Structural Concrete Restoration
Structural concrete restoration for South Florida buildings.
Spalling, delamination and reinforcing steel corrosion on façades, balconies, soffits, beams, columns and parking structures — repaired under the engineer's documents and recorded item by item, so the scope that was priced and the scope that was built describe the same building.
The condition
On a 25+ year coastal building, the damage is rarely where it looks.
Salt air, humidity and water paths drive chlorides to the reinforcing steel. The steel corrodes, expands and separates the concrete around it long before anything is visible from the ground.
That is why restoration scope moves. A survey establishes what can be seen and sounded; the true limits of each repair appear only as the unsound concrete comes off. The question is not whether quantities change — it is whether the change is located, measured and documented, or negotiated afterwards.
CONCRE works the measured way. Every observation carries a location ID from the first survey through removal, repair and close-out, so a board, a manager, an engineer and a contractor are reviewing the same record.
CONCRE observes, maps and quantifies. The Florida PE evaluates, diagnoses and specifies.
Conditions and elements
What structural concrete restoration covers.
Spalling and delamination
Surface loss and hollow-sounding areas on façades, soffits and slab edges. Limits are established by sounding and confirmed as the unsound material is removed.
Corrosion of reinforcing steel
Rust expansion driven by chlorides, carbonation and water paths. Treatment, cleaning and any supplemental steel follow the engineer's repair details rather than field judgement.
Balconies and slab edges
Edge spalling, soffit repairs and railing-embed interfaces, typically the most exposed and most repeated repair type on a coastal tower.
Beams, columns and shear walls
Structural element repairs where removal limits, shoring requirements and reconstruction details are defined by the Engineer of Record.
Parking structures
Deck, ramp and soffit repairs in a traffic and chloride environment, usually combined with joint work and traffic coatings.
Façade concrete
Repair and reprofiling of façade concrete before stucco, coating and painting systems are reinstated over the top.
Execution
How a repair is actually carried out.
The sequence below describes contractor work performed under repair details and specifications issued by the Engineer of Record. Removal limits, steel treatment, supplemental steel and repair materials are defined by those documents, not chosen on site.
- 01
Survey and mapping
Systematic capture of the elevations involved and a digital façade map with a location ID per observation, so the scope everyone prices is the scope the crew executes.
- 02
Removal and preparation
Unsound concrete removed to the limits the repair detail requires, edges cut and prepared, and the substrate readied to the specified profile.
- 03
Reinforcing steel treatment
Cleaning, treatment and supplemental steel where the engineer's documents call for it. Section loss and any condition outside the detail is reported to the EOR rather than resolved in the field.
- 04
Reconstruction
Placement of the specified repair material, formed or hand-applied as the detail requires, finished to match the surrounding plane.
- 05
Protection
Sealants, coatings and waterproofing reinstated where specified, so repaired areas are not returned to the same exposure that caused the distress.
- 06
Verification and records
Final repaired quantity recorded against the original location ID with before, open, steel, repair and finished photographs for the project record.
Quantity and change control
Unit prices are only useful if the units are measured.
Concrete restoration is priced per unit and per repair type. CONCRE records three measurements against the same location ID: the preconstruction quantity, the quantity after sounding and opening, and the final repaired quantity — with the variance written down rather than explained later.
That record is what supports pay applications, change documentation and the engineer's review. It is a record-keeping discipline, not an approval mechanism: the Engineer of Record and the contract govern what is approved and paid.
Occupied buildings
Most of this work happens with residents in place.
- Work sequenced by elevation and stack so residents can plan around access and noise.
- Protection, containment and daily clean-down as part of the work, not an afterthought.
- Notices and schedules coordinated with management ahead of each work area.
- Balcony and unit access arranged in advance rather than on the morning of the work.
- Shoring installed only where the engineer's documents require it.
Questions
Structural concrete restoration questions.
- Who decides what has to be repaired?
- The Engineer of Record. A Florida professional engineer evaluates the structure, diagnoses the cause of the distress and issues the repair details and specifications. CONCRE observes, maps and quantifies the conditions and then executes the repair under those documents.
- Why can concrete repair quantities increase after work starts?
- Sounding and opening can reveal a larger or different extent of unsound concrete than initially visible. A delaminated area is defined by sounding, and its true limits are only known once the unsound material is removed, so a repair drawn as 18 square feet from a survey can measure more once opened. What matters is whether the change is located, measured, photographed and reconciled rather than absorbed into a lump sum.
- What is the difference between spalling and delamination?
- Delamination is a separation plane inside the concrete, usually above corroding reinforcing steel; it may still look intact from outside and is typically found by sounding. Spalling is what happens when that separated concrete breaks away and exposes the steel. Both are conditions to be evaluated by the engineer, not conclusions CONCRE draws.
- Can CONCRE work on an occupied condominium?
- Yes. Most South Florida restoration work happens in buildings that stay occupied. Work is sequenced by elevation and stack, access and protection are planned around residents, and notices and daily work areas are coordinated with management well ahead of the crew.
- Is waterproofing part of concrete restoration?
- It often is, depending on the repair documents and exposure conditions. Repaired concrete that stays exposed to water and chlorides is at risk again. Where the engineer's documents call for it, coatings, sealants and waterproofing are executed as part of the same programme so the repair and the protection are not split between two contractors.
- Which counties does CONCRE serve?
- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
General information about restoration contracting. Nothing on this page is engineering, legal or reserve-funding advice, and no condition is diagnosed here.
From CONCRE Insights
Further technical reading.
Quantity control
Why Concrete Repair Quantities Increase After Demolition Begins
A repair drawing marks where work is expected. Removal establishes where sound concrete actually starts. The difference between those two numbers is normal, measurable and — done properly — fully documented.
Milestone inspection repairs
What Happens After a Florida Milestone Inspection Identifies Concrete Repairs?
The inspection tells a board what a licensed professional observed. It does not tell the board how much repair there is, what it should cost, or how the work will be documented. This is the sequence between the report and the close-out package.
Next step
Bring us the elevation you are least sure about.
Send the building, the age and the condition you are seeing. We will come back with the repair types involved, how they are measured and how the work would be documented. Already have an engineer's report? Send the report and drawings and we will review the repair scope, quantities and execution requirements under your engineer's documents.