May 2016 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly —
Page 27
I
mage you’re beloved television
host Bob Baker – you are in
your 90s living at home after
a long, successful career. One
day, you are walking on your
premises when you trip and fall. The
next thing you remember is being
helped up by police officers.
This is a true story. In October
2015, Barker tripped over the uneven
sidewalk. While most people have
probably heard of Bob Barker, many
people don’t realize how common
this accident is.
Falls are one of the leading causes
of accidental injuries in the U.S.
Approximately 2.5 million nonfa-
tal falls were treated in emergency
department in 2013. That means
close to one in every 120 Americans
are injured per year due to a fall,
with 734,500 of them ending in a
hospital visit. Most unfortunately,
25,500 of the falls in 2013 were fatal.
The most common locations for
a fall are in doorways, on ramps,
in cluttered hallways/entryways, in
areas with heavy traffic, on uneven
walking surfaces, in areas prone to
wetness or spills, on ladders, and
when climbing up and down stairs.
Granted, not every trip-and-fall
accident happens on sidewalks, but
sidewalks are a common culprit for
which you – owner of sidewalk – are
liable.
Maintenance Options
Anyone who owns property in
Colorado can relate to the ongoing
issue sidewalk maintenance can
create. Colorado’s
winters, topogra-
phy and love for
trees create an
ongoing need for
sidewalk mainte-
nance. If you are
considering buying,
selling or main-
taining a property,
you should know
what condition
your walkways are
in and how they
can be maintained.
Following are five
common sidewalk
maintenance methods and the pros
and cons for each type.
Demolition and replacement.
This
method tears out the concrete com-
pletely or in sections and repours
new concrete. This method gives
you new sidewalks, which should
meet American with Disabilities Act
compliance better. It also gives you
an opportunity to prune the roots or
repair whatever is underneath the
sidewalk that caused the damage.
The cons for this solution are that
it is the most expensive option, is
disruptive to daily activities and cre-
ates the greatest amount of waste.
It also is the slowest of all the pro-
cesses and requires a closure of
walkways while working on it.
Ramping or patching.
This method
uses a self-mixing concrete or
asphalt material to construct a
“ramp” from the high slab to the
low.
This is a low-cost option that
offers a fast repair and can be done
by a handyman. However, a major-
ity of this type of repairs do not
meet or stay ADA compliant and
can be costly and time-consuming.
Constant repairs of the initial repair
often are needed.
Mud jacking.
This process requires
a hole to be drilled through the
surface of the walkway. Concrete is
then pumped under pressure below
the slab until the pressure raises the
existing concrete slab.
This is a good option for extremely
large slabs, and a great options
for stairwells, internal hallways or
floors that are sinking. The cost can
vary depending on the “void” under
the concrete.
However, there are several cons
associated with this process. It is
difficult to get the joint between the
two slabs flush, so it is common to
see joint “close to flush,” in which
case concrete material is used to
ramp the joint. The hole that is
drilled is left filled in with the con-
crete material, and the concrete
hole will crack and begin to crumble
with time. The process is a very
labor-intensive and requires fairly
large equipment.
Grinding – scarifier – cup wheel.
This process uses a machine called
a grinder/scarifier to grind or chip
away the high concrete. The benefit
of this process is that the machine
can be rented or purchased and
repairs can be done by most handy-
men. It is a fairly low-cost option. It
is best for smaller hazards between
one-quarter inch and one inch.
The negatives of this option are
that it can leave an ugly, unprofes-
sional appearance if done cheaply,
and is difficult to make the repair
without scarring up the opposing
slab. Also, it is difficult to remove
the entire trip hazard and meet
required slope. It is a slow process
for hazards greater the one-half of
an inch.
Saw cutting.
This process uses
concrete cutting-blade technology
to make a horizontal “flush” cut in
order to remove the high concrete
trip hazard.
This is the only method specifi-
cally designed and developed for
trip-hazard removal. A hand “preci-
sion” cut is based on the height of
the trip hazard, not length, and the
removal is of the entire trip hazard,
all the way to the wall or drop off.
It is an inexpensive option and is
the fastest process – you can do as
much in one day as other processes
take a week to complete. It gives a
smooth, even surface, still exceed-
ing Occupational Safety and Health
Administration co-efficient of fric-
tion and leaves a flush joint. There
is no contact with the opposing slab
and it uses GPS technology for proj-
ect documentation and area survey.
The major cons for this process
are that it is a different color and
gives the sidewalk an aggregate
look. There is noise for a short
period of time in one location and it
causes a lot of dust.
s
Joe Ross
Business
development
manager, Precision
Concrete Cutting,
Lakewood
Maintenance
