Hydrodemolition / Concrete Preparation

Renovation and replacement of deteriorated concrete bridges, substructures, and roadways are of vital concern to highway and bridge maintenance personnel. As the demand for safe and efficient selective demolition work increases, so does the demand for better methods to expedite the demolition process. Our 10,000 - 40,000 psi waterjet systems provide a cost effective and environmentally sound solution.

Conventional methods for removal of deteriorated concrete traditionally include jack hammering. There are obvious disadvantages to using jack hammers in concrete demolition; the jack hammer method is time consuming and, therefore, costly. Excessive dust, noise pollution, as well as other obvious safety factors are a constant concern for all involved.

Not so obvious disadvantages to jack hammering include:

•Unnecessary removal of sound concrete
•Micro fracturing of sound concrete due to vibration
•Unintentional damage to rebar.
•Uncertainty as to complete removal of deteriorated concrete and corrosive chlorides


Hennigan Engineering's state of the art technology eliminates these negative results by utilizing high pressure water jetting techniques, a.k.a. Hydro Demolition. The hydro demolition process is successfully utilized to remove deteriorated concrete, leaving sound concrete with a rough profile, perfect for bonding the newly poured overlay.

Advantages to our Hydro Demolition techniques:

•Minimizes removal of sound concrete while removing all deteriorated concrete
•No additional structural damage is created
•Rebar is cleaned, undamaged, and free of corrosive chlorides
•Eliminates dust, greatly reduces noise
•Saves time in demolition, as well as eliminating time consuming rebar replacement and repair

In addition to our concrete demolition capabilities, Hennigan Engineering has over 25 years of experience in the effective use of specialized hydro blasting equipment perfectly suited for the:

• Surface preparation of steel and structural steel prior to painting/coating
•Pipeline cleaning of nearly any diameter, length, and composition.