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

  • University of Kansas Opens $400M Football Stadium Reconstruction

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently announced that the $400-million reconstruction of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is complete in time for the 2025 football season, according to a news release. The university partnered with Turner Construction Company on the project.

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • Image credit: O

    Strategic Campus Assessment: Moving Beyond Reactive Maintenance in Educational Facilities

    While campuses may appear stable on the surface, building systems naturally evolve over time, and proactive assessment can identify developing issues before they become expensive emergencies. The question isn't whether aging educational facilities need attention. It's how institutions can transition from costly reactive maintenance to strategic asset management in a way that protects both budgets and communities.

  • University of West Florida Opens New Laboratory Facility

    The University of West Florida recently announced that renovation work is complete on a new lab building for its campus in Pensacola, Fla., according to university news. Building 80 will serve as the home to the university’s civil engineering program and the Tyler Chase Norwood Construction Management Program.

Digital Edition