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OSF North Parking Structure

Western Specialty Contractors – Springfield, Illinois Branch completed a six-month project in October to reconfigure the 7-level parking garage at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL. Updates were needed to the post-tension parking garage to improve its parking experience and traffic flow.

Walker Restoration designed the repairs and developed phasing plans for the repair sequence to accomplish the work. The general contractor on the project, P.J. Hoerr of Peoria, IL, contracted with Western Specialty Contractors to apply caulking, water repellents and a traffic-bearing membrane to the parking decks. Over the course of the six-month project, Western sealed a total of 191,500 square feet of bare concrete with a penetrating water repellent, applied 100,000 square feet of waterproof urethane traffic coating, and removed nearly 40,000 lineal feet of traffic markings.

Hospital officials allowed for a certain number of parking spaces to be closed during each phase of the work, with the garage remaining in full-use throughout the project. P.J. Hoerr worked closely with hospital officials to coordinate a phasing plan that included a total of 14 separate work phases as the project progressed throughout the garage. The general contractor used barricading and temporary signage to direct traffic around the phased closures.

Originally, portions of the parking decks had been coated with a urethane traffic coating, while other portions were left bare. At the exposed concrete surfaces, Western's workers removed existing traffic markings and striping by utilizing a combination of shot-blasting and hand-grinding. After the existing markings were removed, Western crews sealed the exposed concrete surfaces with a 100% silane, clear penetrating water repellent to reduce the infiltration of hazardous salts, de-icers and other harmful chemicals. At surfaces already coated with a urethane traffic coating, Western crews shot-blasted the existing traffic markings and installed a new top coat to cover the old markings.

The staircase and drive lanes between the parking stalls, which exhibited bare concrete areas and a worn coating system due to consistent traffic, were also shot-blasted and re-coated by Western crews to further protect and waterproof the structure.

P.J. Hoerr crews completed the project by applying new traffic markings and garage signage, among other finishing work.

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Lutheran Hospital

The concrete slab at the employee entrance at Lutheran Hospital is exposed to all types of weather through the year. Exposure to deicing materials caused the concrete to deteriorate, requiring repair. The schedule for completion of the work was difficult since the entrance could only be closed for two days.

Western Specialty Contractors' Des Moines office was selected to complete the repair. A new flexible epoxy was utilized for the work. The material has a rapid cure time, both for patching and coating. This was essential for this project.

The work was completed in two days and the entrance is ready to safely serve the hospital employees again.

Trinity Regional Medical Center

In January of 2012 Western Specialty Contractors was awarded the contract for the first phase of a three year facade restoration project at the Trinity Regional Medical Center in Rock Island, IL. Weatherproofing Technologies, Inc. in Cleveland, OH was the Construction Manager on the project. The work consisted of masonry restoration on the main hospital tower, as well as restoration of multiple satellite buildings on the campus. Phase one began in the spring of 2012 and was completed later that fall. Western’s crew of 11 craftsmen spent most of the year working from suspended swing stages on all elevations of the main tower. The work for all phases of restoration will consist of the following:

  • 2,000 LF – Shelf Angle Replacement with New Through-Wall Flashing
  • 50,000 LF – Joint Sealant Replacement
  • 12,000 SF – Tuckpointing
  • 8,500 EA – Miscellaneous Brick Replacement
  • 96,000 SF – Penetrating Sealer at Masonry/Precast Surfaces
  • 1 Area – Complete Removal & Replacement of Concrete Stairway

It is anticipated that Western will be awarded phase two and three of the project, with all work being completed by the end of 2014.

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Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children

Western Specialty Contractors' Hawaii branch (now closed) completed a sealant replacement project at the Kapiolani Medical Center. The work area centered on the windows between the fifth and 11th floor. The sealant replacement can be broken down into four areas:

  1. Window Glazing to Aluminum Window Frames

    (13,000 lineal feet)

    The existing wet seals were removed. The surface was prepared and a silicone extrusion was set in a bead of silicone sealant. At the face of the aluminum to glass interface, a silicone seal was then applied continuously over the extrusion and onto the glass.

  2. Jamb and Head Seals

    (7,000 lineal feet)

    The existing seals were removed and replaced with a continuous silicone seal.

  3. Metal to Metal Joinery Bridge Seals

    (6,100 lineal feet)

    The existing metal sealant was removed and the surface prepared. New silicone sealant or silicone preformed strips were used as replacement material.

  4. Perimeter window frame seals

    (10,000 lineal feet)

    The existing urethane sealant in the window frames was removed. The concrete surfaces were ground to provide a proper surface. The surface was primed and backer rod installed in the joints. Finally, silicone sealant was then installed to complete the project.

Safety, as always, was of prime importance. Overhead protection was provided on the children’s play area on the second level and at the vehicular access area in the emergency entrance.

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St. Joseph’s Hospital Helipad

The helipad at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Denver is used numerous times daily by the medical trauma teams. Severe deterioration to the concrete helipad deck had taken place due to an abandoned heat melt system in the slab. Saunders Construction was hired to remove the deteriorated slab and heat melt system and replace the concrete pad. Western Specialty Contractors was selected by Saunders to install a BASF Dega Deck traffic coating system on the new concrete surface.

The system included a primer coat that was impregnated with an aluminum oxide aggregate. The aluminum oxide provides better impact resistance compared to typical aggregates used in deck coating systems. Once the primer cured, a base coat of BASF methyl methacrylate resin was applied. Three different colors were utilized to provide the required markings for the helipad. The base coat was then coated with a highly chemical resistant and durable BASF Dega Deck clear top coat.

The Dega Deck traffic deck system is a multi-layer rapid curing coating material. It is ideal for concrete surfaces subjected to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Western was able to install the entire system in less than the anticipated time frame because of the fast cure time. The helipad was back in operation sooner than expected.

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Lexington Medical Center – Main Campus

Western Specialty Contractors was contacted by Mr. Glenn Mack of Lexington Medical Center to review and discuss the exterior sealants and coatings on the original high rise portion of the hospital. The existing urethane sealants were failing and the concrete and EIFS coatings were chalking and staining the adjacent brick masonry. Mock-ups of new silicone sealants and coatings were installed for the owners approval prior to mobilization.

All exterior sealants were replaced with new silicone sealant and the existing coating was prepped to receive new silicone elastomeric coating. The entire facade was cleaned and a clear water repellent was installed.

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