Medical Clinic 3′ Void Fill
The Job
The medical clinic on a military base was being renovated. As part of the renovation, the 650sqft elevated slab front porch needed to be replaced. The slab “sounded hollow,” and the presumption was that there were nominal voids below the slab.
The Challenge
At the start of demolition, the demolition contractor determined that the voids below the slab were closer to 3′ deep. This presented a safety problem for the demolition. The concern was that the slab would fail catastrophically during demolition. The general contractor reached out to CJGeo about ways to reduce the void depth.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed void filling below the slab using CJGrout 20SDB. CJGrout 20SDB is a low exotherm bulk void filling geotechnical polyurethane specifically formulated for deep fill placements without scorching or charring. A two person crew mobilized to the site and placed approximately 2,900lbs of CJGrout 20SDB in a few hours onsite, allowing the demolition contractor to safely resume work.
Warehouse Floor Joint Stabilization
The Job
About two months after occupying a new warehouse in Ashland, Virginia, the tenant identified two joints where the floor “popped” at a joint when a forklift drove over them. After consulting the plans, the owner determined that the joint wasn’t doweled.
The Challenge
Both affected joints were on main, high frequency travel pathways within the warehouse. So, any repairs had to be done quickly, and with zero impact to operations.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed undersealing the two joints, which had experienced slab curl, with high density geotechnical polyurethane grout. In fewer than three hours onsite, CJGeo undersealed the joints with CJGrout 20SDB, load tested them, and demobilized. There were no impacts to operations of the facility.
Dollar Store Floor Void Filling
The Job
A commercial contractor was performing a full gut renovation of a dollar store in a strip center. The building was approximately 30 years ago, and there were no signs of floor slab failure or settlement.
The Challenge
While cutting through the floor to install utilities, a 3″ void was discovered below the floor. Exploratory coring determined that voids ranged from 0.5 to 4″ throughout approximately 11,000 square feet of the space.
The Solution
CJGeo mobilized two geotechnical polyurethane grouting crews to the site and filled the voids over a period of two days. Approximately 7,000 pounds of CJGrout 20SDB were placed through approximately 500, 5/8″ holes, with cross-hole communication cutoff criteria. The work was performed without disruption to the renovation activities.
Fire Station Floor Lifting
The Job
The concrete slab on the grade floor inside of a fire station on the North Neck of Virginia settled up to two inches. As part of the investigation into the cause, an engineer discovered voids up to 8″ below the slab and multiple broken sanitary sewer pipes below the floor.
The affected areas included a dayroom, kitchen & meeting hall.
The Challenge
In order to minimize disruption to the fire station’s operations, the proposed repair had to be quick, clean, and minimize uncertainty associated with the plumbing repair slab cuts.
The Solution
CJGeo performed ground improvement grouting of the underlying soils to 5′ below-grade utilizing plural component polyurethane compaction grouting. Shallow voids were filled using plural component polyurethane, which was also used for settlement correction.
Because polyurethane grouts cure very quickly, the floor was repaired the day before the plumbing work was scheduled. This allowed the plumbers a stable work surface and eliminated the risk of stuck saws or sudden collapse of the floor during floor sawing for plumbing access.
Pre & post-grouting DCP testing was done to verify grout travel.
Corporate HQ Stabilization
The Job
Starting immediately after construction was completed, the slab on the grade floor within the cafeteria, loading dock, and kitchen at a corporate headquarters building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania settled. Over the course of 12 years, the owner had four different grouting companies attempt to address the problem. Lime slurry injection below the slab was disruptive, and settlement always resumed shortly thereafter.
Compaction grouting was performed in one area but was so disruptive that despite the fact that it was the only method where settlement didn’t resume, the owner kicked the contractor off the site after nearly four months of not having access to their executive dining room.
The Challenge
Settlement progressed over time to be as much as four inches, affecting nearly 20,000 square feet of floor. A general contractor retained by the owner reached out to CJGeo about performing low-impact grouting to address the settlement.
Because settlement affected the entire kitchen, food prep, serving and majority of the dining areas, repairs had to be facilitated continued use of the facility. Additionally, due to the 24-hour staffing of the facility, the noise had to be limited, and there was zero tolerance for dust.
Video inspection of the extensive gravity sanitary and floor drains below the floor revealed six defects, including a 2″ offset in a sanitary drain line for a 6 stall restroom.
The Solution
CJGeo performed 17 DCP tests to determine the depth of uncontrolled fill, which was the presumed cause of settlement. DCP testing showed pockets of WOH fill down to 35′ below the finish floor, and voids ranging from 2″ to 18″ immediately below the floor.
Over the course of 7 nights onsite, CJGeo crews installed 12,000 pounds of CJGrout 20SDB into voids immediately below the floor, and 53,000 pounds of CJGrout 35NHV61 for polyurethane compaction grouting. Compaction grouting was performed up to 35′ deep, but to an average depth of 15′ over the entire area.
All work was completed off-hours. As soon as the kitchen shut down for the evening, CJGeo crews swung into action, grouting through the night until wrapping up in time for the food prep crews to get ready for breakfast at 0500.
To facilitate grouting under four walk-in freezers and refrigerators, over the course of a 24-hour shift, all cold contents were moved to reefer trailers, CJGeo grouted to 30′ under the freezers and refrigerators, which were then immediately turned back on, and then refilled.
Through careful coordination with multiple operational divisions for the owner, general contractor, flooring restoration contractors, plumbers, and remediation contractors, CJGeo successfully completed the project under budget and on time.
Sewer Collapse Sinkhole Repair
The Job
When the operators of a tire and auto shop noticed a sinkhole developing next to their building, they weren’t sure what to do. After an employee crawled into the hole and discovered that he could stand up underneath their building, the owner reached out to the city. City crews determined that a 20″ VCP combined sewer & storm pipe had collapsed under the structure, roughly 25′ below grade.
The Challenge
An on-call contractor for the city installed a new manhole and rerouted the pipe around the building, but addressing the sinkhole was out of their businesses’ scope. The project manager reached out to CJGeo, who visited the site and recommended DCP testing to better quantify the extent of the problem.
The Solution
DCP testing showed that outside of the large hole on the surface, there was little deep disturbance. Working with the city’s consulting engineer, CJGeo developed a grouting plan to install two different CJGrouts; 20SDB in the bulk voids near the surface, and 35NHV61 for soil grouting to address voids within the underlying ground near the failed sewer line.
While onsite for just 6 hours, a CJGeo crew completed the work with zero disruption to the businesses’ operations.
School Floor Leveling
The Job
The Princeton Middle School in Princeton, West Virginia is a slab-on-grade masonry structure and serves approximately 550 students in grades 6 through 8.
The Challenge
The corridor floor in the arts wing settled up to 3.5 inches. A geotechnical investigation was performed and identified voids up to 2.5 inches below the settled slab. Due to budgetary constraints, the repair needed to address the settlement & instability without requiring flooring replacement.
The Solution
CJGeo mobilized a two-person polyurethane grouting crew to the site. Over a few hours, they filled all the voids utilizing CJGrout geotechnical polyurethanes and corrected the settlement. After the floor was lifted back into position and the voids all filled, the custodian reinstalled the cove base at the correct height. CJGeo patched the injection holes with off-white stained grout to match the VCT flooring.
Tunnel Abandonment – Boston
THE JOB
A plumbing contractor hand tunneled 140LF of 4’x5′ tunnel under two apartment buildings near Boston, Massachusetts. In preparation for a renovation project, a structural inspection was performed. The structural inspection revealed the slab floors which were tunneled under were not designed as structural slabs. The structural engineer directed the property owner to immediately fill the tunnels to restore structural integrity.
THE CHALLENGE
The tunnel abandonment work had to be completed during the winter, and while one of the two affected buildings was occupied. The non-occupied building was also in the process of asbestos abatement and a full gut renovation.
Due to the plumbing running through the tunnels, an excavatable grout was required. Also, the grout had to be low exotherm in order to not affect the new PVC plumbing.
THE SOLUTION
CJGeo proposed polyurethane grouting for the tunnel abandonment. Polyurethane grouting can be performed in any weather, is low exotherm, and can be placed in very thick lifts. The specific grout chosen was a low exotherm bulk void filling polyurethane.
CJGeo mobilized a polyurethane grouting truck with more than 9000 pounds of polyurethane grout, due to the unknown exact volume of the tunnels. During an 8″ snowstorm, CJGeo abandoned both tunnels in a single day. The unoccupied building was grouted via holes drilled through the floor. The tunnel below the occupied building was free sprayed from inside the tunnel. All tunnels were kept under negative pressure ventilation in order to address installation odors.
CJGeo placed 4100 pounds of polyurethane grout into the two tunnels.
Office Floor Settlement Repair
THE JOB
The slab floor inside of a grain import/export facility office is settled. All exterior walls were pile-supported, but the floor was poured as slab on grade. Slab settlement up to 3 inches affected approximately half of the building footprint.
THE CHALLENGE
Over the years the floor settled, extensive cosmetic repairs were done to the walls, including tuckpointing CMU walls, moving/shimming HVAC ducting, and rerouting water lines. Scheduling for the slab foundation repair had to be done around the busy grain season when the office building was continuously occupied.
THE SOLUTION
CJGeo proposed polyurethane grouting for the settlement repair. Polyurethane grouting is safe, fast, and economical for floor settlement repair.
CJGeo mobilized two polyurethane grouting crews to the facility on a Saturday morning. The entire 4,000 square foot area was lifted over a period of 9 hours, with no disruption to operations. During lifting, previous cosmetic repairs were undone to facilitate lifting. This included removing extensive patch material from the CMU walls, loosening plumbing connections, and adjusting HVAC ductwork.
By mobilizing multiple crews with multiple equipment redundancies, CJGeo was able to ensure that the repair had zero disruptions to the facility and its operations.
Port Shed Floor Stabilization
THE JOB
The 11″ thick slab floor of a storage shed at a port facility settled up to 6 inches. Exploratory coring & non-destructive imaging (GPR & microgravity) indicated there were extensive voids below the floor.
Previous work on the adjacent bulkhead uncovered extensive voids below the exterior footings (pile-supported) and multiple abandoned, but unfilled, pipes under the floor.
THE CHALLENGE
Due to relatively thin voids, which were all less than 6 inches, and void filling grout had to be highly mobile. However, this posed environmental challenges due should the grout make its way into an unfilled abandoned pipe and into the adjacent waterway. The owner did not want to lift the floor, so grouting had to be sufficiently low mobility to prevent runaways, but also fill all voids at an economical hole spacing.
THE SOLUTION
CJGeo proposed polyurethane grouting for this slab foundation repair project. The original design was for a 50/50 mix of polyurethane and cement grouting, CJGeo proposed a valued engineering proposal to perform all grouting with polyurethane. A high density (3.3PCF free rise, 4PCF in place) TerraThane grout was proposed to balance mobility for completeness of fill and reaction time to avoid any runaway loss into the adjacent waterway.
CJGeo mobilized a two-reactor polyurethane grouting rig and installed approximately 6300lbs of polyurethane grout over a three-day period. Pneumatic rock drills were used to speed drilling.
