Structural Concrete Repair

Structural Concrete Repair in Cincinnati, OH

When concrete that carries load begins to deteriorate, the clock is running. Spalling on a beam soffit or a parking deck underside usually means the reinforcing steel inside has corroded, and corroding steel expands to several times its original volume, which is what pushes the concrete off in the first place. Left alone, the process removes the section that was carrying the load.

River City Restoration performs structural repair on beams, columns, footings, elevated slabs, parking structures and retaining walls. This is the work that requires shoring, reinforcement replacement, engineered repair mortars and, frequently, an engineer of record. Ian has been on this kind of work for over fifteen years and will bring in a structural engineer whenever the scope calls for one.

We will also tell you when a repair is not the right answer. Replacing a failed element is sometimes both cheaper and safer than repairing it, and you deserve to hear that from your contractor rather than from the next one.

Structural elements we repair

• Spalling beams, columns and soffits
• Corroded and exposed reinforcing steel
• Parking deck and elevated slab repair
• Failed and undersized footings
• Cracked and settling load-bearing walls
• Loading dock and ramp structures
• Retaining wall failure and tieback repair
• Balcony and walkway slab repair
• Carbon fiber and steel strengthening

Shore it, remove the failure, restore the steel, rebuild the section

Nothing is removed until the load is carried. We shore the element and any structure bearing on it, then chip out all delaminated and contaminated concrete, sounding the surrounding area to find the real boundary of the damage. That boundary is almost always larger than what is visible.

Reinforcing steel is then exposed fully around its circumference, cleaned to bare metal, and either treated with a corrosion-inhibiting coating or cut out and replaced with lapped new bar where section loss exceeds the allowable limit. This step decides whether the repair lasts twenty years or five. Encasing rusted steel in fresh mortar guarantees the repair fails from the inside out.

The section is then rebuilt with a repair mortar selected to match the substrate's strength and thermal behavior, placed by hand, form-and-pour or shotcrete depending on geometry and access. Where the original element was under-designed or the load has changed, we add capacity with carbon fiber laminate or bonded steel plate to an engineer's specification. Finally the repair is cured properly and, where corrosion was the cause, the surface is protected with a penetrating corrosion inhibitor or coating so the process does not simply begin again.

Frequently asked about structural concrete repair