Agricultural-product provider Gavilon hired Dome Technology to repair and coat four existing concrete silos storing corn and soybeans in Creston, Iowa, guaranteeing 10 more years of exterior life.
The silos, built in 1978, were deteriorating, particularly two that had been spalling for three years, said Gavilon superintendent Britt Boozer.
Another company worked on interior upgrades simultaneously, and “with extending the liners and doing what we did on the outside, (our company) felt like that was a more economical way—to repair the bins rather than tear them down and build new,” Boozer said.
The Gavilon concrete silos required light concrete-crack repair, and the Dome Technology team began the project by pressure washing and prepping the structure, then shotcreting and patching all cracks in exposed areas. Silicone sealant was applied to the entire building including the roof, where a nonslip surface was also added.
“We’re basically encasing the whole structure with this casing, so we shouldn’t see the spalling continue any longer,” Dome Technology sales manager Heath Harrison said. “The selling point is making silos truly watertight; paint and other restoration processes fail to do that long term.”
Cost savings are the biggest benefit to this kind of silo repair. According to Harrison, silos otherwise destined for teardown can be salvaged in only a few weeks.
In addition to repairing the silos, Dome Technology can apply coatings in fade-resistant colors. After exterior concrete is repaired, this coating preserves and extends the concrete life. In the case of Gavilon, the charcoal-gray coating the company chose gives the silos a fresh look. “It can serve as an aesthetic solution as well, so it’s a two-for-one,” Harrison said.
Boozer agreed, stating that if people were seeing the silos for the first time, “they would go, ‘These have just been put up three, four, five years ago.’ Aesthetically they look a lot better.”
