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Silo structural failures regularly make the news. While they sometimes result in seemingly minor inconveniences or temporary facility or road closures, they can also be fatal. Such tragedies serve as a stark reminder of the importance of routine, professional silo inspections in avoiding silo disasters.

 

Keeping up with a regular silo inspection schedule is the best way to ensure unexpected issues don't arise. Best practices recommend professional inspections at two- to five-year intervals to help identify any issues that could lead to silo failure.

 

When scheduling a silo inspection, it is essential to use a trusted silo inspection company that has the required experience and industry knowledge to complete a thorough inspection that is appropriate for your silo and stored material. Professional silo inspections cover more areas of the silo than an in-house inspection. Trained silo inspectors also know a great deal more about what to look for and which areas are the most common sites of potential failure. During a professional inspection, silo experts and/or a trained silo engineer will thoroughly analyze your silo(s) to identify any major and minor issues.

 

An inspection is only helpful in preventing disasters if you follow through with the recommended preventive maintenance. It's important to schedule any necessary repairs as soon as possible. Selecting a silo company like Marietta Group that can handle your repair, maintenance, and inspection needs under one roof helps make it easier to follow through. Identifying potential problems and correcting them early on can also help save you money. Silo issues that need to be remediated only become more costly to repair and more dangerous the longer you wait. The cost of keeping up with preventive maintenance is significantly lower than the price of major repairs or construction after a structural failure.

 

In addition to keeping silos safe and extending their usable life, maintaining and repairing your silo quickly also helps prevent emergency silo issues, including structural failure. Failing to complete preventive maintenance is a leading cause of costly, dangerous silo failure. Addressing minor issues as soon as they arise helps keep the costs of silo ownership low as major repairs, emergencies, and structural failures are more expensive up front, take longer to correct, and inevitably result in unplanned downtime.

 

If you do experience an emergency silo issue, the Marietta Group team acts quickly to offer emergency services that meet all of your silo needs. Our experts have the experience and expertise to fix your silo problems for good.

 

Without routine silo inspections, silo repair emergencies and structural failures can seem like they came out of nowhere. Failing to complete preventive maintenance is a leading cause of costly, dangerous silo failure. Addressing minor issues as soon as they arise helps keep the costs of silo ownership low as major repairs, emergencies, and structural failures are more expensive up front, take longer to correct, and inevitably result in unplanned downtime or potential disasters.

 

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Though out of sight, your silo roof should not be out of mind, especially when it comes to silo maintenance. It's important to ensure silo roofs are inspected inside and outside to check for common problems like ponding water and water intrusion, coating weaknesses, and possible structural issues with roof beam pockets.

 

Signs of ponding water on the silo rooftop can indicate a larger issue with the silo structure. Regular ponding on the silo roof also lowers the lifespan of coating membranes and can lead to deterioration and leaks, which can jeopardize stored material.

 

Many concrete silos have either a bare concrete slab roof or are covered with a membrane coating for waterproofing. Over time, membrane roof covers develop holes, allowing water intrusion under the roof cover material. Once water is under a membrane covering, it easily travels along the entire silo structure. Natural freeze and thaw cycles create additional cracks in the membrane and can worsen fine cracks in the silo's structure that can then be hidden.

 

When choosing a roof covering for a concrete silo, it is important to choose a coating that adheres directly to the concrete. This is better than a roof cover that just hides the concrete roof and future problems.

 

Concrete silo roofs are typically constructed by placing steel beams on notches (roof beam pockets) and then pouring a concrete slab on top of those beams. Silo roofs can be prone to issues with these roof beam pockets as they are an area that can be susceptible to movement. If the roof beam settles or the pocket deteriorates, it can lead to severe structural problems. The beam pockets are a vital component of the silo since they support the roof slab and all the essential equipment required for the bulk storage system to function.

 

It is important to note that problems with the supporting roof beam usually cause water to pool. It is therefore important to have the silo interior inspected to rule out potentially severe underlying structural problems. Left unaddressed, these problems become costlier to correct and increase liabilities.

 

Marietta Group provides a single source to service all aspects of your silo roofs. USA Silo Service provides an industry-leading rubberized coating that bonds directly to silo roof tops and walls and resists cracking and peeling.

 

Both Marietta Silos and USA Silo Service provide comprehensive silo inspections that can identify potential concerns with silo roofs.

 

Marietta Silos provides Silo Roof Restoration services as well as Roof Beam and Beam Pocket repair or restoration – making it easy to not just identify issues, but correct them.

 

Regular inspections of the underside of the silo roof along with all equipment are imperative to eliminate potential failures in any production system. Detecting possible issues with silo roofs early can help reduce the chance of structural failures.

 

Marietta Group can meet all your silo service needs. Bundle your silo cleaning, inspection, and maintenance service needs with us for fast, economical service you can trust.

 

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