This is a fairly large commercial building in Hudson, Wisconsin. The owners needed us to stabilize the walls, which were 13 feet high, and take care of a water seepage problem. Added to our typical challenges were very thick floors that required special tools and the fact the building was built into a hill. We run into these issues every now and again so we know how to deal with them.
First, our crew prepared the walls for the carbon/kevlar stabilization straps made by Fortress Stabilization Systems. These are the same straps used to repair bridges and parking ramps … and the same straps we use in residential installations. Once the wall is prepared, the straps are encased in epoxy resin and allowed to set. These stabilization straps will ensure this wall won’t move again.
The floors of this building are extra thick which required a special saw to cut through them. Once cut, the concrete around the perimeter is jackhammered away from the footing for the installation of our drain tile system. Trenches are dug at a downward slope to the sump and the rigid pvc drain tile is installed. Washed rock is poured into the trench over and around the drain tile to act as a filter medium and to keep the drain tile out of the dirt.
Meantime, other members of the crew were working on the wall embedded into the hill. To ensure moisture from the soil that may seep through the porous concrete block won’t be a problem, we decided to install Delta Drainage Board on the entire wall. This way we can direct any seepage down the wall, across the footing into the system and on down to the sump where it will be pumped away.
When this is done, the drain tile crew installes our patented Diamond Drainage Board in the rest of the building, a vapor barrier over the gravel field and closes up the system with new cement mixed on site. This was a big job … 33 Fortress Stabilization straps 13 feet high, and 250 feet of drain tile, along with an entire wall covered by Delta Drainage Board. With the job done the owners are now ready to remodel and put this building to constructive use, secure in the knowledge their building is safe and dry.