This article is an excerpt from Episode 10 of Alchemy-Spetec's podcast The Injection Connection, featuring Alchemy-Spetec independent rep John Ziebell. Formerly the Vice President of Operations for Deneef Construction Chemicals, Inc., John has 36 years of experience in the chemical grout industry and is currently a member of the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI). (If you'd rather view or listen, an audio/visual version of this excerpt is posted at the bottom of the article.)

Charlie Lerman: What are then some of the most interesting or unique type of applications have you’ve seen for chemical grouting?

John Ziebell: All of them in their own way are unique. I think some of the big semiconductor jobs in Austin that we did with injection tubes were really pretty interesting because they were challenging due to the enormity of the project and the size of some of the walls and everything. I think some of the jobs that I've worked on down in the water table in general were probably the most interesting because when you're working in the water table, it's pretty unforgiving. You either do it right or you do it wrong. And when water is squirting up six, eight feet high all around you, that kind of gets your attention. I had a job in California back in my De Neef days, in Redwood City. In California, land is so valuable that even for shopping centers they build massive parking garages underground and we had a waterproof membrane failure in one of those garages. When we drilled our injection holes, the water squirted out eight to twelve feet. So now, you’ve got a problem of: how do you even get your grout to go in? So, we had to do things that you normally don't do, like set up relief valves and actually put faucets on them to control the rate of flow so we could get water into the rest of the holes. Things like that, I remember vividly.

I remember on a job right next to that one, where a contractor was actually putting a curtain under the bottom slab in a six-story parking garage. Believe it or not he actually heaved a five-foot thick slab in the bottom of a parking garage with an expansive chemical grout. That was kind of interesting because it was so improbable that he would be able to do it. I realize chemical grout, highly expansive grout, exerts 300, 400 PSI. I understand that but still, when you think five foot of reinforced concrete? But he did it.

What else was interesting? I mean, they've all been interesting, I kind of fell in love with chemical grout that first year I was in the business. And I'm just as excited today about working on a small job as I am working on a big one.

Charlie: I share that excitement, and one of the biggest compliments I get when I talk to people is when they say that they see that I'm passionate for it. It's because I find grouting very mentally stimulating. It's a game where you get to go out there, and you know your pieces and you know how your grout works - but you can't see into that wall. So, it's figuring out what's going on in there and sometimes it's not very intuitive, but it's exciting.

John: Actually, after all these years right now, I'm working on probably the most interesting or at least the most challenging job that I've ever had. It's on a dam, a huge dam built in the 30s in central Texas on one of the Highland Lakes. And we have leaks through the joints that approach five, six hundred gallons an hour. And these joints are 30 feet in the air on an arched dam. There all kinds of problems with access, working conditions, etc. So, even after all these years, this one really has my attention.

View the video version of this excerpt...

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