On April 1st, Alchemy-Spetec had the honor of presenting Paul "Captain Grout" Layman with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished career in the construction chemical industry. The award was presented during a dinner at the Harraseekat Inn restaurant in Freeport, Maine (where Paul now resides). Jim Spiegel joined Paul and his wife and a few close friends for the ceremonial presentation of the award. With some of his closest lifetime friends in attendance, it was a fitting occasion to share reflective stories and laughs from those who know Paul best.

As most in the chemical grouting industry know, there are few as experienced, or memorable, as Captain Grout. Paul spent most of his career in the Pacific Northwest serving sales and field support needs throughout the US West Coast, and Western Canada. He provided innovative and successful chemical grouting solutions to hundreds of municipalities, government agencies, and contractors. Without a doubt, Paul’s most valuable quality to clients was offering his industry-leading hands-on expertise to provide contractors new service offerings. No two chemical grouting jobs are the same, but Captain Grout was able to navigate these challenges with relative ease.

“For 14 years, I have known Captain Grout as a competitor, and as a teammate, and from experience, it is much more enjoyable working with him than against him. His technical expertise and unique personality made him a true industry force. We wish him all the best in retirement, and hope to carry his torch in the industry for years to come.”

]Jim Spiegel
VP of Sales & Business Development
Alchemy-Spetec

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(Today we feature a guest blog from our customer Randy Serhan, owner of JACC Structures in Saskatchewan.)

First of all, I'd like to thank Alchemy-Spetec for asking me to write a guest post on their blog.  If you're interested in polyurethane leak seal, I think you'll like this one.  I recently did a leak seal job for a homeowner up here in my Candian hometown of Nipawin, Saskatchewan.  He had water coming into his basement around a water line access sleeve.  It was leaking approximately 1/2 litre of water per minute.  He called me to see if I could resolve the issue.  I packed some oakum saturated with Spetec PUR GT500 into the sleeve around the water pipe.  The leak was stopped in under a minute.  I used a moderate quantity of the resin-saturated oakum to ensure the plug was approximately two inches deep.  It won't leak again.  The customer was extremely happy as this repair means he will no longer have to babysit the water pails all night.  He also has the peace of mind of knowing that this is a long lasting fix, so he doesn't have to re-visit the problem each spring or heavy rainfall.  When that leak shut down so fast, he look at me and said "that stuff is magic".

And now for the best part: click below to watch me shutting down that link in this video clip I took on the job!

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Slab stabilization and structural void filling can actually be even more valuable than slab lifting. Why wait for a slab to sink, settle, or break, when it can be stopped. Preventative slab stabilization and underslab recompaction (I'm making up words now) is a great way to protect the investment that is the foundation of any home or business.

A good contractor should know how to: spot the signs indicating a possible problem, verify whether a problem exists or not, and repair an unsupported slab that’s in danger of sinking.

How to Spot a Slab That May Be in Danger of Sinking

The most obvious slabs at risk are the ones where a void can be seen from the side. In these instances, the soil on the side has washed away along with significant soil underneath. (See the photo included with this blog post for an example.) Other situations to look out for are slabs on a hill or at the bottom of a hill. Concrete in these locations is likely to have rain water washing under it and eroding the soil. Slabs on level ground aren’t immune from this problem either. Check for gutter downspouts placed very close by, or adjacent structures with no gutter system at all. If a rain water management system wasn’t set up to direct water AWAY from the slab, there may be an issue. Another red flag would be cracks in the concrete.

How to Be SURE a Slab’s in Danger of Sinking

There are many ways to check for voids underneath a slab. Some people tap the slab with a metal tool, or even a golf club. (Others use golf balls, which they bounce off the slab). Whatever the tool, the point is to listen for a hollow ring. This tactic may take some practice at first, but many people use it. Another approach is to drill a small hole, and then check the soil underneath with a soil probe or a penetrometer. I find that the 4’ long fiberglass driveway markers make a nice probe.  Endoscope cameras are small enough to stick down through the drill hole and have a look around. On larger jobs, some have arranged for the use of ground penetrating radar.

How to Stabilize a Level Slab in Danger of Sinking

On a void fill/stabilization job, the contractor should set up an even grid pattern across the entire slab. This approach allows for the even distribution of material, as needed. Unlike a lifting job, there’s no need to emphasize one side of the slab versus the other. Instead, the contractor injects the appropriate amount of resin into each hole of the even grid pattern. It’s important to monitor every injection with a zip level or dial indicator and stop at the first sign of any movement. If ANY slight movement happens it’s time to move on to the next hole. These tools allow for the detection of movement as small as 100^th of inch, which isn’t a visible lift to the naked eye. For more on stabilizing slabs, see the blog post Slab Void Fill with Polyurethane Foam.

Wrap Up

No property owner should assume that their slab is safe just because it isn’t sinking yet. It’s better to know the danger signs and call a qualified professional to check it out. In addition, contactors should always keep an eye out for concrete in vulnerable situations. Remember: just because it’s level doesn’t mean it’s safe.

Want more in-depth info about soil stabilization?

Voids beneath warehouse floors can be filled with AP Lift 475 foam. This product is great for slabs that rock and warehouse floors that have begun to sink. The video below shows an example of the product in action. Inside this warehouse, the floors have begun to rock and are unleveled - which can speed up wear and tear on valuable equipment. With this powerful polymer and its painless application procedures, unlevel slabs can be repaired at a rapid pace. Take a look for yourself!

Want in-depth info on how to repair unlevel warehouse slabs? 

 

As the Marketing Director at Alchemy-Spetec, one of the most common questions I get from contractors is how to get leads for jobs.  Since it’s in OUR interest for YOU to get as many leads as possible, we’ve put a lot of thought into that question.  In addition to the technical tips we share in the majority of our blog posts, we try to include business and marketing tips on occasion in order to help you find those leads.  This article is about a marketing method that we’ve found extremely helpful – blogging.  We know it works from our own experience and in this post, I’ll explain how you can promote your contracting business with a blog. 

Cast a Wide Net with Lots of Posts

The more pages you have on your website, the more chances there are for someone to find it when searching a specific phrase or term.  Search engines are scanning your page names, heading text and page text when someone searches a term to see if there are any matches.  So, it’s in your best interest to have as many pages full of relevant content as you can.  A blog is the perfect way to accomplish that goal. 

Say, for example, that you are a slab lifting contractor in San Pedro, California.  You can write up case studies of jobs you’ve performed in your area.  Make sure your blog titles include terms people will likely search for.  For example, a post about a warehouse floor job could be titled, “Warehouse Floor Slab Lift in San Pedro”.   You get the idea, right? 

Share Your Knowledge and Build Trust 

You can also use a blog as way to share your knowledge and experience with potential customers who are looking for answers.  Take some time to consider all that you’ve learned over the years and jot down ideas for blog posts that potential customers may find helpful.  In addition to case studies, you can write posts instructing people how to spot problems on their property, comparing your repair costs to the costs of replacing a structure, educating people about the materials you use, etc. 

You can get quite a few ideas by browsing the posts in our blog.  While our articles are aimed more at contractors than property owners, you’ll still find many useful subjects to get your brainstorming started.  The more useful knowledge you share, the more trust you can build with potential customers.  People are much more likely to buy a service from a known expert, than from a complete stranger. 

Offer More Value in Exchange for Contact Info 

Driving up web traffic is a good thing.  Establishing yourself as an authority by creating useful content is also very helpful.  If you just do those two things, you should get more people calling you and filling out the contact form on your website.  But if you REALLY want to jumpstart the leads, you need to offer something of value in exchange for your reader’s contact info.  At the end of every article, include a link to a relevant brochure – or something else of value – and ask for their contact info in exchange.   For an example, see the button at the bottom of this blog post and the form that it leads to. 

The Gift That Keeps on Giving 

The great thing about a blog post with a lead capture form at the end is that, once you set it up – it’s there forever.  We still get leads from blog posts we put up years ago.  If you consistently write articles, you can create a compounding effect with more and more leads coming in each month. 

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In the previous installment of this two-part series, we looked at common slab settlement danger zones, causes of sinking slabs, and the many risks of neglecting a known trip hazard. This time around we’ll review the two most common non-polyurethane repair options, and then explore the three most common types of polyurethane slab repairs.

Non-Polyurethane Repair Options

Aside from polyurethane repair, the property owner has two other options: replacing the slab or mudjacking it with cement grout.  There are drawbacks for both.

Tear Out and Replace

Ripping out a slab and putting in a new one has three main disadvantages.  Namely, the process is…

• Environmentally unfriendly (landfill bound?).
• Messy (requiring heavy equipment and possibly damaging the surrounding area).
• Time consuming.

Mudjack with Cement Grout

Mudjacking may be less expensive than replacement, but the property owner is still facing a number of issues.

• It’s still a messy process.
• Cement grout washes out.
• The grout is heavy and can sink over time.
• The grout can crack and shrink over time.
• Not an impermeable water tight solution.

Structural Polyurethane Repair

Polyurethane repair has distinct advantages over replacement and mudjacking.

• Very clean installation process.
• Lighter than cement mudjacking grout and won’t sink over time.
• Will not shrink.
• Closed cell structure makes it water impermeable.
• Typically less expensive than replacement.
• Less time consuming to apply than a mudjacking or replacement solution, and ready for traffic 45 minutes after application.

Not to mention the strength of these polymers. For more on that subject, see our blog post Slab Jacking with Polyurethane Foam - How Strong is Strong Enough?

Trip hazard repair with polyurethane resin can require one or a combination of the following three approaches: lifting, soil stabilization and void fill.  Let’s take a close look at all three…

Lifting

Sunken concrete slabs can be lifted back into place with a-two component structural polymer foam designed to work in wet or dry conditions. The expansion force of the foam coupled with the pressure of a PMC proportioner pump can generate enough controlled force to lift virtually any structure back into position within 1/10” of the intended level.

Soil Stabilization

Unstable, eroded, or loose soil below infrastructure can result in settlement, damage to the structure above, and of course – trip hazards. Voids can be filled, soil consolidated, and water migration halted by permeating the soil with one of our ultra low viscosity polymer resins. Once the bearing capacity of the soil has been increased with this process (soil has been stabilized), then the structure can be lifted with our slab lifting process.

Void Fill

Water erosion beneath slabs can cause voids to form that weaken the structural integrity and allow higher water pressure to develop. Filling these voids with rapidly expanding foam that is designed to react in the presence of water will return the integrity to the structure and prevent trip hazards. We have polyurethane resins designed specifically for this type of application.

Whether you’re a property owner looking for a professional to repair trip hazards on your property, or a contractor looking for material and/or technical assistance – Alchemy-Spetec is at your service.  Give us a call at 404-618-0438 to discuss your trip hazard concerns.

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Concrete slabs sink for a variety of reasons.  The result is an eyesore and possibly a trip hazard that could - in a worst case scenario - result in a serious injury, a law suit and/or death.  Lifting slabs with polyurethane foam is safe, fast, and economical. 

Property owners and managers should learn how to deal with these liability issues NOW with the latest concrete repair techniques and preventative measures. If you’re a contractor, you need this information because it’s critical for YOUR customer – the property owner.

Common Danger Zones

Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it’s helpful to know where to look for potential sunken slabs, especially if you own or manage a large variety of properties.  As a contractor you’ll want to focus on these types of sites when looking for potential customers.  The three main property categories that tend to have slab settling issues are:

• Residential (single and multi-family).
• Commercial and industrial.
• Warehouse and logistical.

Residential sites can often have driveway, sidewalk, patio, or garage floor issues.  Commercial and industrial sites often contain showroom or factory floors made of concrete slab.  Warehouse and logistical centers can contain huge floors with massive square footage.  Because warehouse floors are often raised off the ground to incorporate a loading dock, they are particularly vulnerable to the formation of dangerous voids underneath.

Causes of Slab Settlement

Let’s take a look at why slabs sink in the first place. There are at least six main reasons:

• Equipment on surface putting too much weight on slabs.
• Erosion due to natural causes.
• Leaking drain pipes and water mains.
• Improper site drainage or poor water management from downspouts and gutters.
• Poor soil consolidation/compaction.
• Old trash pits from the original construction phase that were too close to the structure.

Familiarity with these common causes of slab settling can help a lot when attempting to diagnose the exact cause at a specific location.  For more, see our blog post series The Causes of Unstable Soil.

Results of Neglect

After becoming aware of a slab issue, the property owner has a critical choice to make.  To repair or not to repair – that is the question.  Neglecting a repair can have huge implications.  Here are a few possible results of neglect:

• Damage to vehicles and equipment.
• Unlevel racking and storage.
• Personal property damage.
• Sinkholes.
• Trip hazards.
• Employee injuries.
• Limitless liability issues.

Read that list a few times and seriously consider the very real possibility that one or more of these events may occur when a property owner neglects a slab repair.  As experts with many years in the industry, we’ve seen every one of these events unfold after a problem was ignored.

In the next installment of this two-part series, we’ll review the two most common methods for repairing a trip hazard aside from polyurethane, and then we’ll review the three most common types of slab repair with polyurethane: slab lifting, soil stabilization and void fill.

Want in-depth info on concrete leveling procedures and products?

Many of you contractors in the polyurethane infrastructure repair business are already actively promoting your businesses on social media.  But, according to my observations, some of you are not using all of the main channels available.  In addition, a few of you are not on social media at all.  After noticing these gaps I’ve decided to write up a brief summary of each main social media outlet available to you.

Facebook

Facebook has a feature that lets you create a company page to promote your business. It’s a great channel because it has the most social users of any social media channel. You can use this channel to post detailed updates about recent jobs and other company news, engage with users who comment on your posts, and even purchase paid advertising.  See Facebook’s Facebook Business page for more information.

Twitter

Twitter is a little bit different; being that you are limited to a small amount of characters per post. Twitter can be more conversational in nature. You can tweet brief comments with photos from the job site, short links to your more detailed Facebook posts, etc.  Make sure you’re following industry media, so you can re-tweet relevant information that your customers may find helpful.  See Twitter’s Build Your Brand with Twitter for Business page for more information.  

Instagram

Instagram is more of a photo-centric app.  It’s a great way to share photos from your jobs, etc.  You will not be allowed to include links in your photo description text, so make sure your company website is linked from your profile.  If there is more information on your website that relates to a particular post, just direct people to that website link in your profile.  You will also have to post via your cell phone, as Instagram doesn’t allow posting via a desktop PC.  See Instagram’s Instagram Business page for more information.

Pinterest

Pinterest can be used to create “boards” related to specific topics.  (Similar to folders on your computer.)  In these boards, you can share relevant links that you find on the internet or create yourself in the form of blog posts, web pages, etc.  For example, our Pinterest account has boards for each application category.  So when we post a new blog article on Soil Stabilization, we share it on our Soil Stabilization Pinterest board.  See this Pinterest for Business page for more information.

YouTube

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.  Use your phone or an inexpensive video camera to shoot videos of your crew in action on the job site, interviews with happy customers, etc.  Upload the videos to your YouTube account, and then share the YouTube links on your other social media platforms!  See this article 12 Tips for Using YouTube for Your Small Business for more info.

LinkedIn

Contrary to popular belief, LinkedIn isn’t only for job seekers and recruiters. LinkedIn can be an integral part of your business social media strategy. It has the tools to generate leads, increase brand awareness and even create partnerships. Like Facebook, there is no text limit, so you can post detailed updates about jobs, case studies, etc. 

Let’s take a look at a couple other ways to use LinkedIn.

Build Relationships through Connections

As a business owner you can connect with prospects, strategic partners, referral partners and other business owners. From there you may decide how to foster these connections and turn them into relationships that will in turn grow your business. 

LinkedIn Groups

Become a member in an industry LinkedIn group by searching keywords that are relevant to your industry. For example; if you work with polyurethanes you may want to join groups that have key words such as: chemical grouting, urethane, soil stabilization, trenchless technology, waterproofing, etc. 

See this article How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Business for more information.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief overview of the most popular social media channels.  If you have further questions, read the linked resources I’ve included at the end of each section.  Feel free to call us with questions as well.

These channels are all great ways to market your business.  Make sure you post informative content that your customers will naturally want to read.  One simple sales pitch after another will bore your audience pretty quickly.  Keep it interesting to maximize user engagement and grow your following! 

For more insightful information be sure to follow us on these channels!

https://www.facebook.com/AlchemySpetec/

https://twitter.com/Alchemy_Spetec

https://www.instagram.com/alchemy_spetec/

https://www.pinterest.com/alchemy_spetec/

https://www.youtube.com/c/Alchemy-Spetec/feed

https://www.linkedin.com/company/alchemyspetec

Want more tips on marketing your contracting business?

This blog post explains how to develop a contract for a typical lifting job.  We’ll cover essential points such as Description of Process and Products, Scope of Work, Scheduling, Items Furnished by Others, Stipulations, Price, Warranty, Terms of Payment and Seeking Legal Counsel for Fine Tuning. 

PLEASE NOTE: This article covers situations that you may want to consider when preparing your contract.  It is not intended as legal advice, is not all inclusive, and has not been reviewed by any attorney.  It should not be relied upon as such.  Laws vary from state to state.  You should seek the advice of legal counsel licensed to practice law in your state before finalizing your contract documents.

Brief Description of Process and Products

It’s important to start by outlining the process and products you’ll be using.  Some of our current customers use blurbs like this… 

The slab lifting process consists of the injection of expansive high density polyurethane foam underneath the concrete.  This foam is manufactured by Alchemy-Spetec of Tucker, Georgia.  This high density foam has a quick cure time of 15 minutes to 90% weight load capacity, does not shrink, is hydrophobic, creates a moisture barrier, and is lightweight.

Scope of Work

Next you’ll want to be very specific about the scope of work for the project.  Use this section to explain to the customer exactly which areas will be lifted and exactly how you estimated the amount of material you’ll need.  (For a refresher on estimating material, see our blog post Estimating Material for Slab Lifting Jobs.)

Scheduling

It’s important to spell out the order in which certain events will take place and the time parameters in which you’ll be able to do the work.  For example, you may cover points like calling the appropriate agency to locate underground utilities on site before the job starts, coordinating with the engineer (if there is one) during the job, and outlining the days and hours in which you typically work.  You can also let them know how long it will typically take you to begin the job after they give you the green light. 

Items Furnished by Others

In this section you can briefly list any items that you expect the customer to furnish, such as access to and from the work area, electricity, water, etc.

Stipulations

It’s critical to inform your customer and also cover yourself regarding anything and everything that could go wrong on a slab lifting job.  Unlocated plumbing pipes accidentally infiltrated with resin, cracks in foundations lacking steel reinforcement, cracks in slabs, etc.  Be clear about what you will and will not be held liable for. 

Warranty

Alchemy-Spetec warrants that our resin products will not deteriorate or shrink for a period of 10 years after the date of installation.  You need to decide what type of warranty you will offer on your labor.  Many of our contractors offer to replace any failed product for a period of 1 year at no cost to the owner, and then at a pro-rated scale after that.  Be sure to exclude any damage done by acts of nature such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. 

Price

Spell out exactly how much you will charge for labor and how much you estimate materials will cost.  You may want to break down the material cost into a per pound amount, so they have an idea how much extra they will be paying if you have to use more material than originally estimated. 

Terms of Payment

Lay out the terms of your compensation, including an up-front deposit amount, how long the customer has to pay the balance.  Many of our customers insist on the balance being paid upon job completion, to avoid any collection headaches. 

Seek Legal Counsel for Fine Tuning

Again, it’s important to note that these are just general guidelines meant to assist you in constructing a contract of your own.  Laws differ from state to state.  Once you have a rough draft completed, we strongly urge you to seek the advice of legal counsel licensed to practice law in your state.  An initial rough draft combined with feedback and fine tuning from an attorney will get you to a solid standard contract that you can re-use for many jobs to come.

Want a phone consultation to discuss your concrete leveling contract?