Entries by Ed McSwain

Concrete Stair Repair with FLEXKIT

Concrete is and has been one of if not the most widely used building materials in world history, from the Romans to modern-day and well into the future. It is a mixture of cement, water, and aggregate with many positive attributes. It is durable and resilient, can be made to be decorative, and is extremely strong when used in a compressive application. Sounds like it is the perfect construction material, and for the most part, it is.

Why Concrete Fails and How to Restore It

Concrete is and has been one of if not the most widely used building materials in world history, from the Romans to modern-day and well into the future. It is a mixture of cement, water, and aggregate with many positive attributes. It is durable and resilient, can be made to be decorative, and is extremely strong when used in a compressive application. Sounds like it is the perfect construction material, and for the most part, it is.

Repairing Concrete Damaged by Winter Weather

Spring is in the air, inspiring us to renew our surroundings now that the stress of winter is behind us. Unfortunately, structural improvements to the practical elements of our environment are the last to be addressed when budgets are tight. However, repairs done routinely and with the right product can be done relatively inexpensively, thus improving the appeal of the hardscape, as well as its useful life.

Failing Infrastructure: Repair It, Don’t Replace It

Over the last decade, there has been much discussion by political leaders around the need for repairing our nation’s infrastructure, including the costs involved and the challenges associated with approving legislation toward that effort. There are plenty of horror stories about how our roads, bridges, highways, overpasses, and airports are falling apart. Often overlooked, however, “out of sight, out of mind” is the vast array of underground infrastructure that is also failing. 

Got Foundation Cracks?

There are many factors that can contribute to the cracking of your foundation and they are almost always caused by external forces applying stress to the concrete. Understand that concrete is a rigid material that does not accept movement or stress well. Because of this, when stress or movement is applied, the concrete will not absorb it, causing it to crack.

Top 5 Reasons to Use the FLEXKIT

What is FLEXKIT? FLEXKIT is a liquid polymer used to make extremely strong, lasting repairs on concrete, asphalt, and even wood. The kit includes a 5-gallon steel pail with pre-measured liquid FLEXKIT material, sand, catalyst, accelerator, primer, mixing cup, stir stick, 2” chip brush, 3” X 8” a hand trowel, 2” X 5” margin trowel, gloves, and instructions. […]

Concrete Cracks: Causes and Solutions

There are many factors that can contribute to the cracking of your concrete, and they are almost always caused by external forces applying stress. Understand that concrete is a rigid material that does not accept movement or stress well. When either is introduced, the concrete fractures – sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. […]

Polyaspartic vs. Epoxy

In the world of pebble overlays, the majority of installations consist of pebbles mixed with epoxies. We have found a superior product to replace epoxies for this application. Aliphatic Polyaspartic! We put forth 5 reasons why Polyaspartic is a superior material when compared to epoxies for this type of application. Flexibility: Epoxies cure to become […]

Decaying or Failing Utility Vault? Repair It, Don’t Replace It

Under the streets of our cities lay miles of subterranean raceways of electrical wires, communication wires, and conduit connected by underground vaults. You don’t see them, many people don’t even know they are there. These vaults vary in size from 6’ wide by 7’ deep by 12’ long, to vaults triple that size with multiple […]