Art Dodge points out a panel crack.
Talking to Rick, one of our superintendents about this post, he said, “I have a great title for you.” One of his mentors used to say, “Cookies crumble, concrete cracks.”
Are those cracks in your building’s tilt-up walls simply cosmetic? Is it just chipped paint? Chances are, it’s not the case.
Often times, because both concrete and the earth tend to move, tilt-up panels will develop cracks. These cracks are not merely at the surface; rather, they crack through the entire thickness of the wall panel. Thus the mnemonic: “cookies crumble, concrete cracks.”
I interviewed Art Dodge of Dodge Concrete Waterproofing Surfaces about the steps involved to structurally repair these cracks with epoxy injection.
Here are the steps:
1. Strip off the paint two inches wide on each side.
2. Clean out the cracks.
3. Apply a pressure-seal resin over the face of the crack.
4. Every six inches, pressure inject epoxy at each entry port.
5. Heat and strip off surface of the epoxy flush with the concrete.
6. Patch, prime, and repaint the building.
“What this does is welds the concrete back together, protects the rebar that’s running across the cracks, and waterproofs the building for water intrusion.” Art Dodge
This weld is a structural repair; once the epoxy is cured its strength is 15,000 pounds per square inch (psi). In fact, the weld is stronger than the concrete was originally.
Epoxy injection is a process that also works well to repair concrete that is starting to delaminate because of rusted rebar corrosion.
Do you suspect your building has cracks in the tilt-up walls? Why not call our office today and schedule and appointment to assess your situation?
View the Interview Here:
View Photo Slideshow Here:
More about this specific project is here.
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I’ve had this work done for me. The epoxy filled crack becomes the strongest part of the wall system!
This is true. Thank you, Steve, for taking the time to read and comment. I really appreciate it.
Good article. Was searching for a contractor in this work and this came up in my google search…
Very cool; thanks for letting us know, Tom.
Thanks for posting this information. Good post!
Thank you.