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This storied stadium has hosted eight World Series.
Olympic baseball has been played here. The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and Pavarotti have performed in the stadium. The late Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass here in 1987.
And since Opening Day, 1962, more than 120 million spirited fans have bellowed for their beloved Dodgers here. In the process, they’ve spilled rivers of beer and pop, and truckloads of peanuts, cheesy nachos and condiment-smothered hotdogs all over the concrete seating bowl of the Emil Praeger-designed stadium.
“In some places there was a quarter-inch of buildup,” said Jason Dunster, project manager for Walker Restoration, Los Angeles.
Mr. Dunster was responsible for insuring the repair, cleaning and weather- and stain-proofing of the concrete during Dodger Stadium’s recent off-season renovation met Walker Restoration’s specifications. This work was part of the $20 million second phase of a multi-phase, multi-year program of improvements. In this latest phase, along with the concrete work, the stadium gained modernized box seating, new seats throughout the bowl, and a new loge-level terrace for fan gatherings.
Walker Restoration’s work actually began during the 2005 season as Mr. Dunster and his team assessed the condition of the seating bowl’s concrete while the Dodgers were on the road.
After more than 40 years of use, the concrete was chipped, cracked and spalled. Many concrete connections were near the end of their service lives. Workers replaced 80 percent of these connections by job’s end, Mr. Dunster said, along with 15 miles of joint sealant.
And the concrete was grimy.
“I don’t want to give the impression that there was an eighth of an inch buildup everywhere, but it was dirty,” Mr. Dunster said. “The seating areas were swept and hosed down after every game, but I don’t believe they were ever truly power-washed.”
Overall, the concrete performed well considering the usage, he said. Weather traffic, and contaminants from millions of people for more than four decades are bound to take their toll.
Even so, in some areas the level of chloride buildup in the concrete was surprising, Mr. Dunster said. High levels of corrosive salts in concrete normally occur in environments by the ocean, or where surfaces are exposed to de-icing salts.
Here, the salts came from coastal salt air and salty foods, like peanuts, spilled on the deck. Water from wash downs after games swept some of the food away, but carried their salts into the concrete pores where they contributed to surface cracking and spalling.
The assessment inevitably led to the conclusion that, in addition to cleaning and repair, the concrete needed protection.
Workers from Contech Services, Santa Ana, Calif., and John Rohrer Contracting Company, Denver, followed the repair and steam-cleaning crews, section by section, applying PROSOCO’s Stand Off® SLX100 Water & Oil Repellent.
“We tested 12 products before settling on SLX,” Mr. Dunster said. He explained the PROSOCO product made the cut because it’s a 100 percent silane; it’s a water- and stain-repellent; and it doesn’t change the substrate appearance.
“We also wanted a product from a reputable firm that stands behind what it makes,” he added.
The crews applied the protective treatment, provided by Smalley & Company, Fullerton, Calif., with pump-up sprayers and rollers, according to Contech Services President Chuck Dunscombe. He explained that they flood-coated the freshly steam-cleaned concrete at about 300 square feet per gallon and back-rolled it.
“It went on great,” he said. “There was no pooling or residue. Any water spilled on it beaded right up. Everyone loved that.”
The two companies divided the stadium. Contech Services worked the first-base side. John Rohrer Contracting got the third-base side. The project took two companies, Mr. Dunscombe said, because of the sheer immensity of the stadium—almost half a million square feet of concrete—and the abbreviated time to get it done, about four months from start to finish.
“The seating contractor was there at the same time, trying to get 50,000 new seats in,” Mr. Dunscombe said. “But we all worked together, and there were minimal conflicts. It was a great job.
“I wasn’t a Dodgers fan until this project,” Mr. Dunscombe added. “I am now. This is one of the original old stadiums. It’s nice to see the owner investing in it, and not tearing it down and building a new one.”
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