Alchatek Blog

Curtain wall grouting is a leak seal method that is often required when cracks cannot be identified, when walls are made of material that does not respond well to crack injection (such as masonry, stone and CMU), and when previous leak seal methods have failed.  

Curtain wall grouting is the process of injecting water reactive resin behind the leaking wall in a widespread grid pattern. The water on the other side mixes with the grout and cures to a solid mass covering the surface of the wall on the other side. In addition, you don’t have water pressure dislodging external “patches” over time, as can be the case with other methods. This procedure is best done with either AP Fill 700, Spetec H100 or one of the Spetec AG100 - 300 series of acrylate grouts.

These expansive one-component polyurethane resins can be injected through the wall to cut off large flow and high pressure water leaks. The resins react with the water on the other side to form a long lasting, durable seal. AP Fill 700 has a high rate of expansion and a little flexibility. Spetec H100 has a lower rate of expansion but a bit more flexibility. The Spetec AG 100 - 300 series has a very low rate of expansion (only a slight swelling) but a lot of flexibility. 

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In this post I'd like focus on 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. As my colleague Andy Powell wrote in his excellent blog post Stop Erosion through Your Seawall with Polyurethane, "salt corrosion, tidal action, currents, boat wakes, storm surges and sometimes hurricanes all deliver a constant beating on the seawall."

Sometimes seawall leaks become evident through the telltale sign of unstable soil (basically, small mini-sinkholes) just inside the seawall. Observable symptoms along these lines can also be an indicator of further, unseen damage, as Andy explains in his article, "...these voids can extend below an adjacent patio, dock, or pool deck, eventually causing those structures to sink and crack."

Fortunately there's a solution! AP Fill 700 and Spetec H100 are semi-rigid hydrophobic polyurethane foams that react with moisture in the soil and expand to fill voids while they permeate the soil to form a solid, strong, watertight mass. They have been used extensively in seawall applications to seal cracks and defects, as well as fill voids and stabilize soil.

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There are contractors that lift the everyday slabs, performing a great service fixing trip hazards, reviving previously unusable floor space, and supporting the investment of the property owner.  Then there are slab and foundation lifting contractors who take it to the next level – every opportunity is a challenge to be conquered.  The results are often fantastic – people’s entire homes lifted back into place, factories and warehouses returned to life, and countless potential hazards and injuries avoided.

But first you’ve got to understand one thing; you can’t bring a knife to a gunfight.  Expert contractors have to know what is going on at all times.  In the picture at the top of this post, you can see a slab that I probably would have not attempted to repair.  However, with several tools to help monitor the different pieces of this puzzle, this contractor was able to put it back together again.  They say information is power and I am a firm believer in that, especially when it comes to taming jacked up concrete slabs.  In the picture you can see three different slabs.  Our customer Morgan Helms of Helms Polyfoam (Jackson, MS) is using a ZipLevel, a machinist’s dial indicator, and a putty knife to monitor what each of the slabs is doing.

The MixMaster gun is injecting underneath the slab that he wants to raise. 

So what are these different monitoring tools doing?  Let’s take a look….

1. The dial indicator tells him which slab is moving. In the picture, the base of the dial indicator is on the slab that Morgan is injecting under while the dial point is on the slab he doesn’t want to move. It doesn’t really matter how you configure it as long as you understand what the needle movement means.   A needle on a machinist dial indicator moves in .001” increments.  If the needle on this dial indicator is rising, that would mean the wrong slab is lifting and he knows to stop.  If the needle is falling then the slab he is injecting under is lifting, and that’s what he wants.
   
   
2. So what if both slabs are moving equally? In that case the dial indicator would remain stable or fluctuate slightly in both directions.  This is where a ZipLevel or a laser transit would come in handy.  Morgan has his ZipLevel indicator box (in yellow) on the slab he doesn’t want to move.  It will let him know if the slab he doesn’t want to move is lifting so he can stop and re-evaluate what to do next.
   
   
3. One of my favorite tools is the metal putty knife. Slabs often move in increments so small that you can’t detect them visually.  If you wedge a putty knife into a crack between two slabs, you will see it wiggle when there’s slight movement.  So the putty knife in the picture is on the third section of slab and letting Morgan Helms know what is going on with that piece.

You can use other things like string lines, tape measures, and laser transits as well.  The point is that real time information is likely to give you a better finished result, and it will also help you avoid making mistakes.

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When it comes to floor and wall joint leak repairs, there are usually two scenarios to consider. These repair jobs usually come about because of leakage where the floor and wall typically meet. Each scenario determines where drill points should be placed for repair procedures using polyurethane.

Scenario 1:

In this scenario the floor has been poured first before a wall is made to confine a space. To fix leaks that occur in this type of joint, a hole is drilled at the bottom of the wall. This is usually about 6-8 inches above the floor and at a 45 degree angle. Once drilled, soaked oakum is then placed in the hole. Once cured, the oakum serves as a gasket and initial leak seal. Polyurethane grout is then pumped into the hole for a deeper seal, while the oakum gasket prevents it from spilling back out.

Scenario 2:

In this scenario the wall has been poured first before the floor. The hole is drilled on the floor about 6-8 inches from the wall and at a 45 degree angle. Soaked oakum is placed into the hole to create an initial seal and gasket. Polyurethane grout then injected behind it for a thorough leak seal solution.

Materials often used for these applications:

AP Oakum: for creating gaskets

AP Fill 700: for drilled holes that are about 2 inches wide

Spetec F400: for drilled holes that are between ½ and 1 inch wide

AP Seal 500: for tight joints with multiple hairline cracks

Spetec F1000: works well if curtain grouting is needed to drill through brick walls

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Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to assist on a concrete leveling job involving a sunken garage slab.  This particular slab had a massive void underneath that needed to be filled before the slab would lift.  In just a few hours, we had the void filled and the slab level again.

Quick recap for those who are new to polyurethane slab lifting: Concrete slabs settle due to voids or unstable soil below. By pumping a polyurethane foam through the concrete, you essentially push the concrete slab back up from below. Using polyurethane foam is very cost effective, environmentally friendly, and causes very little downtime.

Check out this incredible time lapse footage our marketing team captured!

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As contractors who are on the road a lot, there is something you definitely need to be aware of: if you're involved in an accident, an attorney may summon your phone records to look for evidence of distracted driving.

My brother-in-law Eric was driving through an intersection in Tucker when a car pulled out in front of him. He hit that car, which in turn hit another car. Eric was not ticketed as the other driver was at fault.

Just last week Eric was served papers at home. He is being sued by the driver he hit. The only thing the attorneys want are his cell phone records to see if he was emailing or texting while driving. If he was, even 30 seconds prior, they have a case for distracted driving.

Fortunately for Eric, he was not on his phone at anytime during that drive so he'll be okay. It's a shotgun approach for the lawyers; go for the phone records and hope to get lucky. I suspect they get lucky quite often.

If you do not know the distracted driving laws in your state, be sure to check out Idrivesafely.com for more information. The minute I heard this story, I knew it would be an important safety and business tip to share with you - because we've got your back!

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I recently assisted on a job in which a large void underneath a homeowner’s garage had caused the slab to sink. Our marketing team got some GREAT time lapse footage of the slab lift.

Quick recap for those who are new to polyurethane slab lifting: Concrete slabs settle due to voids or unstable soil below. By pumping a polyurethane foam through the concrete, you essentially push the concrete slab back up from below. Using polyurethane foam is very cost effective, environmentally friendly, and causes very little downtime.

Check out this awesome time lapse footage! 

Sunken concrete slabs can be lifted back into place with two-component polyurethane foams designed to work in wet or dry conditions. 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's AP Lift 430, AP Lift 440 and AP Lift 475 are the most dependable foams for jacking and leveling concrete slabs.

Watch this animation for an explanation of the the slab lifting process...

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The terms hydrophobic and hydrophilic may not mean anything to the average person. But, to a contractor, these terms can mean a world of a difference. Hydro means water while phobic means “to fear” and philic means “to love”.  Alchemy-Spetec offers both hydrophobic and hydrophilic polyurethanes, so it is important to be aware of the differences between the two types.  

Hydrophobic Polyurethanes

Hydrophobic polyurethanes naturally repel water (similar to the way oil would repel water and stay separate if you were trying to mix them in a glass). These products push water out of the area in question as they expand. Hydrophobics are used with catalysts which allow you to adjust the set time. They also have zero shrinkage after curing.

Check out these hydrophobic polyurethanes:

• AP Fill 700
• Spetec F400
• Spetec F1000
• Spetec H100 
• Spetec H40 
• AP Lift 475
• AP Lift 440
• AP Lift 430
• AP Soil 600 

Hydrophilic Polyurethanes

Hydrophilic polyurethanes naturally mix with water before curing (similar to the way gin and tonic mix thoroughly in a glass). This characteristic allows for a very strong chemical and mechanical bond, as water helps pull the material into the pores of the concrete. These products do not require a catalyst. You can pump them straight out of the pail.

Check out these hydrophilic polyurethanes:

• AP Seal 500
• Spetec GT350

Don't Oversimplify These Concepts

Don't get caught in the trap of oversimplifying hydrophilic vs. hydrophobic.  There are varying degrees of each (see chart below for more information on how this is measured) .  

Some hydrophilic materials will keep absorbing water (10-15 times their original volume).  Others (such as our AP Seal 500) only absorb as much water as is necessary for their reaction and then they reject the rest.  Yes, hydrophilic gels will shrink like crazy in the absence of water, but the AP Seal 500 won't.  It is completely safe to use in a dry environment.

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Continuing with this week's essential blog post roundup, let's review the best of recent leak seal articles. First we have a profile of a tunnel patching job with Spetec GT350. Next we have an overview of common residential leak seal opportunities. Finally, we'll leave you with a post on sealing pipe penetrations. Hopefully these three posts will get you thinking about leak seal job possibilities for your business.

Northgate Link Extension with GT350

By Thad Brown

In Seattle, Washington there has been construction taking place in the region’s most congested traffic area. The Northgate Link tunnel is being extended to connect the Northgate, Roosevelt and U District neighborhood transit stations to downtown Seattle and the airport. One of our contractor customers has been an ongoing asset to this project as they have been patching the tunnel walls while during the construction process.

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Waterproofing Residential Spaces

By Anthony Sandone

The residential waterproofing market is huge and can be quite the cash cow for contractors who enjoy tending to a constant stream of smaller jobs. Let's review common residential waterproofing issues and the Alchemy-Spetec products you can use to address them.

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Sealing Pipe Penetrations

By Thad Brown

Over the years, I have been asked countless times for the best way to seal pipe penetrations and other irregular annular spaces. 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.

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