The Ants and the Grasshopper is our favorite Aesop’s Fable. The industrious ants are drying their grain during harvest season when they are approached by a begging grasshopper. The grasshopper explains that he has no food because he spent the growing season making music. Disgusted, the ants tell him to go away.
You probably didn’t need that little parable about the importance of hard work and preparation. That’s because you are an ant, who spent the summer growing all kinds of fine things before storing them safely away in your silo.
Unfortunately, even the most industrious ant may find themself unprepared for the worst kinds of weather that winter can throw their way. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Emergency silo repairs are often unavoidable, but easy to overcome when you have a qualified grain roofing and insulation contractor at your beck and call. Everyone on the NIJAC team is an ant, too!
Roof Collapse
Snow and ice place enormous strain on a silo’s roof, and they create even greater stress when they aren’t symmetrically distributed. If your silo’s roof is crushed beneath the weight of snow or caved in by an abnormally strong gust of wind, it may be because the roof was old, the underlying beam structure was inadequate to bear the pressure, or the weather was just abnormally hostile.
In any event, a silo roof restoration contractor can quickly reverse a roof collapse while preventing (or at the very least minimizing) damage to the silage. The NIJAC team specializes in emergency roofing repairs because we understand that time is always of the essence.
Spalling & Cracking
Any concrete surface is destined to spall or crack when it is constantly exposed to the elements, but those types of deterioration are only accelerated when water seeps into fissures, freezes, and expands. A spalling and cracking concrete surface isn’t just ugly. It is also significantly weaker, and at greater risk of collapse until it is repaired.
Post-tensioning is the surest and most cost-effective solution for a spalling or cracking concrete silo. The process involves installing steel bands around the silo’s exterior to create additional reinforcement while restoring the structure’s original load capacity.
Coating Deterioration
Certain types of silo coatings can become damaged by extreme temperatures. For example, acrylic coatings may produce a powdery substance while it breaks down in cold temperatures. Epoxy-based coatings are also prone to cracking and splitting when they are exposed to bitter cold. When such coatings break down, they may no longer create the airtight and watertight membrane that is necessary to protect silage from the elements.
If frigid weather has rendered your silo’s coating ineffective, then repair may be possible – but sometimes outright replacement is the only effective remedy. In either event, NIJAC’s own flexible and durable elastomeric coatings will quickly eliminate cracks and other types of damage before they allow moisture to spoil stored grain.
Whether you seek maintenance that will prevent problems during the upcoming winter or emergency silo repairs right now, you can always depend on NIJAC. We’re proudly headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, but we serve our clients nationwide. If you would like to learn more about how we can create outstanding value by maintaining your grain silo and surrounding property, then we welcome you to contact us today!