Four reasons why injectable, polyurethane walls are the answer to your problem

By JR Crowell
May 21, 2020

Have you ever had a time where you needed to stop migration of a liquid from one point to another?  Maybe you need to stop water tunneling under a building or ground water intrusion into a pipe.  If the issue is deep or if contaminating liquids are at play, excavation may not be an option, but chemical grout might be.

As a chemical grouting and soil stabilization expert, Helms Polyfoam is called on for a variety of projects, some of them the first of their kind.  When the migration of a liquid to an area that is not desired, we have no shortage of examples and reasons why polyurethane resins are great choice.  The most important and innovative is the fact that a wall can literally be built 20+ feet below the surface without having to excavate or introduce any typical construction materials (concrete, wood, steel, etc.).  Depending on the soil type, expanding resins, permeating resins, or a combination of both may be used to achieve desired results.

More benefits of using injectable, chemical grout walls for your project:

  1. Rapid cure time – polyurethane resins are 90% cured within 30 minutes so your project can return to maximum workflow ASAP.
  2. Remote location access – some of our projects are in areas where traditional equipment can’t gain access, or at least not without significant mobilization (read another way, added costs). Our processes require a very small onsite footprint and are adaptable to almost any environment.
  3. Water Impermeable – Once cured, water or any other liquid will not find its way through our treated area (hence why we call this an injectable wall).
  4. Varying Soil Conditions – Wet, dry, clay, or sand, polyurethanes are a good play. Did we mention they displace moisture, so very wet conditions do not deter their use?

Where could this process be used?

  • Isolating a clay lense to mitigate water flow to the lense, thus mitigating clay swelling.
  • Alleviating hydrostatic pressure against below grade structures by adding a “buffer” barrier between water and structure.
  • Sub grade cut off wall to stop ground water from flowing underneath a building and entering the structure through the slab (think apartment complexes, basements, or buildings with additions and multiple concrete foundation pours).

Be on the lookout for case studies on several of the projects mentioned.  We are always on the lookout for innovative repairs, so if you think you have a candidate, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  We love exploring new projects and who knows, you may end up as a case study.

Click here to check out our Case Studies.

This is why we do what we do.

Visit our testimonials page to hear from our satisfied clients.