AI-Powered Kuersteiner Music Hall Slab Floor Lifting
The Challenge
A sunken floor slab in the music hall at FSU was compromising the operation of the doors and causing cracks in the drywall and block walls. Complicating the issue was the short timeline required for the repair, and the void beneath the slab that turned out to be much larger than anticipated.
The Solution
600 pounds of polyurethane was injected underneath the slab floors to fill voids, restore the height of the slab, and close the cracks and gaps within the walls.
The Impact
Injections were completed within 6 hours, lifting the slab floor back to grade and closing the gaps in the walls. The music hall was able to be opened in time for the fall semester.
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Project Type: 
Repair Type: The Challenge
Sunken floor slabs caused cracking of surrounding walls.
Florida State University (FSU) commissioned the repair of an area of interior concrete slab on grade at the first floor of the Kuersteiner Music Hall. The 200 square foot area of slab had settled differentially as much as 1.5 inches over 10 years, due to the consolidation of loose fill soils below the slab. The slab settlement affected the operation of doors and caused cracking within the interior drywall and concrete block walls. Project specifications stated that the repair include filling of all voids and lifting the concrete slab back to level, thereby closing cracks in the walls and making the doors operational. It was also necessary to complete the project within the narrow allotted window of only one day, in order for the area to be prepared in time for the fall semester.
Key Facts
1.5
Inches of Lift
6 Hour
Installation Time
600
Pounds of Polyurethane
200
Sq Ft of Settlement
The Solution
600 pounds of polyurethane was injected beneath the floor slab.
FSU selected polyurethane injection to fill the voids and lift the slab back towards its original position. Once injected through small 5/8 inch “ports” in the slab, a chemical reaction converts the liquid components to a strong, rapidly setting high-density foam material.
Small, badly broken areas of concrete slab were saw cut and removed. Through these penetrations, the void under the slab was observed to be much larger than anticipated. The void was several inches tall and extended outward beyond the specified repair area approximately 15-20 feet in all directions. A total of 600 pounds of polyurethane was injected through the 10 injection ports laid out in an approximate 5 foot grid.
The Impact
The floor was lifted in time for the fall semester to begin.
The expanding foam filled the voids and lifted the slab approximately 1.5 inches, realigning the doors and closing the cracks in the drywall and block walls. Sections of removed slab were replaced with new concrete. The entire project was completed in just 6 hours, in time for the upcoming fall semester.
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