Stabilizing a Historic College Building Foundation with HDPR Deep Injections
Emory, Virginia
UMA was selected by general contractor BurWil Construction to perform remedial work at Emory & Henry College’s Carriger Hall dormitory. During its demolition and renovation to convert the former dormitory to the School of Business, signs of distress were spotted on the brick building.
The areas in question were on the east and west wings of the building’s south side. The original historic structure (east wing) was built in 1903, and the west wing was added in 1933.
No geotechnical information was provided, so UMA evaluated the amount of settlement and distress and also performed Dynamic Cone Penetration (DCP) Testing to confirm the depth of the affected area. This test is often used to determine underlying soil strength by measuring the penetration of the device into the soil after each hammer blow.
Based on DCP results, and the structural engineer’s recommendation to bolster the four corners of the east and west wings due to water infiltration from poor drainage, UMA performed High-Density Polyurethane Resin (HDPR) Injection to stabilize the underlying soil.
HDPR was injected at multiple depths to strengthen soils beneath the all brick foundation. The total treatment area was roughly 200 square feet and UMA was able to complete the job within two days with little disruption to the site or the college’s operations.
