many of them, it's a mere 20 – 30 years. Depending on where you live, replacing a seawall can cost anywhere from $150 to $500 per foot. That's enough for some homeowners to choose to move instead of rebuilding their seawalls. 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. Click here to read more...

An In-Depth Look at Polyurethane Seawall Repair

In this blog post we’ll look at an innovative way to repair seawalls instead of replacing them by stopping high flow leaks, filling the voids behind concrete structures and binding loose soil with polyurethane foam. As tidal flows rise and fall, water pushes its way in through cracks, joints, and defects in seawalls. The water pushes in on incoming tides and flows out on outgoing tides. As the water flows out, it carries sand and soil with it which causes undermining of the structure. Click here to read more...

Residential Seawall Repair

If you love the ocean, then living near the water can be an ideal situation most of the time. You can enjoy scenic views of the sea, easy access to the water, and gentle ocean breezes as you sit out on your deck. But one challenge many oceanfront home owners eventually find themselves facing is leaking seawalls. You depend on seawalls to keep water on the outside and the the soil that supports your property on the inside. The seawall protecting your property is vulnerable to many degrading factors. Click here to read more...

Signs a Seawall is in Need of Repair

Salt corrosion, tidal action, currents, boat wakes, storm surges and sometimes hurricanes all deliver a constant beating on the seawall. Contrary to popular opinion, many of the forces also come from the side of the wall facing the land. Did you realize that rainfall/storm events create more hydrostatic pressure than rising and falling tides? Every time it rains or the irrigation system runs, and every time the tide goes out; all of the groundwater above the waterline needs a place to vent or equalize. Massive pressure can build up if that water is trapped, making it impossible for it to drain into the sea or storm water system. That is a recipe for disaster which can easily be avoided with proper surveillance. Let's take a look at some of the external signs a seawall is in need of repair. Click here to read more...

Polyurethane Foam for Seawall Repair - Technical Details

Repair sea walls instead of replacing them by stopping high flow leaks, filling the voids behind concrete structures and binding loose soil with AP Fill 720 & AP Fill 700 — innovative, cost effective, water activated, low viscosity, simple to use closed cell polyurethane injection resins. Click here to read more...

Want more information on seawall repair with polyurethane?

Download an Info-Packed Seawall Repair Brochure!

Topics: Repair Seawalls, All Posts

How to Tow a Trailer: 8 Basic Safety Tips

Posted by Erik Prinzing on Jan 26, 2021 10:00:00 AM

Banner - How to Tow a Trailer

Body - How to Tow a TrailerWhether it’s your first time or you’re a seasoned veteran, this guide can serve as a simple checklist to keep your equipment and 16-20 foot trailer safe as you travel to your next project.

Give Yourself Plenty of Room to Stop and Turn

When towing a trailer, the distance required to stop is more than most people realize. The amount of space between you and the vehicle in front of you must be doubled if not more compared to driving without a trailer. The same is true with turns. Allow more space than you think you may need between you and any curbs or other vehicles. And don't jackknife the trailer (a turn so sharp that it touches your bumper) as this can cause damage.

Keep Your Trailer Grounded

Winds, downhill grades, and momentum can all lead to trailer swaying. We recommend utilizing a hitch stabilization device to negate some of these effects. You can also release the gas pedal and manually apply the trailer brakes with a brake controller as needed. Your trailer can start swinging back and forth behind you if you are not monitoring your surroundings and speed.

Look Twice While Changing Lanes

Your blind spots significantly increase with a trailer and it’s much harder to make quick lane changes. Give yourself plenty of space and move slowly from one lane to the other after double-checking your blind spots and the positions of surrounding vehicles.

Patience is Key with Passing

You also have to allow more distance and time when passing other vehicles. Give yourself plenty of room to get your vehicle safely up to speed with the trailer in tow. Be patient and remain calm at all times, even when other drivers may impatiently speed up and pass you.

Avoid Blocking Yourself In

Just because you can get in doesn’t mean you can get out. It’s a lot easier to get stuck or blocked in with a trailer than most people realize. Make sure there's plenty of space to make a complete turnaround or choose a spot where you can exit straightaway.

Practice Backing Up with the Trailer

Backing up with a trailer can be counter-intuitive for newbies. New trailer drivers should take some time in a parking lot or other spacious area to practice slowly driving in reverse. You’ll find that you have to turn the steering wheel left in order to move the trailer towards the right and vice versa. For most people it doesn’t feel right at first, so it’s definitely worth practicing in a safe environment.

Perform Regular Maintenance and Carry a Spare Tire

If you have electric brakes on the trailer, be sure to calibrate them so they are receiving the correct amount power. Follow the calibration procedures in your brake controller manual. Check the lug nuts with a lug wrench periodically to make sure they aren't coming loose. Grease the bearings on the axels every 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Carry a spare tire, a lug wrench, and a jack that is strong enough to lift your trailer. It's tough to change a tire without the proper equipment.

Stay Alert

The #1 reason people get into accidents is because they are not paying attention, driving faster than they should, or simply lacking foresight. Look further down the road than you normally would because it takes longer to speed up, brake, change lanes, and turn with a trailer. This way you can spot and anticipate problems from a mile away.

Want more information on geotech products and equipment?

Download the Info-Packed Geotech Product Catalog!

Topics: Repair Seawalls, Equipment & Accessories, All Posts, Lift Slabs, Deep Lift

Crack Injection with Polyurethane Grout (Demo Video)

Posted by Charlie "The Grout Geek" Lerman on Jan 21, 2021 10:00:00 AM

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Body - Crack Injection with Polyurethane Grout

Concrete starts decaying immediately after it cures. Even brand new construction can require leak seal follow up work. Older concrete structures are even more susceptible. 

Leaking concrete structures can be permanently repaired with concrete crack injection procedures using water-activated polyurethane grout. Pressure injection forces the material into leaking cracks. After the injection is complete, the polyurethane grout rapidly reacts with water to form a watertight seal.

The demo video below covers the 5 steps of concrete crack injection:

  • Drilling Holes
  • Flushing the Holes
  • Installing the Ports
  • Flushing the Cracks
  • Injecting the Resin

Watch the demo video now...

Want more information on sealing leaks with polyurethane grout?

Download an Info-Packed Leak Seal Brochure!

Topics: Equipment & Accessories, All Posts, Seal Leaks

The Grout Geek Interviews Industry Legend Captain Grout!

Posted by Kreg Thornley on Jan 19, 2021 10:00:00 AM

Banner - The Grout Geek Interviews Industry Legend Captain Grout

Body - The Grout Geek Interviews Industry Legend Captain GroutEpisode 11 of The Injection Connection features a landmark conversation between retired industry legend Captain Grout (aka Paul Layman) and his number one protégé and unofficial successor, The Grout Geek (podcast host Charlie Lerman). Don't miss this info-packed discussion between these two chemical grouting heavyweights!

Listen to the episode in its entirety below, or check it out on TheInjectionConnection.com and the following platforms:

Want info on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Download the Info-Packed Leak Seal Product Catalog!

Download the Info-Packed Geotech Product Catalog!

Topics: Equipment & Accessories, All Posts, Seal Leaks, Stabilize Soil, Business Tips

Slab Lifting with a Standard Rig (Demo Video)

Posted by Colt Hullander on Jan 14, 2021 10:00:00 AM

Banner - Slab Lifting with a Standard Rig Demo Video

Body - Slab Lifting with a Standard Rig Demo VideoSunken concrete slabs can be lifted back into place with a standard lifting rig and high-strength polyurethane foam. The expansion force of the concrete leveling foam coupled with the pressure of a specialized pump generate enough controlled force to lift virtually any structure back into position with 1/8” precision.

Alchemy-Spetec offers a variety of slab lifting rig options including:

  • V Nose Trailers
  • Box Truck Build-Outs
    (Truck not included.)
  • Gooseneck Trailers
  • Tractor Trailer Build-Outs
    (Truck & trailer not included.)

The demo video below covers the following topics:

  • Introduction to Slab Lifting with a Standard Rig
  • Drilling Injection Holes
  • Preventing Concrete Stains with AP Flush 125
  • Testing the Water on the MixMaster Gun
  • Doing a Test Shot
  • Injecting Polyurethane
  • Testing the Injection Hole with Water
  • Clearing the Gun Before Removal

Watch the demo video now...

Want more information on lifting slabs with polyurethane?

Download an Info-Packed Slab Lift Brochure!

Topics: Equipment & Accessories, All Posts, Lift Slabs

Lifting with the PolyBadger (Demo Video)

Posted by Colt Hullander on Jan 12, 2021 10:00:00 AM

1. Banner - Lifting with the PolyBadger (Demo Video)

2. Body - Lifting with the PolyBadger (Demo Video)The Alchemy-Spetec PolyBadger lifting system is tough and compact. This system is an affordable entry-level option for new contractors, as well as an extremely portable addition to the experienced contractor’s arsenal. The PolyBadger is a lot less expensive than your standard 20 foot trailer rig. The set up is simple and requires minimal equipment. The entire system can easily fit in the back of a pickup truck!

The demo video below covers the following topics:

  • Introduction to the PolyBadger
  • Drilling an Injection Hole
  • Preventing Concrete Stains with AP Flush 125
  • Injecting Polyurethane
  • Cleaning Out the Static Mixer
  • Cleaning Up & Shutting Down the System

Watch the demo video now...

Want more information on the PolyBadger?

Download an Info-Packed PolyBadger System Brochure!

Topics: Equipment & Accessories, All Posts, Lift Slabs