This past August, an exterior staircase at Reuther High School in Kenosha, WI, underwent major restoration. The damage to the steps was quite extensive; the result of years of wear and tear from the elements and, of course, foot traffic. The damage included broken, cracked concrete, and rusted metal from the rebar and the posts. A wide crack had also previously been sawn vertically through several steps during restoration of the building.
In many cases like this, steps would be removed entirely and remade them from new concrete. This process can last weeks, be very expensive, produce a lot of waste, and put the entrance out of operation for a long time. To get the stairs back in operation by the start of the school year, the contractor turned to Abatron.
Rasch Construction used a combination of Aboweld 55-1 and Abocrete to restore the deteriorating staircase. The first job was to clean out the staircase from any loose debris, and remove the rust stains. Aboweld 55-1 was used to fill-in the missing and deteriorated concrete which made up the majority of the required repairs. Buff colored Abocrete was used to recoat and finish the steps.
The results are impressive. The steps look like new and the restoration was completed in a fraction of the time at a fraction the cost of replacement. Today they are handling the traffic of hundreds of students and faculty.
