East Center Parking Garage

When the owner of the Oklahoma City East Center Parking Garage wanted to expand a five-story pre-cast concrete parking garage one which had never been intended to be expanded the engineer went with a steel design to add three more levels to the garage. However, when it came time to make a decision whether to use a coating or hot-dip galvanization (HDG), the engineer recommended the latter. Despite the added cost, close to $90,000, the owner/developer went with the engineers recommendation.

In an environment where cutting costs and value engineering is the standard, the owner still agreed. Why? Colby Sandberg with ZFI Engineering, the engineer on the project, says the developer owns quite a bit of major real estate on the Oklahoma City area. Throughout time, he has tried to cut corners before and we have been through the process before, Sandberg points out. Life cycle cost is going to come into play. He [the owner/developer] came back and said, Give me a good solution. He quickly realized fix it right, fix it once is the right approach. He bit the bullet and did it right. These type of owners are few and far betweennot every owner is willing to add more money, and it can be an especially hard sell if youre not seeing what your money buys. When youre looking for corrosion protection hot-dip galvanizing is the way to go.

Coatings fail, Sandburg says, but galvanizing provides a more durable finish. We galvanized between the metal deck and the steel beamswhere those two touch that interface is an area you cant get rid of water, he says. You just need to protect against it.

Ultimately, a high-performance coating will fail at some point, Sandburg says, adding that it will fail long before galvanizing ever would. The owner wanted a low-maintenance application so he was willing to spend more money upfront so he doesnt have to spend money, time and resources later on. That was primarily his reason for galvanizing, he says. Coatings will flake off if you nick two pieces of steel together. With hot-dip galvanizing, its a much more durable and protective coating for the steel. It also has great durability and longevity.

Also, significant to note in this project is the speed at which the galvanization was able to take place, Sandburg says. Sandburg says he was impressed that 40- to 60-foot tall columns were able to be galvanized in one dip.

We are talking about 60 foot long tanks, Sandburg says. To me that was impressive that the size of those members we could resolve the galvanizing issue. In the past when I have galvanized steel, I have contained my galvanization to sections about 20- to 30- foot long. Beyond that, you get into problematic territory because it becomes cost prohibitive. This problem seems to have been resolved. The fact you could actually coat it well with the one dip was impressive.

Having an engineer who reveres HDG so highly and an owner on board with it, even when it is not the lowest-cost option, speaks well for the galvanizing industry and goes a long way to help further promote it.