Epoxy injections are a reliable and cost-effective way to restore cracked concrete slabs and walls to their original structural design. This process involves injecting an epoxy resin into cracks to essentially glue concrete back to its original state. It is recommended to determine the root cause of the cracking and remedy that problem prior to injection to have a lasting repair. Cracks and weak reinforcing bars can cause the concrete base to weaken, making the affected building unsafe for occupation.
Epoxy injection repairs are the only way to repair a cracked base without having to tear down the building and re-pour the concrete. Even if a crack isn't leaking now, water will eventually find it, says Lou Cole, president of Emecole Inc. Epoxy injection is an effective and reliable way to repair cracks in poured concrete foundations, for structural repair of them, for repairing leaks in the basement and for avoiding cracks in poured concrete foundations in the future. During this step, the injection technician will gain access to the crack in the base from inside the basement.
Dual cartridge dispensing is a cost-effective and completely portable method for injecting two-component polymers. If you have a structure that has suffered damage due to overload, vehicle impact, earthquake or any other “occasional” event, then you may consider using epoxy injection for your structural repairs. Hand tools that use a drive rod instead of a spring are difficult to control and can result in injection at pressures much higher than desired. When this happens, you can block the port you are injecting from and move to the next port on the line.
Injection ports are the means by which epoxy resin will be delivered into the cracks. The type of epoxy or polyurethane used and the time required for injection will vary with each job depending on the width of the crack, the thickness of the wall and other conditions. Epoxy injection starts at the lowest port for vertical applications and at the widest part of the crack for aerial or horizontal applications. Using low-pressure crack injection, foundation and basement crack repair kits seal basement cracks from the inside, eliminating the need to dig the ground from the outside of the foundation. Civil engineers often recommend epoxy injection for structural repair of cracked concrete in applications such as road overpasses and elevated concrete structures due to its high bond strength. Epoxy injection is an exceptional repair method for simple cracks in a concrete foundation wall; and many other structural elements.
For repairs of cracks in concrete floors, there are certain epoxy and polyurea materials suitable for such repairs of slabs.