Parking is a premium amenity for those living in urban areas. Located in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, the Buchanan House offers residents of the 200-unit luxury apartment complex nearly 600 parking spaces in a below-grade, three-story parking garage. In addition to residences, the facility features restaurants and other retail shops on the street level, which results in additional parking needs. The consulting engineer for the project, Smislova Kehnemui & Associates, P. A. (SK&A), recognized that the post-tension concrete structure had begun to experience delamination from water infiltration. Additionally, the use of de-icing salts had caused corrosion of the buttonhead post-tensioning system. Known for their excellent reputation with concrete repair projects, Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) was contacted to work on the project.
With the goal of restoring the parking garage's structure and improving its appearance, SPS began the project by removing the damaged and delaminated concrete. This was necessary to thoroughly assess the condition of the buttonhead post-tensioning. SPS repaired 387 buttonhead post-tensioning tendons and installed 25,000 linear feet of monostrand post-tensioning cables. To accomplish this, SPS utilized a proprietary system from VSL that allowed the team to incorporate a monostrand post-tensioning system without having to trench and replace sections with a new buttonhead system.
In addition to the post-tensioning repair, SPS also performed partial and full depth concrete repair, as well as soffit, wall, column and beam repairs. A corrosion-inhibiting coating was applied to 300,000 square feet of the parking garage, and a urethane coating system was installed to 211,000 square feet. These coatings will increase the service life of the structure. Crews also installed new handrails on the ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. To improve the appearance of the garage, the entire structure was painted, including painting new parking stripes.
One of the major challenges for this project was dust control. The space was completely enclosed, and all exhaust fans were located on one side of the garage. To combat this, crews created tunnels to draft the dust out of the work area. Safety was paramount on this project. The garage remained open during repairs, so crews had to ensure proper signage was available to direct traffic. Only one of the two exits is equipped with a pay station for those who do not have keycard access. During the repairs, a new pay site had to be established to ensure patrons could exit the garage. Phasing was also crucial on this project. Several other trades were involved on the project, so coordination was critical to ensure that everyone maintained their schedules.
Work began on this project in December 2007 and was completed in April 2008. Both the owner and visitors to the garage have commented on the visual appeal of the garage and are pleased with the outcome.