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St. Louis, Mo. — July 9, 2015 — Dallas-based Western Specialty Contractors, formerly named Western Waterproofing Co., recently proved that doing work the old-fashioned way by hand is still sometimes the best way.
Western crews recently completed a maintenance and repair project for the Southern Methodist University (SMU) School of Law in Dallas which required workers to use hand-sanding instead of machinery to complete the job.
Concrete around the quadrant area had begun to deteriorate due to steel rails being embedded directly in the concrete. Water eventually reached the steel, which caused it to expand and damage the surrounding concrete. The steel rails were sanded to ensure bonding and aesthetic longevity and were sealed to prevent future damage.
The scope of work also included re-caulking the walkway and steps, making epoxy injection repairs to the concrete cracks, repairing metal expansion joints, cleaning and repainting steel joint brackets, making overhead concrete spall repairs, repainting and caulking the handrail, removing stains and repairing stone, replacing the corroded hollow metal frame doors, and cleaning the pavement and steps.
The university required that the area be kept completely open at all times for students to walk through, and that noise and dust be kept at a minimum to avoid disrupting nearby classes. Western used strategic planning to allow a steady flow of pedestrian traffic through the construction zone and used hand-sanding, instead of sand blasting or power washing, to keep reduce dust and noise levels.
Western crews were able to successfully complete the project within two months.
For more information, visit www.westernspecialtycontractors.com.
