Do you own a parking structure or parking garage? Do you maintain a parking structure at your facility?
When winter hits, are you prepared to take care of the snow and ice?
Best practices for snow removal on parking garages are:
- Only use de-icing agents that are parking garage-friendly! Sodium acetate, potassium acetate, and calcium magnesium acetate are good to use in advance of snowfall. Avoid sodium chloride (rock salt), calcium chloride, and ammonium nitrate in a garage as these accelerate corrosion of reinforcing!
- Don’t store large piles of snow on the top level. Large snow piles get heavy over time and can quickly exceed the live load limits.
- Floor drains and catch basins should be free of ice and snow at all times.
- Don’t use metal or steel snowplow blades in the garage! Use urethane or rubber edges.
Prep Your Structure for the Winter Season
To avoid costly repairs when the snow finally melts and avoid leaks that lead to corrosion, check the caulking in your structure and replace where it’s deteriorated or missing.
Check for loose, spalling, or missing concrete elements that will allow water to penetrate during snow melting and cause further deterioration. Clear leaves, dirt, and other debris from floor drains and leaders, which can cause ponding water. Continuous freezing and thawing of ponding water in a structure can cause extensive concrete damage.
Innovative Engineering Specializes in Parking Structure Inspection
Innovative Engineering helps owners with parking structure inspection and reducing restoration costs. Unlike most other building systems that are protected by a conditioned building envelope, parking structures are directly exposed to the elements which results in exponential or accelerated deterioration.
Our engineers are glad to walk your facility and let you know about any conditions that require immediate attention. Since the back of IEI business cards contain a crack gauge, you can easily evaluate any cracks within your structure to determine if it is of concern. Give us a call today!