Signs of Deterioration in Parking Garages
Identifying early signs of deterioration in parking garages can help you avoid costly repairs and ensure peace of mind. StructureCare provides parking garage restoration services for immediate issues and offers preventative maintenance and training agreements to teach your team how to prevent parking garage deterioration in the future.
5 Key Signs of Deterioration in Parking Garages
When you can identify early signs of deterioration in parking garages, you have the opportunity to address issues before they become a severe safety hazard. Typically, there are 5 key indicators of parking garage degradation that you need to look out for: water leakage, ponding water, exposed rebar, expansion joint failure, and spalled concrete.
1. Water leakage
Waterproofing failures and water damage are two of the most common signs of deterioration in parking garages. It’s important to address water damages immediately because the longer they're left unattended the more serious and costly the repairs become. Some signs of water leakage include exposed metals that are rusting, efflorescence, and rust stains on walls.
2. Ponding water
Standing or ponding water is another major indicator of parking garage degradation and should be addressed as soon as possible. Ponding water is often a result of drainage issues or foundational leaks. Fortunately, simple drain installations and protective waterproof membranes can help fix ponding water and prevent it from occurring in the future.
3. Exposed rebar
When water penetrates concrete, it can lead to the corrosion of reinforced steel (rebar). Once it makes contact with water, the rebar corrodes and expands allowing more access for water to come through and creating more damage to the surrounding concrete. Repairing exposed rebar should be a priority since it can be a safety hazard and accelerate other types of deterioration.
4. Expansion joint failure
Parking garage expansion joint failure occurs when the joints cave under pressure from vibrations and movement. If left unresolved, this can lead to major structural damages. Large horizontal or vertical cracks, discoloration, joint movement, loose material, and exposed rebar are all indicators of parking garage expansion joint failure and should be fixed to avoid further damage.
5. Spalled concrete
Spalling is the breakdown of concrete via natural weathering or chemical reactions such as freeze-thaw cycles, corrosion, or alkali-silica reactions. These processes cause concrete to break down or delaminate. Spalled concrete often looks like pitting, flaking, chipping, or peeling. If caught early, concrete restoration can help prevent a more severe issue.
Don’t let parking garage degradation bring you down
When you see signs of deterioration in parking garages, you don’t want to waste time getting repairs started. From concrete deterioration to waterproofing damages, our parking garage restoration services focus on immediate repairs and long-term maintenance strategies.
At StructureCare, with our bundled services we manage the entire project from start to finish, giving you the peace of mind you need to focus on your business while we take care of repairs. We are your professional parking structure services firm, providing you with the full cost of the work upfront.
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