By Tom White, Senior Vice President of Cold Storage
When the underfloor glycol system at Beaver Dam Cold Storage-South Freezer Facility stopped working years ago, it was not replaced. The concrete floor in the 8,000 sq. ft. freezer soon began heaving – up to 9” in some areas – requiring pallet storage to be reduced. Instead of the usual 4 pallet-high configuration, the company could only stack 2-pallets high or risk toppling due to the unlevel condition of the floor.
WDS Construction was brought in to address the challenges faced by the owner and return the freezer area to full storage capacity. WDS proposed two solutions.
The owner elected the second option, as they could keep the existing freezer active and not have to rent additional freezer space. Plus, the costs to complete were significantly less.
WDS selected an area in the adjacent cooler space for installing a slot, where the floor was cut and the subbase removed to provide an area for the directional drill to exit and the glycol tubing to be looped back to the outside. In total, approximately 35 different bores, 80’ long, were required for directional boring from the building exterior, allowing a glycol loop to be installed under the freezer area of the building. As the boring drill head was pulled back at each borehole, the new glycol line was pulled. The glycol lines were tied together outside the building, holes were grouted and the exterior was backfilled.
A new glycol boiler and pump system was mounted in the cooler area and connected to the new underfloor loop system. Construction duration was roughly 30 days, with another 60 days for the existing concrete floor to resettle. Once this happened, Beaver Dam Cold Storage was able to return to stacking 4-pallets high.
From building repairs to expansions to completely new facilities, WDS Construction has the talent and knowledge to help make your next cold storage project a success. Reach out to me at twhite@wdsconstruction.net to discuss your next cold storage project.
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