In the city limits of Atlanta, a couple was surprised to see a sinkhole forming in their home’s front yard. They became quite alarmed as within just a few weeks it swallowed their sidewalk and a decent portion of the property in front of the home. They notified the city. 

After the City of Atlanta quickly got involved, some investigation revealed an old brick storm sewer running approximately 25-30 feet under the front of the property. Across the country, there is lots of brick infrastructure that’s still in service and in some cases over 100 years old. These outdated structures suffer from infiltration of groundwater which often erodes soil, as well as causes subsidence above. In this case, cameras revealed that several bricks had become dislodged, creating a pathway for soil and groundwater to get in. The end result was a rapidly forming sinkhole.

The City of Atlanta was already consulting with Alchemy Spetec on some other projects, so they asked us to take a look. After reviewing the available information and making a site visit, it was determined that a multi-step plan would need to be undertaken to seal the pipe and reestablish soil compaction.

Powerful Polymers

The single-component polyurethane AP Fill 700 was selected for the sealing of the pipe and for the compaction grouting of the above soils. AP Lift 430 would be kept on standby in case further grouting was required to stabilize under the home foundation itself. As it turns out, this was indeed the case.

• AP Fill 700 has an adjustable set time and is highly expansive. It works in wet environments, perfect for this project. It can permeate loose soils and gravel and achieve compressive strengths in excess of 1000 psi.
• AP Lift 430 is fast and expands 24 times its original volume. It is strong and can support 7,000 lbs per square foot.
• Both products are NSF ANSI 61 approved as safe for potable water contact. This certification provides reassurance that these products will not leach any chemicals out into the soil.

Painless Procedures

As previously mentioned, there were several steps that had to be undertaken to complete this project. First, the bricks that had become dislodged were reaffixed back into place. Once that breach was sealed, AP Fill 700 was injected through the pipe walls in multiple areas around the breach. AP Fill 700 reacts when it contacts moisture and there was no lack of that at 25 feet deep. Regardless, twin streaming through an F-Valve Assembly was implemented to ensure a good resin/water mix. This approach rapidly filled all of the voids surrounding the pipe and also sealed several other small areas of weeping water infiltration.

The second step was to fill the sinkhole with loose dirt and gravel and then permeate that with AP Fill 700 to squeeze the soil and lock all of the backfill together. Half-inch injection pipes were installed down to the top of the pipe, then soil and gravel were backfilled to the surface. Once the backfill was in place, AP Fill 700 was injected and the probes were slowly extracted to insure a uniform measure of polymer throughout the soil column. When this is done in a grid pattern, the result is a lot of increased compaction and bearing capacity.

Once the sinkhole was repaired, concern remained about loss of soil compaction under the foundation of the home. The steps leading up to the front porch had settled away from the home indicating further bad soil was likely the case.

Alchemy-Spetec is a dealer for Pagani, a dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) manufacturer out of Italy. We brought our unit out to the property and did 6 penetrometer tests across the front of the home next to the foundation. Four of the six tests revealed weight of hammer (WOH) readings which basically means zero compaction. The soil could not even support the weight of our machine. The city was on site to see the tests and immediately approved the compaction grouting beneath the front foundation. This is where the AP Lift 430 came into play.

Half-inch injection probes were installed across the entire front of the home next to the foundation. Probes were installed down to 8 feet which is where the soil became much stronger. AP Lift 430 was injected while the crew slowly extracted the probes - until lift was observed on the home. When lift was detected, the grouting ceased. This process was repeated across the entire front of the home on 4-foot spacing.

After the compaction under the footing was reestablished, the front steps that had settled away from the house were lifted back into place using AP Fill 430.

Rapid Results

The job was completed quickly without any excavation and dewatering. No curbs, road base, or utilities had to be removed or relocated. This approach saved enormous amounts of additional cost and delays.

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This article is an excerpt from Episode 14 of Alchemy-Spetec's podcast The Injection Connection, featuring veteran coatings expert Murray Heywood. (If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.)

Charlie Lerman: Now what would you say is maybe the most interesting job that you've been on - or unique or weird - or something that just stands out in your head (with grouting obviously)?

Murray Heywood: Well, I should have been more prepared for that question because I’ve been on so many projects. But one of the things that struck me a few years ago was at a water treatment plant in New Jersey. I was in the pipe gallery. You've got to remember, in the pipe gallery you have tanks on either side of you, and possibly tanks above you - all filled with water - none of which are lined. They're all just bare concrete. I’m walking through this because we're there to look at the pipe. They've got all this corroding pipe and they're kind of perplexed. These pipes are severely corroding, with all these issues and I’m walking through this huge pipe gallery. It's huge, it's long and wide and they're worried about their pipe. And meanwhile, there's water spraying and dripping and coming out of every pipe penetration and crack. It's like a rainforest in there basically. Have you ever been to Niagara Falls and been behind the falls?

Charlie: I haven’t, but my wife has.

Murray: Yeah, you can go behind the falls. It's kind of like that. And there's water coming out from everywhere. I say, "We can address the corrosion and take it off and repair it and do all that stuff, but you've got to fix this leak." They look at me and say, "Well, it's a water treatment plant." I reply, "Yeah, but this doesn't have to happen. This is not normal. This is not just part of the normal day that you just let water spew in and all over the place and expect to have good results." So I made a recommendation.

Charlie: Yeah.

Murray: And I think they actually addressed all of that in there, but I was just struck by how oblivious to it they were. There was so much water coming in. And then there was another situation here in Canada at a plant north of here. They had another situation where they had a tank on one side and a pipe gallery on another. Now in the previous example from New Jersey, the pipe gallery wasn't painted, the walls weren't painted, it was just a concrete room. In this one, they kind of wanted to dress it up, so they kept painting these walls. And every time they'd paint the walls, all these leaks were happening and the paint would come off. They must have to put like 40 coats of paint on this thing. Then I walk in one day and I say - because the paint was now at this point with all the peeling - "Yeah, this is always a problem. Well, it's not the paint that's a problem. It's the fact that you've got all this water coming out all over the place." And they reply, "Well, we've tried to stop it but we don't know how." So I gave them some instructions on how to do it. They got somebody in, I don't know who, and they fixed it. I’ve talked to them since then and they haven't had any further issues. So it's just that. As I said, it's the lack of education that there's a fix out there. And let's be honest, it's not rocket science, it's a relatively simple fix.

View the video version of this excerpt...

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This article is an excerpt from Episode 14 of Alchemy-Spetec's podcast The Injection Connection, featuring veteran coatings expert Murray Heywood. (If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.)

Charlie Lerman: There's something I always say and I want to run it by you because you could verify or tell me if I’m wrong on this. When you look at potable water tanks, those things are typically like three feet thick and they're chock-full of rebar. They're just stuffed full of rebar, so any type of drilling crack injection on them is just nightmarish. A lot of people don't like to do that. Normally what you get when those things leak, is that you just have a hairline crack because you have so much concrete in there. What I imagine happens a lot of times is that you have people come in with hydraulic cement. They rub that out, but you still then have three feet of concrete with water all the way through it. And all that reinforcing steel potentially rusting. You mentioned the freeze-thaw effect, and that's about 12 times expansion when water freezes.

Murray Heywood: Yes.

Charlie: But when you look at corrosion, N.ACE has put out that it's about seven or eight times expansion when the steel rusts.

Murray: Yes.

Charlie: So, it's not as dramatic as freeze-thaw but still, six times is going to blow up the concrete.

Murray: Well, you've got to remember that if you have rebar, it will expand about seven times but the tensile strength of concrete is very weak. Concrete does not hold itself together very well. It doesn't take much to start that expansion happening and to make the problem worse. So you have to keep the moisture out as much as possible. The thing with potable water, especially concrete potable water tanks, and ground storage tanks, is that if you want to become very unpopular, go into an AWWA, D110 prestressed concrete tank committee and mention protective coatings. They want to string you up because they want to sell it as maintenance-free and that you don't need to line it. And truly, they don't need to line it - except for when you start to get some deterioration and then you get water in. And once water gets in, then that whole deterioration is expedited. So you've got to keep the moisture out and you want to keep it away from the rebar. When you're talking about potable water tanks, a lot of them are engineered and pre-cast. But when you get into wastewater treatment plants, you'll find a lot of times mistakes are made and the rebar is too close to the surface. And then any water that gets in is going to create that issue much quicker because that rebar is going to get more moisture. It's going to expand quicker and cause more damage. So I think that where you see more need for grouting in the potable water world is in the treatment plants again because a lot of these plants are getting long in the tooth. Their concrete has a 50-year design life and we have no money to replace it. We barely have money to fix it. So I think grouting plays a role in both wastewater and water but certainly, on rebar you're correct - you've got to stop that moisture.

View the video version of this excerpt...

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Whether you think about it a lot or not, our wastewater system is crumbling and we spend billions, nationwide, each year treating groundwater that has entered our collection systems. This problem is too costly to ignore, but can be hard to address with the tight budgets many rural sewer districts are on.

On June 24, 2022, the EPA announced up to $18 million in available federal grant funding via a request for applications to provide training and technical assistance to serve small, rural, and tribal community wastewater systems. This funding will improve public health and environmental protection by helping to ensure that wastewater in these communities is safe and treated before being responsibly returned to the environment.

While the federal government is providing the grants, Alchemy-Spetec can train municipalities and their contractors on how to easily address the low-hanging fruit of water infiltration found in manholes and lift stations. Not only can we help you identify trouble areas in your collection systems but we also provide high-quality grouts coupled with the industry's top technical support.

August is just about booked out and there are only a couple of spots left for September for our manhole leak seal demonstrations. If you are unsure of how you would like to move forward, contact us to set up an online meeting to discuss your specific challenges and/or needs.

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This article is an excerpt from Episode 14 of Alchemy-Spetec's podcast The Injection Connection, featuring veteran coatings expert Murray Heywood. (If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.)

Murray Heywood: Water is a damaging substance when it gets in and starts working its way through concrete. And no coating - despite claims that people and manufacturers make about withstanding hydrostatic pressure and backside pressure - no, it won't. Not long-term. It might in the beginning until you drive away and maybe even until you cash to check perhaps, but water will be a problem at some point. And the only way to successfully do these things is by stopping the water from getting in. Don't let it get in, in the first place, and then it won't be a problem. That's why we line the insides to protect the surface. So we have to figure out some way to keep the moisture out. So grouting is it. And in a lot of cases, if you're talking about underground things of that nature, there are so many cool tricks that you grout geeks have taught me. These procedures can be done without as much invasive digging and prodding around, and ripping this out and putting this in. And you can do so much of it simply by knowing where to start and drilling holes and pumping grout in. I have learned a lot from you about it...a ton. It's one of those things that comes up all the time, but it's partially ignorance, partially indifference, and then just an afterthought.

Charlie Lerman: Right. I think a lot of it also comes down to - you have GCs and they're focused on their Gantt Charts and how to move this multimillion-dollar project along. Then you're talking about a small percentage of it, or it's not even a percent. It's a problem that's come up and they don't realize the long-term effects of just skipping over that because they're focused on what the fire is at that time right there. So a lot of the times we're brought in, we're dealing with people that are closing out a project or trying to finish it up. Now they're saying, "Oh, well, I heard months ago that it’s going to bite me in the butt and here it is now. I can't get my paycheck because we're still leaking on this tank" or whatnot.

Murray: Right. And probably one of the places that it's understood the most and it's used a lot in this way is the underground, in sewer manhole restoration. Most of the people that are playing in that game now at least understand inflow and infiltration and what it does to the system, and how it wreaks havoc on the plant and their capacity levels. I shouldn't say everybody, but anybody who's in the business has seen the classic manhole eruption. A few years ago, I was down in Louisiana in New Orleans for a conference. I can't remember whether it was WEFTEC or SSBC or something, and just outside our hotel, a huge rain event happened. You could hear the manhole lids dancing all around the streets. You could hear it. You could hear it, and people are saying, "What is that?" I’m replying, "Oh, just watch." Within probably five, six minutes all of a sudden, the manhole lids were coming off - and they're heavy. If you've never lifted one up, they're very heavy. And these things just popped out, and the water was spewing. When people see that, they kind of understand it. But it's understood a little bit more in that market. Where I find that there's a lack of understanding of it is in the wastewater treatment plant itself. Because there are all kinds of problems in water treatment and wastewater treatment with leakage and with cracks. I’ve been walking through plants, and there's just water dripping everywhere. But the mentality of the people who work there is like, "Is that a problem? It’s been doing that for years." They just walk by it, because it's always been there and they've never dealt with it. A lot of times you have to say, "Well, you know there's a solution." And their response is, "Oh, really? You know how to fix that? We've tried everything. We've put hydraulic cement in, and we've tried to plug it with silicone." They've tried everything. I say, "Yeah, there's actually a fairly simple way to fix this."

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!

This article is an excerpt from Episode 14 of Alchemy-Spetec's podcast The Injection Connection, featuring veteran coatings expert Murray Heywood. (If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.)

Charlie Lerman: From your point of view when it comes to grouting, what are some of the common mistakes or problems you see that people just deal with repeatedly?

Murray Heywood: Well, when it comes to my world, the coatings world, one of our biggest challenges is water, keeping it where you want it or not letting it get in where you don't want it. That water molecule creates a lot of damage. Concrete, which is predominantly the work that we do in the infrastructure world, 85% of water and wastewater structures are concrete. And concrete has very poor elongation properties, it doesn't stretch very well but it does move a lot because of settlement and this and that, and inflection when you're loading tanks, unloading, so you get cracks. If we don't address the water coming in or whatnot, it creates even bigger issues. So grout plays a huge role in doing that. And I think one of the challenges that I see is people don't understand that you just can't fill it with some cement because if it cracks again it's going to leak again. You just can't fill it with an epoxy injection because that's rigid. So just the misconception of how to deal with it is prevalent and it's something that we try to explain a lot. Mistakes are made where they'll, well, "We're just going to put hydraulic cement in and fix it that way." Or, "We're going to do this or the coating should handle it and we shouldn't have to do this extra work". So I just see the mistakes in the materials they select to do the repairs and not understanding necessarily that it has to be treated or you're just spending thousands and thousands of dollars to rehab this and you're going to skip that part. That's going to wreak havoc on your system. Those are the common mistakes. It's a lack of understanding really when you get to the bottom of it, of how it all works together.

Charlie: Yeah. And neither of us are engineers who have gone and got those types of degrees, so we're not always the smartest person in the room.

Murray: I may not be the smartest person in this room right here.

Charlie: I’ll give you that one. I'll take that. Thank you. But really what you find is, that it's not that this industry is rocket science or hard to figure out. It's that it's non-intuitive and most of the time, people just overlook it, they don't even understand. Again, it's not a fear thing of, "oh, you're just never going to figure this out and be able to launch a rocket to Mars". It comes down to people just making common mistakes with it. Like you mentioned with the epoxy, there's no elongation or very little elongation for concrete at all and you'll have people, they waterproof epoxies all the time and then they get a mirror crack right by it and they're like, "Whoa, didn't we just fix this last year?" And you're like, there it is.

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!

Episode 14 of The Injection Connection features Charlie "The Grout Geek" Lerman interviewing veteran coatings expert (and punk rock drummer) Murray Heywood. Don't miss this info-packed and entertaining discussion!

The Injection Connection features in-depth discussions with thought leaders and professionals in the infrastructure repair industry and is produced by Alchemy-Spetec, the premier manufacturer of Leak Seal and Geotech polyurethane concrete repair products.

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

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

Want information on Alchemy-Spetec products?

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Sewers can be aggressive to downright hostile environments for concrete. Composite and fiberglass manholes are becoming more popular due to their superior resistance to sewer gases. While chemically resistant, composite manholes still have penetrations and joints. And any structure with penetrations and joints is still susceptible to infiltration.

The good news is that your everyday go-to grouts for concrete manhole water mitigation work just as well on composite or fiberglass manholes. Spetec PUR Highfoamer is a single component hydrophobic semi-rigid grout that is ideal for curtain grouting behind and around leaking penetrations and joints. When it comes to crack injection for penetrations and or joints, Spetec PUR GT380 and Spetec PUR F400 have the flexibility and chemical resistance you will need for the tough sewer environment.

Industries and technologies change over time and Alchemy-Spetec offers a full line of grouts that can provide for your long-term waterproofing needs - whether for composite, fiberglass, concrete or brick manholes and lift stations. 

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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, written by Morgan Helms of Helms Polyfoam, is an overview of void filling with polyurethane foam.  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!

Water and wastewater treatment facilities are essential for communities and municipalities. They supply drinking water to communities and treat wastewater before it is discharged into lakes or rivers. Many water and wastewater treatment facilities are aging and badly in need of repairs and maintenance.

Concrete is one of the most common building materials for water treatment facilities. Whether part of new construction or an older structure, concrete can be susceptible to leaks. Leaks through concrete are generally going to be through cracks, joints, and honeycomb (areas in poured concrete of mainly coarse aggregate with voids in between). Depending on water volume and pressure, and the size of the joint or crack, you may encounter weeping leaks, steady leaks, and gushing leaks.

What’s the solution? Helms Polyfoam! With any aging concrete structure in which moisture is present, the need for maintenance is inevitable. When it comes down to dollars spent on water treatment, maintaining water leaks is paramount. Helms Polyfoam can repair and effectively seal leaks in water treatment facilities also while staying within budget.

The Alchemy-Spetec polyurethane leak seal resins we use are pumped into cracks in walls and water holding tanks to fill and seal them, both now and in the future. Anywhere water can go, these polyurethane resins can follow. Polyurethane crack injection repairs and prevents leaks by filling cracks in concrete tanks and pipes. Polyurethane concrete crack injection repair is waterproof and non-toxic. There is no need to worry about dangerous chemicals seeping into the ground or contaminating the water.

Helms is your Mississippi area expert on all structural, polyurethane resin repairs. Our repairs can be completed quickly without shutting down operations or taking anything offline for long periods. Plus, our repairs are much more affordable than other alternatives, such as replacing pipes or tanks altogether.

We implement a repair plan that doesn’t require you to shut down operations or leave you with a big mess. It requires no excavation. This means a smaller footprint on your job site or facility and minimum downtime.

And you know what is even better? ARPA!

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) includes in the Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF) one of the largest fiscal advances to state and local government budgets in recent history. ARPA federal funding now makes it possible to address infrastructure and structural repairs – just like these water and wastewater treatment facility repairs – that are an ongoing challenge in our state.

Helms Polyfoam has water treatment facility repair experience using polyurethane concrete crack injections to seal off leaks. And now, you can use ARPA funds to help you cover these costs! Call us at 601-966-7821 or click here to fill out our contact form.

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Municipalities across the country have widespread problems with water infiltration undermining the integrity of manholes, pipes, lift stations, water collection systems, etc. High-flow leaks in these structures add millions of dollars to maintenance and water treatment expenses every year.

Limitless Leak Seal Market

We believe every qualified leak seal contractor should be prepared to take advantage of this type of job opportunity. Alchemy-Spetec offers environmentally-friendly leak seal resins for applications ranging from hairline cracks to gushing high-flow leaks. Our industry-leading technical support team (with decades of experience) assists infrastructure repair contractors on a wide variety of projects every day.   

Spetec PUR H200 is a one-component, water-activated, hydrophobic, low viscosity, closed-cell polyurethane injection resin. When used with Gen ACC Fast, it is the fastest one-component Alchemy-Spetec grout. So it’s an ideal solution for quickly cutting off high-flow leaks.

Spetec PUR H200 Applications

The primary application for Spetect PUR H200 is cutting off high flow leaks quickly and effectively in manholes, pipes, lift stations, tunnels, mines, water collection systems, parking garages, and more. It's also great for curtain grouting projects. In addition, it can be used for filling water voids in the soil around all types of structures, cutting off underground water flows, and consolidating loose soil.

Spetec PUR H200 Advantages

Spetec PUR H200 is certified for contact with drinking water. The low viscosity allows for very effective soil permeation. It's water impermeable. The set time is adjustable – as fast as 20 seconds. It's also phthalate-free.

Your 3-Step Action Plan

Eliminate the risk to your client’s property and call our team of experts now to partner with the industry's leading technical support team. With our assistance, you can save your client’s property, save them money, and save their peace of mind.

1. Start a conversation with one of our experts about your business and local market.
2. We will work with you to create an action plan custom-tailored to your market’s needs.
3. We will connect you with a local distributor and our technical service team to support you every step of the way.

Sign Up for a Consultation Now!