November 2015 — Property Management Quarterly —
Page 19
T
here are reasons why
parking garages do
not receive a lot of
attention. If I had
one, I would probably
ignore it as well. Garages
are not considered profit
centers, often they don’t
even support themselves,
and they all lose money. But
everybody needs them and
everybody uses them. Own-
ers, property managers and
building engineers want to
minimize losses associated
with their garages and, for
parking garages, winter is
the most damaging season
of the year.
Garages are subjected
to all the evils of winter:
cold temperatures, snow,
ice, moisture, freezing and
thawing, deicing salts, stud-
ded tires, snowplows, snow
removal operations, slippery
ice and other unmention-
ables. Winter is the season of
discontent for us all, but you
can plan and execute many
activities to winterize your
garage and get it ready to
limit damage caused by win-
ter’s wrath.
Safety.
First and foremost
is safety – is your garage safe
to use? Look for conditions
that may be hazardous to
the users, including slippery
surfaces, falling concrete and
potholes. Check that your
doors, gates and elevators
(points of access and egress)
operate properly. And make
sure your staircases are in
good condition.
Listen to your patrons
because they notice these
conditions and want them
fixed. You should survey
the exterior of the facility
and look for loose concrete
or brick. All safety condi-
tions should be remedied
promptly.
Slippery surfaces can be
improved by increasing fric-
tion. Icing can be avoided by
re-sloping surfaces, adding
drains and using deicers.
Sounding with a hammer or
steel rod can identify loose
concrete, which should be
removed. Potholes should be
addressed in a timely fash-
ion to limit your liability.
The sprinkler system
and fire-fighting equip-
ment should be tested and
adjusted as required. Invite
the local fire marshal for his
recommendation and advice.
Make sure your underground
vent fans and smoke and
carbon dioxide detectors are
up to snuff. Also, check that
security and surveillance
equipment is in working
order.
Lighting should be ade-
quate for both parking and
walking. Replace or upgrade
any problem light fixtures.
Also, consider whether
a new user could drive
through your garage with
the existing directional sig-
nage.
Leakage.
Water on its own
is not bad for concrete. But
it rarely travels alone; it car-
ries deicing salts and then
permeates into the concrete,
which causes corrosion of
the embedded reinforcing
steel and cracks the concrete.
And, in cold temperatures,
water freezes. The freezing
and thaw-
ing cycles
cause con-
crete to
deteriorate.
The pri-
mary paths
of leakage
into park-
ing garages
are through
joints and
cracks in
the con-
crete decks.
Leaks
should be
denied and
waterproofed. Typically, joints
are sealed with sealants, and
cracks are routed and sealed
with sealant. If cracking is
significant, a traffic-rated
deck coating may be a solu-
tion. Damaged or otherwise
deteriorated expansion
joints may require repairs or
replacement.
PARCS.
If you have a park-
ing access revenue control
system, verify it is in working
order. You want to recoup
some, if not all, of your costs.
Building codes.
Verify that
your garage is compliant
with your local building code,
which may adopt the Inter-
national Building Code, the
International Existing Build-
ing Code and others. Check
conditions for American
with Disabilities Act access
and handicapped parking
requirements.
Concrete repairs.
Some
general repair concepts, as
described earlier, address
safety issues and leakage
conditions. Repairing con-
crete is important because
damaged concrete exposes
the interior of the structure
and, more often than not,
the reinforcing steel. If left
untreated, this can lead to
further damage.
The combination of con-
tractors with experience
specific to the repair of park-
ing structures and properly
designed repairs is key to the
successful, long-term perfor-
mance of restoration work.
Addressing these conditions
in anticipation of winter is
more important than for any
other season of the year.
Winter survival.
The real
enemy is salt. Calcium chlo-
ride (rock salt) and magne-
sium chloride (liquid salt)
contain chlorides. These
deicers are used routinely
in the Denver area through-
out the winter months.
The chlorides are the main
cause of structural dam-
age. Other types of deicers
are available in the market-
place with chemistries that
do not include chlorides.
Unfortunately, they are more
expensive than rock and liq-
uid salts. Washing the decks
before and after winter and
following standard main-
tenance protocols are good
practices for parking garage
survival.
In summary, it is impor-
tant to pay attention to
your parking garage each
fall in anticipation of win-
ter. Make your garage safe
and usable. The money you
spend to repair and prepare
your garage will be money
well spent before the snow
flies.
s
Maintenance
Luis
Estenssoro, PE
Senior restoration
consultant, Walker
Restoration
Consultants,
Greenwood Village
