Concrete Repair & Restoration

Concrete Repair

As a specialty repair contractor, Vector Construction’s core business is concrete repair and concrete restoration. Vector is not limited to a single concrete repair method; our experience and expertise combine specialized and conventional concrete repair methods to provide the most practical solutions for all concrete repair projects.

From small concrete repair projects to multi-faceted multi-million dollar full scale restoration projects in Canada and the U.S., Vector can deliver on every phase including:

Assisting owners and engineers in problem identification.
Development of concrete repair options and feasibility studies.
Budget pricing of repair options and delivery options to meet your facility's needs.
Turn-key delivery and management of the complete repair process.
Design-build contracts
Maintenance contracts

Common Reasons Why Concrete Requires Repair

Concrete is widely used for everything from foundations to bridges. Water tanks, buildings, and even dams can be made with concrete. It’s a strong, durable, and well understood material. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to last forever without a bit of attention and sometimes repair. In fact, concrete today isn’t even the same as the concrete that was poured for your commercial parking garage twenty years ago. Below are some of the most common reasons that concrete requires repair.

Rebar Corrosion

Concrete is often reinforced with steel rebar. The rebar is meant to help keep the concrete from crumbling. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be the real problem. If rebar is exposed to excess carbon chlorides or dioxide, it will begin to corrode, causing the concrete around it to crumble too. Rust can burst concrete.

Alkali-Silika Reactions (ASR)

This is a serious problem for some concrete structures that were built before the reaction was well understood. ASR is a reaction within the concrete due to the chemical make-up of some aggregates. Alkaline cement will react with water, form a gel, and then cause cracks in the concrete.

Cavitation | Abrasion

Water will wear away at concrete over time, which is commonly seen in pipes. Abrasion can also be due to physical wear from items such as forklifts.

Freeze-Thaw Deterioration

If air-entrainment isn’t sufficient, the concrete can become saturated with water, which then expands when it freezes. It then breaks down into its component parts: sand, aggregate and cement.

Repair is Possible

Fortunately, it is possible to repair concrete that is showing signs of any of these problems. Depending on the severity, large portions of the structure may need to be re-built. But with the right concrete repair team, you can often avoid a complete tear down. Most importantly, the cause of the deterioration should be identified so that the concrete repairs last and the problem doesn’t reoccur.

Concrete Restoration

In parking garages and other structures

While concrete may seem solid and permanent, time and wear will start to show on any concrete structure or building. Especially in parking garages, where de-icing salts along with the weight and movement of vehicles can put a lot of pressure on the structure, it’s critical to watch for signs of degradation and to have repairs completed in a timely manner. Restoration projects can be completed on bridges, floors, and any structure made of concrete, as long as the problem is clearly identified and a good solution is well implemented.

Reasons for Concrete Restoration

Some of the reasons that concrete in a parking garage or structure needs to be restored have to do with water. Water can leak through cracks or failed joints. Water can also contain corrosive substances and chlorides that breakdown concrete or cause corrosion. And the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in some older concrete structures can also break down the concrete, possibly requiring a repair or complete rebuild.

Another common problem is rebar corrosion, as rebar can rust and damage the structure of the concrete.

What to Look For

Visual signs of concrete deterioration are cracks, rust stains, efflorescence, water leakage, concrete spalling and hollow sounding delaminations. Other signs of deterioration include wear, exposed aggregates, discoloration and settlement.

What to Do

Ensuring that the concrete structures will remain safe and functional for years to come requires maintenance and repair. Contact Vector and let us take a look at the structure and show you why we should be your repair contractor of choice.

Click on the links below to see more about some of the durable concrete repair and concrete protection techinques that we offer.

Contact Vector Construction today for a FREE concrete repair & restoration quote.