City of Raleigh Municipal Building

The City of Raleigh Municipal Building had a history of water leaks for many years. Numerous contractors had performed various sealant repairs to no avail. It was evident that the structure would require a can you buy research papers online more thorough investigation into the root cause of the leaks.

Exterior Diagnostic Services (EDS) was awarded the contract to waterproof the exterior of the City of Raleigh Municipal Building. EDS would replace the joint sealant, perform tuckpointing, and apply a clear, water-repellent sealer to the building exterior. The combination of these services would restore structural integrity to Raleigh’s Municipal Building.

True to their commitment to provide exceptional service, EDS began by installing mockup repairs and conducting water spray testing. These actions would predict the effectiveness of the planned maintenance prior to proceeding with the full-scale repairs. The mockup sealant and mortar repairs were completed and allowed to cure. Mortar and brick were cleaned and the sealer was applied. The water spray testing produced several leaks that were similar to the leaks that tenants had been reporting for years. After conducting the test, EDS investigated further to determine if new windows would correct the problem, or if the through wall flashing needed to be repaired.

“It’s never pleasant to have bricks repaired or to have elevations of your building covered by scaffolding; however, EDS’ experienced tradesmen and professional management team combined to make this job as seamless as could be expected under the circumstances. Their primary goal, from beginning to end, was to satisfy our needs. The quality of the work performed and responsiveness to any concerns conveyed allowed for the project ged example essays to be completed in a satisfactory manner, and as a result, I have sought their assistance with subsequent projects.” -David Watson, Project Engineer II, City of Raleigh

EDS worked with designer Jason Byrd of Philips Architecture to conduct destructive testing, which would determine the condition of the through wall flashing. The team removed several bricks to expose the shelf angle and through wall flashing. Their investigation revealed that the window frames were missing end dams at their shelf angle terminations, which was the root cause of the leak. The water had migrated through the brick masonry and followed the path of least resistance, taking it to the end of the shelf angle and flashing, behind the sealant, and into the building.

EDS designed a customized repair plan to eradicate the leak. They removed four courses of brick from above the shelf angle at each floor level, from the third floor and above. Flashing that had been improperly installed was removed and the shelf angles were restored. New through wall flashing was installed with end dams at the terminations. To finish, EDS installed new brick, matching it to the existing brick to create a seamless exterior. These repairs provided the dry solution to a building with a history of leaks.

Nash General Hospital

Nash General Hospital in Rocky Mount, North Carolina provides cutting-edge medical care for patients in 3 counties, all from a 282-bed main facility. Since its opening over 38 years ago, the hospital has provided a safe environment in which to care for the patients it serves. As to be expected, the building’s age had started to show in the forms of stained exterior coating, exterior mold and mildew, and interior water leaks.

Nash Health Care Systems contacted EDS for assistance. Our expert team conducted a baseline visit to thoroughly evaluate the six-story facility and recommended needed repairs. We were awarded the bid and began working in the summer of 2008 to complete the following repairs:

• Recaulk existing sealant at metal to brick joints at perimeter of windows, doors, and louvers
• Recaulk existing sealant at brick to brick joints
• Trim existing gasket/seal flush with window frame, clean and install silicone-based wet seal to create new continuous watertight gasket/seal at metal to glass joints
• Pressure wash with low pressure to remove surface dirt, mold, and mildew, and apply two coats of clear sealer
• Rust proof lintels and shelf angles
• Tuckpoint loose or missing mortar joints
• Install cell vents in existing weep hole openings in brick inserts

EDS was able to provide exceptional service while maintaining the safety and reducing the impact of the repairs on hospital staff, patients, and visitors.

“EDS’ attention to detail and expertise with working in and around a patient facility was a great asset. The project was completed with little or no disruption to Nash General Hospital’s staff and patients.” -Rick Holmes, Director of Plant Services, Nash Health Care Systems

RBC Center

The RBC Center is located just outside of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, and is host to big-ticket shows and major sporting events. It is home to the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship hockey team, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the NC State University men’s basketball team (rbccenter.com). With the large crowds that are routinely drawn to the Center’s events, it is imperative that the structure’s pristine functionality and appearance are maintained.

“EDS management and their team of industry experts have effectively identified and tailored a sound waterproofing solution for our facility, ensuring that the RBC Center will continue to be one of the premier venues in the region.”-Rick Dunning, RBC Center

“On many different occasions, EDS offered their opinions and was always willing to step up and go the extra distance to meet the needs of the client. EDS utilized their own personnel for this project, which I thought brought consistency to the process and the quality of their work was excellent. I would recommend that any client faced with a water intrusion or potential water intrusion issue contact EDS and allow them to provide their insights on how to fix the problem or work with your designer to identify the most cost effective repair.” -William E. Seyler, Sr. Project Manager, Bovis Lend Lease, Inc.

EDS was found to be extremely creative and innovative.  In fact, during the bidding process, EDS investigated the building thoroughly and bid the project at a much lower cost than their competitors, simply because they thought outside of the box and identified a cost effective solution for replacing the exterior sealant at the starter sill of the curtain wall.

The Center’s curtain wall system had begun to show signs of faulty installation, while the precast expansion joints were leaking and in need of resealing. RBC Center property management staff contacted EDS about resealing their structure. EDS performed an initial site visit to investigate the areas of concern. An engineering firm specializing in curtain wall systems confirmed that the curtain wall system was missing the water diversion system, which is critical to the curtain wall system’s performance. EDS developed an initial bid that outlined the findings and suggested repairs.  The RBC Center awarded EDS the contract to reseal their structure, which involved the following:

• Remove snap-caps to seal the pressure plates, screw heads, and merry-weather joints.
• Apply a silicone-based sealant to all exterior joints in the glass curtain wall system
• Install a double set of silicone-based sealant at all precast-to-precast joints, precast-to-metal joints, and metal-to-concrete joints at the base of the glass curtain wall
• Installing the silicone wet-seal converts the curtain wall system from a drainage system, which allows water to intrude the system and then drains out through a weep system, to a barrier system. This modification would prevent water from intruding into the system.

The EDS team has been hard at work to complete these repairs. We are on target to finish this project on time and within budget.

UNC Parking Deck

The campus of UNC-Chapel Hill is bustling with activity 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as are the parking decks that serve all the employees, students, and visitors to the campus’ buildings and hospital. The UNC Facility Department faced the daunting task of cleaning, sealing and re-striping their parking decks with the knowledge that such surface maintenance is paramount in keeping larger, more expensive repairs at bay. This was the challenge: facility managers required that the public, employees, doctors and staff who use the parking structures remain relatively undisturbed throughout the repair process. These repairs had to be completed on 6 decks, with a total of over 50,000 parking spaces.

EDS worked with the Engineering Department of UNC to implement a night schedule that would take advantage of the minimal congestion on the parking deck. The UNC facility department granted a certain amount of parking areas to be cleaned, sealed and re-striped each night, with certain time constraints involved.

EDS worked diligently to complete this tightly scheduled project on time and within budget. Our crew also recognized several other structural concerns and addressed them with the UNC facility team while they were on-site. By cleaning and sealing the flat surfaces of the parking decks, EDS ensured that future major cracking and spalling is minimized.

EDS handled the time constraints and finished with time to spare. Our team performed the repairs exactly to specifications and to the delight of the UNC Engineering and Facility Department.

UNC knows that if and when there are more serious projects to be performed on their decks, they will involve EDS to get the job done right, on time, and within budget. And with EDS, they know that the project will be handled with very minimal inconvenience to tenants and without loss of revenue derived from the parking structure.

“UNC has six parking decks, all of which are constantly busy. EDS was able to clean and re-stripe all six decks, amounting to over 50,000 parking spaces, without having to close off an entire deck for any period of time. They did their job as requested; arranged for the recapture, filtration, and proper disposal of the waste water; and still completed this massive project on-time and on-budget.

I have absolutely nothing but praise for EDS, their work crew, supervisors, and office staff. They are a wonderful company to work with!”

-Danny Williams, Contract Administrator, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley

The Crabtree Valley Marriott Hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina, is conveniently located near the Raleigh-Durham Airport (RDU). When the structure began to show signs of deterioration, Marriott’s Facility Department did not hesitate to piece together bid documentation to perform repairs. The project posed one interesting challenge. Due to an existing contract between Marriott and RDU airport, the hotel provided much needed day and overnight stays to pilot and flight attendant crews, weary and deserving of restful hours before the next take-off. It was of utmost importance that noise be kept to a minimum during the repair process.

EDS was awarded the contract to perform the repairs. Teaming with the New York based engineering firm The VSA Group, they immediately set out to design a solution.

“Exterior Diagnostic Services performed all the work in accordance with the design specifications. Intricate through wall flashings, wall coatings and cosmetic stucco repair demanded a certain talent and expertise. The EDS team proved to be the experts we needed for this successful project.”
-Vince Stramandinoli, P.E, The VSA Group

An initial investigation of the structural conditions found failing sealant, window leaks, improperly sloped ledges which were causing water ponds, spalling concrete at slab edges, and deterioration of metal flashing at the transition from the tower to the low roof. The concrete on the balconies also displayed a need for repair.

Our team of professionals replaced sealant at all joints; expansion joints, window perimeters, and metal-to-glass wet seals. Concrete topping was removed at the window ledges, followed by concrete repair, and the installation of new sloped topping to promote drainage. The flashing at the tower-to-low-roof transition was replaced. The concrete at the balconies was repaired and the stucco walls were coated with elastomeric coating to enable superior waterproofing capacity.

The constant communication between EDS and Marriott’s Facilities Department was instrumental in creating and adhering to a schedule that would minimize disruption to guests. EDS successfully completed the project on schedule, and with minimal disruption to guests, including those airline professionals who were able to carry on their extremely important and demanding duties after a restful slumber.

 “In spite of the challenges presented by the restoration, EDS displayed a commitment to accommodate all of our specifications and scheduling constraints throughout the project. They maintained great communication with our department and successfully coordinated the work with little disruption to our guests, all on a fully-occupied hotel. I would not hesitate to work with them again for their reliability, results, and professionalism.”

-Jimmy Riddle, Director of Engineering, Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley