This post is part of the Alchemy-Spetec Contractor Lens series, featuring views, news & case studies written by our customers. This article was written by Casey Messer of Camrock Foundations. If you're an Alchemy-Spetec customer and you'd like to discuss writing content for our blog, please send an email to marketing@alchemy-spetec.com today!

Everyone has seen a sidewalk disrupted by heaving tree roots. Similar issues occur when tree roots disrupt other structures such as foundations, garage floor slabs, swimming pools, parking lots, etc. When this occurs, trees are usually removed and the stumps ground down to the surface. But what happens to the root systems, which can be up to 10 feet deep and 50 feet wide? As all that organic material starts to break down, it leaves voids in the soil, destabilizing any nearby structures or just leaving unsightly depressions in the soil.

When Camrock Foundations is called in for a free inspection on a case like this, we thoroughly probe the soil to determine the extent of the problem. Based on our findings, we then calculate injection spacing and depths. We typically drive the injection rods in a grid pattern, four to five feet apart. We then perform a multi-tiered injection at each injection point, from up to 10 feet deep. During the process, we may adjust injection depths and locations as needed as the decaying roots are encapsulated and the soil is stabilized at all levels.

If you're looking for a soil stabilization or concrete leveling contractor near Tampa / St. Petersburg, Florida - click here to contact us today for a free inspection!

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Alchemy-Spetec HQ in Tucker, GA

May 2nd - May 4th
$745 Registration Fee
$665 for each additional participant from
the same company.

Get ready for a thorough education in Slab Lifting, Soil Stabilization, the Deep Lock® process, Crack Injection, and Curtain Grouting. You’ll get hands-on training from a technical staff with decades of on-the-job experience.

Agenda Items

• Geotech Product Line Overview
• Geotech Applications & Case Studies
• MixMaster Pro Slab Lifting Gun
• Slab Lift Rig Demonstration
• Pump Demos & Training
• PolyShark® / Soil Stabilization
• Deep Lock® 
• Ground Penetrating Radar
• PolyBadger® Mobile Slab Lifting System
• Crack Injection
• Curtain Grouting
• Estimating Material for Jobs

Alchemy-Spetec HQ in Tucker, GA

May 2nd - May 4th
$745 Registration Fee
$665 for each additional participant from
the same company.

Get ready for a thorough education in Slab Lifting, Soil Stabilization, the Deep Lock® process, Crack Injection, and Curtain Grouting. You’ll get hands-on training from a technical staff with decades of on-the-job experience.

Agenda Items

• Geotech Product Line Overview
• Geotech Applications & Case Studies
• MixMaster Pro Slab Lifting Gun
• Slab Lift Rig Demonstration
• Pump Demos & Training
• PolyShark® / Soil Stabilization
• Deep Lock® 
• Ground Penetrating Radar
• PolyBadger® Mobile Slab Lifting System
• Crack Injection
• Curtain Grouting
• Estimating Material for Jobs

Premier On-The-Job Technical Support

Alchemy-Spetec offers onsite training for qualified geotech and leak seal customers. Starting up a contracting business, tackling a larger job than you're used to, getting new personnel trained, or adding a new service to your arsenal can be daunting. Our industry-leading technical support team specializes in training contractors on the job site. 

Always Be Prepared for Lucrative Jobs

With the backing of Alchemy-Spetec's technical support team, you'll never have to worry about your crew's ability to take on the next opportunity - whether it be a first-time geotech or leak seal job, or a bigger job than they are used to. Qualified customers can schedule an onsite visit from an Alchemy-Spetec specialist in order to ensure that the process goes as planned.

Estimation and Job Planning Assistance

Speaking of planning, your technical support specialist can also work with you in the estimation and preparation stages of your project as well.

Call 404-618-0438 for more information on Alchemy-Spetec technical support.

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A general contractor on a new commercial construction job reached out to Atlanta-based geotech contractor SiteMix Pressure Grouting LLC about the foundation phase of a project they were working on.  Sheet pile panels were used for erosion control while they poured the foundation walls.  After the foundation concrete was cured, there was still a layer of gravel and soil being held in place by the sheet pile panels, located between the panels and the foundation.  If the contractor were to pull up the sheet piles without stabilizing that gravel and soil first, it could become unstable, leaving the foundation without a surrounding layer of supporting soil. The soil and gravel would need to be locked in place first before the sheet pile panels were removed. Soil stabilization specialists SiteMix Pressure Grouting LLC were the perfect subcontractors for this job.

Powerful Polymer

The technicians selected Alchemy-Spetec's AP Fill 720 structural polymer for the job due to its ability to permeate the soil and encapsulate the gravel into one solid mass.

Painless Procedure

The crew inserted injection rods to a depth of about 12 feet deep at a spacing ratio of 3 feet apart along the entire length of the foundation wall. Next, they injected the structural polymer until it was seen bubbling up through the surface of the ground (a.k.a. grouted to refusal).

Rapid Result

The entire layer of surrounding supportive soil and gravel was locked into place. When the sheet piles were pulled, only a thin gap from the sheet pile panels remained. The contractor then filled that gap with cement, leaving a solid supportive wall of soil/gravel/grout to support the foundation.

Want more information about the Deep Lock® soil stabilization process?

The owner of a home in Montana contacted Yellowstone Structural, a geotechnical specialty contractor, about a distressing issue: one side of their house was starting to settle into the soil. This 1970s-era home did not have the proper drainage systems in place, allowing rainwater to accumulate and erode away at the soil underneath. Poor compaction of soil during the construction process was another likely cause of instability. This property owner needed a permanent solution quickly before the exterior, interior, and even the roof of the home were damaged beyond repair.

Powerful Polymer

The contractor chose to perform deep soil stabilization with Alchemy-Spetec’s AP Lift 430. This high-strength structural polymer is ideal for challenging soil compaction and void-fill jobs. AP Lift 430 also meets NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 standards for contact with drinking water, an important quality for any material to be installed around a residential dwelling. 

Painless Procedure

Contractors performing the Deep Lock® soil stabilization process strengthen the soil at all levels with minimal imposition or downtime to the property owner. In this case, the crew installed a pair of injection tubes every three feet along the footing of the house on the side that was beginning to sink. Next, they stabilized the supporting soil with AP Lift 430, injecting the structural polymer to depths of eight feet, and then four feet at each injection point until full compaction was achieved.

Rapid Result

Two technicians completed this job within six hours. They permanently stabilized the soil underneath the sinking side of the house with minimal equipment and no collateral damage to the structure or surrounding property.

Want more information on the Deep Lock® process?

A property owner in Montana contacted geotech contractor Yellowstone Structural regarding a garage that was recently converted into a bedroom. The garage lacked effective rainwater drainage, thoroughly compacted supporting soil, and a proper foundation with a footing like the rest of the house. For these reasons, it had sunken several inches. Alarmingly, the “new bedroom” was now beginning to break away from the rest of the house. The property owner found cracks in the siding and wanted to make sure there would be no further movement.

Powerful Polymer

The technicians planning this deep soil stabilization job chose AP Lift 430, a widely used favorite in the industry. This multi-use structural polymer is ideal for compacting soil, filling voids, and lifting slabs and structures.

Painless Procedure

Without the option of a structural polymer repair plan, a contractor would likely have had to dig around the garage, add a new foundation underneath, and then use helical piers to keep it in place. This would require the demolition of decking and surrounding structures. Heavy equipment (which often causes additional concrete surface and lawn damage) would be needed to get all of this done.

Fortunately, contractors like Yellowstone Structural can achieve soil stabilization and compaction on projects like this with the smallest footprint and the least amount of heavy equipment required. These technicians chose to implement the Deep Lock® process to stabilize the soil at all levels with minimal imposition or downtime to the property owner. First, the crew identified the exact parameters of all the unstable soil. Next, they installed a pair of injection tubes every three feet along the footing of the house in the affected area. This job required 17 of these dual-tube injection points. Next, they created a high-strength durable polyurethane footer with AP Lift 430, injecting the structural polymer to depths of both eight and four feet at each injection point. The technicians performed these injections until significant backpressure was reached to confirm full soil compaction.

Rapid Result

This highly efficient “surgical strike” style job was executed by a crew of two within eight hours. No heavy equipment or messy excavation was needed. The structural polymer was cured in place within 30 minutes of injection. Water won’t erode it; insects cannot eat or bore into it. The property owner’s new bedroom is now sitting on stable soil.

Want more information on the Deep Lock® process?

Unstable soil deep underneath private commercial property or public infrastructure can settle causing extensive and expensive damage. Poor compaction, water erosion, broken pipes, and organic material in this deep soil can make serious settling more likely.

How can you prevent settling and get long-term protection? Introducing the Deep Lock process. Alchemy-Spetec offers a unique combination of high-quality structural polymers along with the equipment and training needed to address deep soil issues. Now you can achieve soil stabilization and compaction on large projects faster without heavy excavation equipment, extended downtime, and risk of collateral property damage.

For a detailed explanation of the process, watch the animated video below...

Want more information on the Deep Lock process?

Soil testing equipment is extremely helpful for planning slab lifting and soil stabilization work. Contractors use ground penetrating radar systems and dynamic cone penetrometers to get a sense of soil conditions before they drill their first hole into a slab or push their first injection pipe into the ground.

Deep Look™ Ground Penetrating Radar

The Deep Look™ wireless ground penetrating radar collects data from hundreds of thousands of pulse reflections each second to help contractors identify objects below ground. The triple-frequency antenna design provides higher-resolution imaging than conventional GRP systems.

Dynamic Cone Penetrometer

The Pagini DPM30 dynamic cone penetrometer is ideal for testing soil strength and density at various depths. The fact that it is exceptionally small means it can be used on sites that are inaccessible to normal machines. A hydraulic pump raises and drops a weight onto a measuring rod, pushing it into the ground. To measure soil strength, the operator counts the number of blows it takes to drive the steel rod in 10-centimeter increments. Good soil requires 10+ blows to drive the rod 10 centimeters. Anything less is typically indicative of weak soil conditions.

Want more info on geotech equipment and repair materials?

Causes of Unstable Soil

Poor compaction, water erosion, broken pipes, and organic material in the soil can all lead to the settling of a foundation or a roadway. Traditional methods of soil stabilization can strengthen the soil directly under concrete and structures, but they do not address instability at deeper levels. Other methods of addressing deep soil issues require heavy equipment, extended downtime, and collateral property damage. These situations create problems for property owners as well as opportunities for the elite contractors that know how to fix them.

Deep Soil Stabilization

Introducing the Deep Lock process! Alchemy-Spetec offers a unique combination of high-quality structural polymers (AP Deep Lift 420, AP Lift 430, AP Lift 440 & AP Lift 475) along with the equipment and training needed to address deep soil issues. Now you can achieve soil stabilization and compaction on large projects with the smallest footprint and least amount of heavy equipment required. The Deep Lock process is powerful, painless, and rapid. Deep Lock gets to the root of the problems in the soil, it stabilizes the soil at all levels and accomplishes this with minimal imposition or downtime to the property owner.

Want more information about the Deep Lock process?