Garage Maintenance
5 Things Every Property Manager or Owner Should Know
Due to its strength and durability, many people assume concrete doesn’t require ongoing maintenance. This is a common misconception that often leads to deterioration, damage and expensive structural repairs that could have been prevented or at the very least minimized. When it comes to prolonging the life of concrete structures such as parking garages and mitigating costly repairs and restoration down the road, proactive investment in protective measures is key.
As trusted experts in structural concrete repair, replacement, modifications and maintenance, we’re here with five things every parking garage property manager or owner should know about their facilities and how to properly care for them.
1. Newer structures may need more maintenance than older structures
While it might seem paradoxical, older garages can actually need less frequent maintenance than new garages.
“People tend to think the 80-year-old garage should need all the maintenance and the 10-year-old garage doesn’t need to be maintained,” says John Mussman, Division Manager for SSRG. “But with the 10-year-old garage, there’s less forgiveness for damage. That 80-year-old structure is likely built like a tank.”
Garages built more than 50 years ago are often conventional reinforced concrete structures, which typically is the most durable type of parking garage. It’s also the most expensive to build, which is why modern garages typically feature construction methods that are quicker and less costly — but also enduring, so long as they’re properly maintained.
Decades ago, conventional reinforced concrete was the preferred method for constructing parking garages because maintenance was not a priority or even a consideration. They were built to last. While today’s structures are more susceptible to damage, the technology to properly maintain and protect them is extremely advanced, readily available and cost effective.
2. Climate impacts your concrete
One of the biggest threats to concrete is moisture infiltration — and one factor that accelerates moisture infiltration is the repeated freezing and thawing of water.
“In the Midwest, we are in this belt of high risk for severe deterioration to concrete structures,” Mussman says. “Many months a year, we have these rapid temperature swings, which cause concrete to expand and contract at rapid rates, resulting in thousands of micro cracks.”
Though temperatures are often more severe in northern or southern regions, their climates are more stable, he adds, and thus not as detrimental to concrete.
The frequent use of road salts to combat freezing temperatures also poses a threat. Over time, chloride penetrates the concrete, causing the material’s natural pores to widen and absorb more moisture. Regular cleaning helps remove harmful compounds and chemicals before they can degrade the structure and a durable traffic coating serves as an effective protective barrier.
3. Concrete protects the underlying steel structure
One of the reasons protecting concrete is so important is because concrete actually works as a protective layer shielding the underlying steel structure.
“Many people think the concrete they see in parking garages is only for structural strength, but a really crucial role it plays is to defend the reinforcing steel,” Mussman says. Concrete, in addition to forming driving and parking surfaces, serves as a barrier between the elements and the structural steel, protecting it from moisture in particular.
As concrete ages, it experiences carbonation — a natural chemical reaction to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — leading to increased permeability, shrinking and cracking. This comprises concrete’s protective layer around the reinforcing steel, which eventually leads to corrosion.
“If you allow the steel to deteriorate, you end up with structural damage as opposed to moisture barrier deterioration,” Mussman says.
As structural damage is much more demanding and expensive to fix, it’s important to act quickly to restore the protective capacity of concrete before the problem compounds. Restorative methods include repairing cracks, chemical treatments and applying durable traffic coatings to protect the concrete from moisture, chemicals, and general wear and tear.
4. Different garage structures require different forms of maintenance
Not all parking garages are made the same way. There are several types of construction methods used to build parking garages and each style presents its own set of recurrent issues that maintenance and modifications can help address.
For example, in precast garages, puddles are a common problem that can lead to severe water damage over time. Adding drains in strategic areas and installing overlays to address uneven grades can help eliminate standing water and keep the concrete drier. These garages also feature a high number of welded connector joints, which can rust and corrode when exposed to moisture.
Post-tensioned garages, on the other hand, are at high risk for quickly escalating structural damage due to their unique construction characteristics. Steel cables in plastic sleeves are embedded in the concrete and tensioned to extremes to provide the structural strength of the beams and decks. Unknown damage occurring 100 feet away, sometimes within a service room or elevator shaft, can cause that cable to stretch or even snap, instantly jeopardizing the entire structure.
“Something as simple as a failed expansion joint can lead to a complete failure of the deck,” Mussman says.
Addressing and repairing any failures as soon as they’re identified, followed by implementing a professional moisture prevention plan, strengthens these structures and protects them as they age.
5. Investing in routine maintenance can prevent costly repairs
Although routine garage maintenance is a cost-effective strategy for preserving life and function of parking structures, it still requires an investment. Often, property managers and owners choose to defer preventative maintenance and allocate that budget elsewhere. While this saves money in the short term, it can lead to more serious and more costly problems in the long term.
“If you don’t spend smartly to protect your concrete, you end up spending more than you’ve budgeted to repair it,” Mussman says. “You end up in this vicious cycle of paying to fix the structural deterioration and not being able to afford the prevention of more deterioration.”
Property managers and owners can avoid this cycle by prioritizing routine maintenance that will protect both the concrete and underlying steel structures, preventing the losses costly structural repairs would incur.
For garages that are already in disrepair, SSRG implements a three-part strategy: repair, strengthen and protect. Our experts understand that the budget only goes so far, so we help our clients develop a plan for doing what needs to be done while working within funding and scheduling constraints.
“The goal is to invest wisely on the protection piece of the pie for as long as possible, before you become forced to spend most of your funds on the repair pieces,” Mussman says.
Fortunately, thanks to technological advancements in the industry, the materials and methods used to protect and repair garages are much more effective and less expensive than they used to be.
“You can assess and fix these issues now before they become bigger problems down the road,” Mussman says.
SSRG has been a leader in structural construction, strengthening, repairs, and restorations for more than 90 years. Backed by complex experience, field-tested expertise, and a no-fear approach, we deliver tough jobs done well. We specialize in structural concrete, specialty new masonry and repairs, structural steel, foundations and stabilization, and historic preservation. Our unrelenting commitment to safety, quality, and production ensures we do right by our partners and our teams every day.