State Fair Calls Diversified Contracting For Sidewalk Cleaning

Cheese curds. Ketchup. Petrified French Fries. Those are just some of the stains Diversified Contracting soda blasted away on more than 12,000 square feet of concrete sidewalks on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds this summer.

Diversified Contracting used a process called media blasting to not only get rid of the stains, but remove the existing coating and sealer on the selected sidewalks. The State Fair is testing a new concrete sealer, and called in Diversified Contracting to help prepare the way.

Diversified Contracting used two types of ‘media’ for the blasting project: Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) and glass beads. Those, according to Diversified Contracting experts, were the best ways to minimize surface damage to the concrete and remove the concrete sealer. Some companies will use sand blasting or high pressure washing to get the job done, but sometimes that can further damage the concrete surface.

Armed with experience and knowledge, Diversified Contracting found that those two materials — Sodium Bicarbonate and glass beads — performed best in this case given the existing concrete conditions.

Diversified Contracting has more than 10 years experience in performing media blasting on projects as an alternative to sand blasting. Our equipment gives us the ability to use a wide variety of blast media depending on the conditions of the concrete. Diversified Contracting also provides the added value of adjusting air pressure to get the desired results.

What’s next? We’re hoping the Fair will have us clean all the concrete surfaces on the grounds, which — as you might imagine — will get a huge workout during the fair!