Waterproofing elevator pits is just one of the many uses for our products. Take this recent project for example from Carlos Touzan of TG Oil Service done in Miami, Florida.
This pit had not just inches – but over a foot of water in there on a regular basis. Water was flowing up past the pit light fixtures causing problems and water was reaching close to the piston packing. Apparently water and electricity don’t mix well ;)
Carlos stressed the following points to the building supervisor:
- Once water reaches the packing it will cause damage and start corrosion on the piston. If the piston gets rust it will cause the packing to leak and the elevator will be unsafe for use.
- The elevator service provider may decline to perform any repairs because of the existing unsafe conditions which will result in elevator downtime.
- Water and oil accumulation will cause bad odor and over time, it could potentially become hazards.
- The amount of water currently in the pit could easily cause damage to the traveling cable causing expensive repairs and long periods of downtime as well.
After a lot of draining, cleaning, drying and removing old inferior “so-called” waterproofing products and hydraulic cement patches, Carlos applied a prime coat of our PermFlex. From there he used our Liquid Rubber Base (LRB) mixed with Thickening Activator (TAV) to patch holes and cracks and applied another coat of PermaFlex over everything.
Carlos went the extra step here on this project and actually did our GraniFlex system on the floor of the pit by broadcasting color flakes into the second coat of PermaFlex and then clear sealing over that for a decorative “granite–like” look.
In the state of Florida (as with most others), water in elevator pits is just not acceptable and in many cases a violation of code. Here are a few lines straight from Florida’s safety code:
“Permanent provisions shall be made to prevent accumulation of ground water in the pit . . . pits must be designed to prevent entry of ground water . . . the sump pump/drain shall have the capacity to remove a minimum of 3000 gal/h per elevator”
Those of you who are in charge of the operation of elevators are very aware of the cost and the importance of maintaining a proper functioning elevator. Don’t allow the damage and the expense that is bound to happen within your elevator pit brought on by water problems. Call SANI-TRED today to learn how to waterproof elevator pits properly, we would be glad to give you an elevator pit flooding solution for your problem!
