Storm Sewer Repair

This week we are going to talk about appearance and safety at your business.

At home, you probably have floor drains in your basement or garage in order to take care of water that collects from rainfall. It’s a real simple way to remove water from your property. The floor slopes to the floor drain, the water will (hopefully) flow to the floor drain, the water then goes to a drainage pipe which connects to the sewer line and then to the sewer system and from there on its merry way to whatever water system you’ve got in your city.

Why am I talking about your home? Well, think about a storm sewer in commercial parking lots like a big floor drain in your home. You don’t want either one falling apart!

Storm Sewers are the Floor Drains of Commercial Parking Lots

Have you ever pulled into a parking lot where the storm sewer is sinking and the asphalt around it is crumbling? You try to avoid these lots because no one wants to drive over these unsightly sink holes, jarring your teeth and causing who knows what sort of damage to your vehicle. This can also be an accident waiting to happen for your employees coming to work or your clientele walking across the lot to do business with you. (trip & fall-ouch).

So how to fix sunken storm sewer? Let’s start by asking the right question. What causes a crumbling storm sewer?

Having done commercial concrete services for over 42 years, we know that ring deterioration of the storm drain is the main cause of storm sewer sinking.

The sewer drain is made up of a series of riser rings from the base to grade, then adjustment rings from grade to meet the height of the pavement. In most cases, we find the adjustment rings were not installed properly, which is a catalyst for deterioration. The freeze/thaw cycles in Minnesota are also hard on the sewer drains. If any moisture gets under the pavement (from cracks, holes, etc.), it will impair the structural integrity of the adjustment rings and possibly a few of the top riser rings

We at Goodmanson Construction, having been the leading concrete contractor in the Twin Cities since 1971, have the equipment and, most importantly, the experience to properly fix the problem.

Here’s how we do it.

• First, we cut out a section of the asphalt parking lot. The size of the section depends on how far out we need to go to ensure proper drainage when the project is complete.
• Then, we have to excavate around the storm sewer and assess damage to the adjustment and riser rings.
• We then repair or replace any damaged rings, making sure the adjustment rings are installed to meet the height of the final pavement.
• We backfill with recycled concrete, power tamp and install either asphalt of concrete.

It’s just that simple.

No more holes to fall into or trip over and no more puddles for vehicles driving through to splash you. A nice parking lot with proper drainage is a wonderful site for your patrons to see and also a source of pride for the business owner and his/her employees.

And it’s not just for appearances. If it gets to the point where customers are driving over it and damaging their cars, that’s going to create some headaches for you as a property manager (not to mention very angry customers who won’t be coming back to your businesses anytime soon). Or, what if it collapses to the point where the storm sewer no longer functions?

I would also like to mention the fact that you will not have an eye sore of a dumpster taking up space while we do our work. We haul away all of the old materials to be recycled and your project will be done in a timely manner so as not to interfere with your business.