Not too long ago, I visited my customer Melvin Sudbeck’s company, Sudbeck Construction, on a warehouse job. They were called in by the property owner because he had noticed four slabs that were shifting up and scraping against a wall when forklifts crossed them. The crew drilled a couple of preliminary holes in the slabs for diagnostic purposes and discovered voids underneath ranging from 12-18 inches in depth.

The Sudbeck team injected 35 gallons of AP Lift 430 beneath the slabs to stabilize them. This high-strength polyurethane foam provides a solid, reliable, long-lasting base underneath the concrete to prevent future shifting or sinking. These forklifts were larger than your standard model, so it was important to use tough, strong material for stabilization. After the initial four slabs were stabilized, we walked around with the plant manager and a few other employees as they pointed out more unstable concrete that was shifting underneath the weight of these massive forklifts. The workers who had to drive over these rocking slabs said they actually felt jolted when they hit these hazard areas.

We explained to the plant manager that the Sudbeck crew could come back during off-hours and do the rest of this work in a very efficient manner. Since the polyurethane cures quickly, the slabs would be steady and ready when the warehouse staff returned in the morning. Melvin’s crew has since returned and completed the rest of the work successfully. Sudbeck Construction completed all of this work with the tough, compact, PolyBadger mobile slab lifting unit. Small enough to fit into the back of a pickup truck, the PolyBadger was a very smart choice for the job because it could be wheeled inside the warehouse directly to all of the problem areas.

If you’re a property owner in the Omaha area with sunken or unstable slabs, call Sudbeck Construction at 402-306-9506 today!

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Precision 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...

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Whether 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.

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Sunken 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...

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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...

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This article, written by guest blogger Mic Ewart (Geotech Go-To and Victorian State Manager of Bayset Specialist Trade Suppliers) profiles a car park slab lifting job completed under a tight deadline. If you're an Alchemy-Spetec customer or distributor, and you'd like to discuss writing content for our blog, please send an email to marketing@alchemy-spetec today!

A car park slab in Sunbury, Victoria (Australia) had settled about 40 mm (1.57 in). This dangerous drop created both trip hazards and litigation risks. Because this property was normally in use five days a week, the client needed very quick turnaround. A tight deadline like this automatically rules out the options of replacing the slab and lifting with cement grout (a.k.a. “mudjacking).

The most efficient repair method for sunken slabs is lifting with polyurethane. The RevivaLift team from RevivaCrete specializes in this method of leveling concrete. In this case, they used the Alchemy-Spetec PolyBadger lifting unit to get the job done. The PolyBadger is a tough, compact pump on wheels that fits easily in the back of a pickup truck if needed. It’s ideal for small to medium projects that need to be completed quickly. RevivaCrete gets their slab lifting supplies & support from Bayset, Australia’s premier specialist trade supplier.

The RevivaLift crew pumped Alchemy-Spetec’s AP Lift 430 high-strength polyurethane foam underneath the slab. With precision technique, they gradually brought it back into place until it was completely level. AP Lift 430 sets up very quickly, reaching 90% full strength in 15 minutes and full cure into a solid mass in less than a day. Once cured, these foams offer thousands of pounds per square foot of support. As soon as the crew is done packing up their equipment, the slab is usually ready for traffic. Needless to say, the property owner was very happy with this fast, efficient, and durable repair.

Want more information on lifting slabs with polyurethane?

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On this episode of The Injection Connection, Charlie Lerman takes over the hosting duties, welcoming Alchemy-Spetec independent rep John Ziebell. Formerly the Vice President of Operations for Deneef Construction Chemicals, Inc., John has 36 years of experience in the chemical grout industry and is currently a member of the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI).

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

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• SoundCloud
• TuneIn
• Google Podcasts
• YouTube

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This post is part of the Alchemy-Spetec Contractor Lens series, featuring views, news & case studies written by our customers.  This article, originally posted on the Dalinghaus Construction Blog, explains the basics of polyurethane concrete leveling.  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!

Lifting concrete with polyurethane is a process that takes a lot of simple physics into play.  The amount of recovery that you are able to get out of a slab of concrete is dependent on a lot of underlying factors.  Not only does the amount of area that is needing to be recovered play a role, but also the construction of the slab plays a massive role in what can actually be recovered.  Let's dive into how the process actually can lift a sunken slab of concrete.

When you are looking at a sunken piece of concrete you first have to envision of how this slab of concrete will react once you start the lifting process.  Once you do so, you can then figure out where you are going to perform you first injection.  We will then inject polyurethane through a drilled hole until we start to see movement out of the slab.  We continue drilling and injecting until the slab has been set back into place as it was when it was initially poured.

When the polyurethane is first injected through the slab it will typically fill any voids or cavities that are under the slab.  Once these have been filled the polyurethane will start to compact the soil that the slab was resting on.  It will continue to compact the soil until it gets to a point where the soil starts to become solid and the slab begins to lift.  The polyurethane will continue to compact the soil and lift the slab until the slab has been leveled to the desired elevation.  

It is a simple process if you think about it.  It is easier for the polyurethane to lift the concrete and its weight than to push and compact the soil further into the earth.  Although some looser soil requires more polyurethane to be injected, it will still eventually get to the point at which it is easier to lift the slab than to continue to push the soils downward.

Here are the steps simplified:

1. Analyze the area to be lifted
2. Drill a hole through the slab
3. Install a polyurethane gun
4. Begin injecting polyurethane material
5. Monitor slab movement 
6. Stop injection once recovery has been attained
7. Remove gun and port
8. Grout hole

Click here for more information on Dalinghaus Construction.

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We understand that chemical grouting is often not the primary focus of a construction or repair job, but a water leak can often bring the rest of the job to a screeching halt until it is sealed. Job costs then start to pile up, production or facility services stay shut down as time drags on, sometimes tempers begin to flare. Sound familiar?

It’s not an exaggeration to state that Alchemy-Spetec has the most experienced and responsive technical support squad in the industry. In the spirit of the famous postal service motto, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”, our approach is somewhat along the lines of, “Neither weekends nor evening hours nor holidays…”. In other words we strive, to the best of our ability, to be there for you when YOU need us.

For example, Alchemy-Spetec has provided technical support for critical infrastructure jobs over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. While on-site technical service response is based on availability and job circumstances, we have a track record of being there when it counts. In the chemical grouting industry, almost all other manufacturers have moved away from dedicated fulltime support personnel. We stand alone to help you when YOU need it.

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I recently provided on-site technical support on a job with Foundation Repair of Western Colorado. A post-tension residential slab had some interior settlement issues. (Post-tension slabs are constructed with embedded high-strength cables that keep them from cracking or moving.) It looked like the settlement was due to an issue with the cables, either a faulty installation or failure to properly stretch them after the install.

Are Post-Tension Slabs Dangerous?

When working on a slab containing post-tension support cables, you must be extremely careful. These cables are typically stressed to greater than 30,000 lbs tension. If you accidentally drill through or cut a tensioned cable, it can likely rip out of the concrete with a sudden whip-like motion. Consequences could include slab destruction, equipment damage, serious injury, or even death. A few years ago, I witnessed a geotechnical engineer accidentally cut a post-tension support cable when drilling through a slab for a soil boring sample. We were inside a building. The cable snapped with a sound like a massive gunshot. It shot out from the exterior of the foundation wall. Fortunately, no one was standing near that area at the time. Nor was there any valuable equipment nearby. However, serious damage was done to the slab.

How to Repair Post-Tension Slabs

While consulting on this job with Foundation Repair of Western Colorado, we used ground penetrating radar to locate the cables before doing any post tension slab drilling. The crew then marked the “no-drill” areas and was able to safely drill through the slab for polyurethane injection. In addition to locating the post-tension cables, we used the GPR system to locate rebar within the slab and check for underground utility lines.

Ground Penetrating Radar uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to locate underground utilities such as electrical conduit, plumbing, duct work, cables or masonry. GPR can also often identify the location of voids under the slab, providing helpful information in the injection process.

This slab lifting job went very well. The crew used AP Lift 430 to level the slab. The settlement was remedied, and the customer was very happy with the results.

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