EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
1. Electric Grinder with Masonry Disc or Wire Wheel
2. Rotary Hammer with 5/8", 1/2", or 3/8" bit
3. Airless Sprayer With Zerk Coupler
4. Screw Driver or ¼" Nut Driver
5. Prime Packers or Bang in Ports
6. Socket Wrench with 7/16" deep well socket and extension
7. Flush Wand
8. Vice Grips
9. Hammer
10. Safety Goggles
11. Rubber Gloves
12. Long Sleeve Shirt & Pants
MATERIALS NEEDED
1. Prime-Flex Product
2. Prime Flush
3. Prime Plug 10
START WITH A VISIBLE CRACK
The surface of the crack may need to be cleaned off with a mechanical grinder or a wire brush. Deposits left by effervescence can inhibit full penetration of the grout.
DRILL INJECTION HOLES
Appropriate sized hole should be drilled at a 45o angle so that it intersects the crack at roughly 1/2 the depth of the concrete. 18 inches the maximum depth required on almost any structure. Hammers with vacuum bits are not recommended.
Cracks tend to veer off in one direction or another below the surface level. It may be necessary to stagger injection holes from one side of the crack to the other. This will insure that at least half of your holes intersect the crack.
Hole spacing depends on the width of the crack, but typically is between 6" and 10" for hairline cracks. Holes may be spaced as far apart as 24" on wider cracks. If the concrete being sealed is 6" deep or less, holes should be drilled directly into the crack no more than 6" apart.
On large jobs a 20' test section should be injected to determine the most feasible and economic port spacing.
FLUSH INJECTION HOLES
A flush wand that will reach the back of the injection holes should be used to flush out the drilling dust. USE ONLY CLEAN WATER TO FLUSH OUT THE HOLES. It is very important to get the holes as clean as possible, otherwise the dust will clog up the crack and inhibit penetration of the grout.
INSTALL PORTS
Mechanical packers should be used in weak concrete or for deep drilling. They should be inserted until the top of the rubber sleeve is flush with concrete. If the rubber is not flush with the concrete it may either spall the concrete when tightened down or blow out when the injection pressures start to rise. Use a 7/16" deep well socket to tighten the Packers.
The tips should be left off of all the Packers until you are ready to flush the crack. Bang in ports are an excellent choice for good concrete where deep drilling is not necessary. Simply bang them into a 3/8" hole with a hammer.
FLUSH THE CRACK
Install a tip on the first port. USE ONLY CLEAN WATER TO FLUSH THE CRACK! Injection pressure should start at 250 p.s.i. This will clean dirt and other contaminants out, open the crack up, and insure that enough water is present to activate the grout. Use copious amounts of clean water when flushing the crack. A non staining dye may be added to the water to see where the flush water is coming out and to separate ground water from flush water.
Start flushing with the injector that is at the bottom of a vertical crack, or at the very end of a crack if it is horizontal. Continue to flush with water until only contaminate free water is flowing out of the crack or the next port. If no water is being pumped through the port, it is probably because the injection hole does not intersecting the crack.
If this is the case, drill another hole on the other side of the crack and repeat the above steps. Be sure not to cross through the first injection hole. Repeat this process for every port.
NOTE: The rubber in the Mechanical Packer tends to relax if left in the wall for more than eight hours. This causes the Packer to become loose and may cause blow outs when high pressure is used to inject the grout. To avoid this, the Packers may need to be re-tightened prior to grout injection.
In order to insure that the grout will not set up in the pump and hoses, it is best to use two different pumps - one for flushing and one for grout injection. If this is not possible, be sure to thoroughly flush the pump out with Prime Flush non-flammable solvent before switching from water to grout.
Prime-Flex products are the best materials on the market for injecting into hairline cracks.
Always wear safety glasses, rubber gloves, and long sleeve shirts and pants when doing any type of pressure injection. Please see MSDS sheet before working with any Prime-Flex products.
Remove the tips from all of the ports. Re-tighten the Mechanical Packers if necessary. Put a tip on the first Port used to flush and begin injecting Prime-Flex 900LV / 900LVSF. Patience is a must when doing crack injection. It may take several minutes to get resin flowing into the crack. Increase pressure in 100 p.s.i. increments as necessary. The lowest pressure that will get penetration should always be used, but it may be necessary to increase the pressure as high as 2,500 p.s.i. Be very careful when turning the pressures up this high. If you are not careful the concrete may shear or the Packer may blow out of the hole. This usually results in the technician being sprayed with grout . If grout begins to flow freely from the crack, stop injection to give the material time to activate. It should be able to seal the crack enough to begin injection again within a few minutes. If the flow does not stop, Prime Plug 10 (rapid setting hydraulic cement) may be necessary to plug the leak.
Clean the grout off of the crack as much as possible before applying the Prime Plug 10. It should set within a few minutes.
NOTE: It is useful for a small amount of grout to drip out of the crack. It allows the technician to see how far the grout has traveled and it will seal itself up within a few minutes.
Continue to pump until material has penetrated the entire distance between the first and second Packer. The grout will not always visibly travel the entire distance in hairline cracks. Once the furthest point of grout travel has been obtained, move on to the next Packer and repeat the process.
FLUSH THE PUMP
When finishing pumping for the day the pump should be thoroughly flushed out using Prime Flush solvent. Material left in the pump overnight may set up and ruin the pump.
REMOVE THE PORTS
Wait 24 hours before removing the ports. If it is necessary to remove them the same day, a small amount of water may be injected into each hole before removing. Usually a 7/16" socket and wrench, vice grips, and a small screwdriver are necessary to remove the Mechanical Packers. Bang in ports are removed with vice grips.
PATCH INJECTION HOLES
The injection holes should be patched with an epoxy gel (Speed Bond #1) to seal a depth of about one inch.
GRIND GROUT OFF SURFACE
Use an electric grinder with a grinding disc or a wire wheel to remove the grout from the surface. Use caution; a wire wheel can "grab" the grout and be pulled from the technicians hands.
APPLY SURFACE SEAL
Apply a band of Prime Gel 2200 Flexible to the surface of the crack to give a more attractive look to the surface and act as a secondary barrier.
