Structural Repair

The collaborating firms of Roessler Design Group and Weidlinger Associates received an Excellence Award from the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) for their retrofit design of the Orange Coast College’s Watson Hall.

The four-story reinforced concrete building, built in the 1960s, had been abandoned for several years prior to this renovation. As with most concrete buildings of its era, the structure did not meet California’s modern day earthquake requirement.

The structural engineers incorporated steel-braced frames to enhance the seismic performance of this signature campus building.

Bremerton, Washington-based Triton Marine is using hydrodemolition to repair 34,000 square feet of spalled concrete on two piers at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor.

Most of the concrete for piers F12 and F13 was poured in the 1940s, Triton officials say, during a time of far less stringent standards. Over time, the concrete has become corroded and allowed water to seep in. Triton is removing and replacing spalled concrete and corroded rebar – a process that construction superintendent Brett Gordon says takes only one minute for every three square feet to a depth of four inches using hydrodemolition.

“We feel that hydrodemolition will soon be specified on every job, and we decided to purchase the equipment now so we are set up for that movement into the future,” Gordon said.

Triton official Steve Yuhl said the company expects the project to take two years to complete.