Police/Fire Station - Ville de Pointe-Claire

Challenge

Project: 6,300 square foot police station with adjacent public security office and fire station had sunk up to three inches.

Installer: PURLIFT INC.

Challenge: The building was built in an area where there was a hill sloping away from the structure approximately 20 meters away. A number of factors had contributed to the slab having sunk, including one or more of the following:

·        The type of soil the building was built on, clay.

·        The land the structure was built on was slowly eroding due to the steep hill directly behind it.

The building is occupied by a police station, a public security office, and a fire station.  The unevenness of the slab created pressure points on the interior walls, some of which held glass panes, trip hazards in certain areas of the building, as well as other challenges, such as leveling the office floors and stopping exterior cold air from infiltrating the premises from the gap between the slab and the wall.

The city could have replaced the slab at a much higher cost, not to mention having to shut down and relocate the police station, fire station, and public security office.

Solution

Findings: In 2016, the city contacted Purlift to look at the possibility of lifting, leveling, and stabilizing the floor throughout the building. Purlift went in to determine if the floor could be repaired while keeping the station open. Purlift found that the problem could be resolved by injecting high-density 2.5lb. polyurethane foam beneath the slab.

Results: In 2018, the city decided to move forward with the project and tender it out for bids. Once the tender process was completed, Purlift won the bid and the job was scheduled for February 2019.  They drilled 5/8th inch holes where the structure needed to be lifted or stabilized in a 5-foot grid. The team had to lift the slab while paying special attention to level interior walls and door frames without damaging the glass window panes situated in the dividing walls. Some of the window panes were removed in advance in order to avoid any potential mishaps.  As the slab was lifted, the void under the floor was filled in order to properly stabilize the floor. This continued until the slab was at the correct height throughout. In addition to the police station and public security offices, the slab in the fire station garage along the dividing wall was stabilized as well.

 The injection of PolyLevel® was the best solution for the police station, as it allowed the service to stay in operation. Further, the work was completed overnight when there was only a skeleton crew at work and most of the offices were empty. Policemen/women were able to continue using the station and locker rooms as this project progressed. This project was completed in 4 nights while maintaining full functionality for all concerned. Almost 5500 pounds of material was used to complete this project at a fraction of the replacement cost, as well as the disruption that replacing the slab would have caused.

Project Summary

Police Station: Ville de Pointe-Claire