Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Specialty Contractors Waterproof University Boathouse Practice Tank

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/24/21

Two Minneapolis contracting firms recently partnered to make some long-needed repairs to the University of Minnesota’s on-campus boathouse.

The university’s Irene Claudia Kroll Boathouse is located on the shore of the Mississippi River and is one of a very small number of on-campus boathouses in the U.S. The facility features an erg room, a locker room, coaches’ offices, boat storage, and a 7,500-gallon indoor practice tank on the second floor.

University of Minnesota boathouse

The structure was built in 2007, and over time, water that splashed or leaked out of the practice tank had begun seeping through the flooring into the first floor. The facility was originally built with a nonstructural topping slab and precast flooring planks.

Western Specialty Contractors – Minneapolis Branch and the Minnesota-based general contractor Gardner Builders teamed up for the repair process, which started in Nov. 2020 and finished this month. Gardner Builders removed the tank and installed a drainage system. Then, the Western Specialty Contractors crew repaired the concrete surrounding the new drains and other cracks in the topping slab.

Before the new tank was finally installed, Western applied a 125-mil Tremco PUMA waterproof coating system to the surrounding concrete floor as a last layer of protection. “The waterproofing is a very heavy-duty and durable system that comes with a 20-year warranty but will actually last much longer than that,” said David Grandbois, Assistant Branch Manager of WSC – Minneapolis. “To ensure that the floor was monolithic and free from variances, Western performed an electronic leak detection test on the floor, which found no discrepancies.”

Due to the pandemic, the facility has been closed, so there were no schedule conflicts between the construction team and the university rowing team.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • University of Pennsylvania Releases Design of Future Physical Sciences Building

    The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Penn., recently released renderings of an upcoming 350,000-square-foot Physical Sciences Building, according to news release. The facility was designed by CO Architects and will unite the university’s departments of Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.