Expansion Joints and Preformed Sealants from EMSEAL--Logo
www.emseal.com

      

Structural Expansion Joints and Joint Sealants by EMSEAL

Arabic Bengali Czech Dutch Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean
Malaysian Norwegian Polish Portuguese Russian Simplified Chinese Spanish Swedish Thai Traditional Chinese Turkish Urdu Vietnamese

1-800-526-8365 -- 508-836-0280 --  techinfo@emseal.com

Last modified: May 15, 2008

Founded 1959.
In North America since 1979.

ADABlue.gif (195 bytes) Flame_Icon3.gif (1305 bytes)

SWRI

27-year member: Sealant Waterproofing and Restoration Institute.  What is SWRI?


Project Notes:


 

SGH-Designed Deck Features "Shear" Innovation.

(Note: click on images for a larger view)

ZurichParkingSign.jpg (75815 bytes) Renowned for their rigorous forensics, conservative engineering and particularly thorough renovations, Simpson Gumpertz Heger (SGH) are widely considered tops in the engineering consulting field.

It is no wonder then, that when commissioned to design a parking deck from scratch, they employ a design philosophy that will ensure a lifetime of performance from the structure.

The cornerstones of this philosophy are conservative design and application of durable and proven materials.  It is no surprise then, that THERMAFLEX by EMSEAL is found to be the expansion joint system of choice for Zurich Insurance's new parking structure.

P1010040.jpg (71390 bytes) One need look no further than the facade of the structure for evidence of SGH's design approach.  In order to match the look of the building and because of its location in a residential area of Baltimore City, the owner wanted the garage clad in the neighborliness of brick.
ZurichThruWall.jpg (131581 bytes)

ZurichWeep.jpg (84074 bytes)
Usually reserved for the walls of office,   residential, and other high-end, human-occupied structures, flashed and drained cavity wall construction allows moisture collected in the wall system a proper way out.   This ensures that the cladding materials remain unharmed by moisture and freeze-thaw cycles.

Stainless steel through-wall flashing and stainless-gauze-protected weep holes through the brick facade ensure that the wall panels will drain properly.

P1010033.jpg (67739 bytes) When it comes to expansion joints, SGH's expectations are no less demanding.  Designed to permit a full range of unrestricted movement, the slabs of the structure are supported at both ends by heavy split columns.  In order to maximize space utilization, the slabs wrap around the columns.  This means that the expansion joints turn perpendicular to the normal movement of the slab and induce a shear component relative to the rigid column.

The design challenge was to make the joint watertight throughout the jog around the column while ensuring that the materials used would, without undue stress, handle the shear movement.

Zurich_Shear.JPG (15518 bytes) Meeting this challenge required EMSEAL's shear-pocket technology.  This concept centers around the introduction of a factory-welded Santoprene sheet into one of EMSEAL's THERMAFLEX sealing glands.  The sheet runs through the area of shear and is attached to the column with termination bar.

Each transition for the project was  factory-fabricated to field-measured dimensions provided by the installing contractor, The Harry S. Peterson Company, of Beltsville MD (A Western Group Company).  Each column was unique and each was installed and fitted without need for field-modification.

EMSEAL's approach to parking deck expansion joint sealing centers around the belief that through better design, better products, and better installation we can provide owners with  trouble-free expansion joint systems.  The Zurich Insurance parking garage is evidence that this approach yields results.

--More on THERMAFLEX--

Top Of Page

Expansion joints and precompressed joint sealants by EMSEAL

Contact us through our Feedback Form; at techinfo@emseal.com; or
call us TOLL FREE: 800-526-8365 or 508-836-0280

Copyright © 1998-2008 by EMSEAL Corporation. All rights reserved.
This document may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.