Spring is for Preventative Parking Lot Maintenance
March 1, 2018
Project Profile – Taco Bell
March 5, 2018
Types of Catch Basin Repair
Catch basins, which allow surface water to drain from parking lots, are an important part of your parking lot structure. Despite this, catch basins are often neglected until a sinkhole develops, causing major headaches and liability hazards.
Catch basins can be built in different ways, so their means of repair also varies.
- Most common catch basins today are built on catch basin rings, which are easier to fix. If you see sunken or raised asphalt around the catch basin which is limiting water from entering, you need a standard repair. This kind of repair only requires the asphalt around it to be cut out and repaved.
- Some catch basins are built on an older brick and mortar system, which requires rebuilding. Reparing this older system typically requires excavation and exposing the whole catch basin, removing all the bricks and rebuilding with modern catch basin rings.
- Another type of catch basin has a cast iron frame sitting on a precast concrete drain. This requires professional workers to saw cut around the basin and remove the asphalt, then excavate and expose the concrete basin. Hand chiseling is usually required because one wrong hit or cut could crack the basin’s form, causing water to leak into the sub base creating more problems. Lastly, a concrete breaker is applied and any gaps in the chisel work are purged.
- If you see a hole next to your catch basin, chances are the sub base made its way through around the outside of the inlet drain pipe. It can be caused by many reasons, such as improper drain installation, improper sub base compaction or frost and salt damages over time, etc. The repair requires adding or removing the spacers where the cast iron cover sits.
The best way to prevent costly repair is to get the problem fixed as soon as you see signs of failure. If the surrounding asphalt around your catch basin is cracked or heaved, it may be time to get them repaired.