Waterproofing Beneath the City: Protecting Toronto’s Strachan Avenue tunnel

To accommodate the transportation needs of Toronto’s increasing population, Metrolinx—Ontario’s crown agency responsible for integrative transportation planning in the region—decided to raise Strachan Avenue by almost 2 m (6.5 ft), allowing it to pass over the GO Train rail corridor, providing a smoother traffic flow. Simultaneously, the rail corridor was also lowered by 8 m (26 ft) below Strachan. Additionally, in order to accommodate the lowered rail line, the existing sewage tunnel was lowered by about 500 m (1641 ft).

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Environmental benefits of closed-cell sprayed polyurethane foam

A focus on green building standards and more stringent code requirements has led to adoption of best practices in construction materials and methods. Among those is specifying more efficient insulation systems, air barriers, and seamless monolithic roofing assemblies. Use of closed-cell sprayed polyurethane foam (ccSPF) can help meet the stringent requirements of modern, sustainable building design.

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Fire Doors, Life Safety, and Hardware: Avoiding code confusion

It is an all-too-common tale: a job is finished, and it is time for the inspectors to show up and sign-off on the entire project. Unfortunately, they find the doors and hardware are not to code. This comes as a surprise. After all, the design team relied on the same code information used on its last building in Ontario and… this facility is in Québec, which has different requirements.

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A modern look at improving concrete durability

While many concrete structures have a design life of 50 to 100 years, not all live up to expectations. Much of the concrete infrastructure currently in service across North America is badly in need of repair or replacement, and this premature deterioration is a large hidden cost to owners. What is causing this lack of durability?

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