FAQs
Here are my answers to some of the questions I anticipated you might ask.
Feel free to call me to get your own questions answered if they’re not covered here.
— Hal Klaus
(618) 973-4048
1. Why did you decide to use compressed air?
2. How does the DRY2K process work?
3. What kind of drainage pipe can I use?
4. What about the cove area?
5. What can you tell me about the machine used to dig the tunnel
for the drainage pipe?
6. What happens when the drum is full?
7. Can the nozzle be used for other purposes?
8. Is there a downside to using this system?
9. Will the DRY2K system reduce work injuries?
10. What about leaking floor cracks?
11. If I become a licensee, do I have to change the name of
my company or use the DRY2K logo?
12. Do I have to completely change the way I waterproof now?
13. How many DRY2K licenses will you have in my territory?
14. I’m interested, but what’s it going to cost me?
15. Assuming I want to pursue this, what’s the next step?
1. Why did you decide to use compressed air?
Finding the right combination of equipment, and adapting the technology to fit my system, took a bit of research. I began by looking at many different methods of digging and moving dirt, including augers, high-pressure water, and compressed air. I attended the International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition, held in Louisville Kentucky, where I saw the latest methods used to dig through soil, including Horizontal Directional Drilling machines, boring machines, and air-driven pipe rammers. I decided to rule out augers and other mechanical means to dig and remove the dirt, mostly for safety reasons. If you’ve ever tried using a right-angle drill with an auger to dig under a furnace or other obstacle, you know what an auger can do to your wrists and hands. And, you never know what’s buried under the floor. We would occasionally find electric lines and fuel oil lines under the floor. Obviously, hitting these with a mechanical auger could be extremely dangerous.
Next, I looked at high-pressure water, or hydro-excavation. I seriously considered this technology, and visited the Pumper and Cleaner Environmental Expo in Louisville Kentucky researching the various suppliers and equipment currently being used in the sewer cleaning industry, such as water-jetters and high-velocity nozzles. I visited a hydro-excavation demonstration in Tupelo Mississippi and saw how easily water, under pressure, could dig through several feet of soil, exposing buried utilities. I also watched as the water-soaked soil had to be vacuumed up and hauled away because it was too wet to reuse as fill. I soon realized that, not only would using water be a muddy mess, but the high-pressure machine would require a thorough winterizing at the end of every workday during the cold winter months, something I knew I couldn’t count on getting done correctly.
So, I turned to compressed air. Most legitimate waterproofing contractors already have an air compressor, so I figured the investment for the other equipment would be minimal. I found that many utility locating companies had been converting from high-pressure water hydro-excavation, to compressed air and vacuum excavation, for utility locating, known as “potholing”. Without introducing water, the job-site was much cleaner and the excavated soil could be reused on-site. Furthermore, compressed air, flowing at Mach 2 out the end of a nozzle, could pulverize the soil without disturbing utility lines, even electrical lines. And, compressed air could be used year round and could be easily supplied inside a basement using a 1” hose.
Last summer, I visited with the engineer responsible for inventing the “Air-Spade” series of pneumatic excavating equipment for GuardAir Corporation. You can check out their product line at www.air-spade.com. You may realize that their products could easily be utilized for other foundation repair work, such as installing wall anchors or digging out next to a foundation. I quickly saw the benefits and applications of using compressed air, and the Air-Spade nozzle, to accomplish the excavation portion on my minimally invasive waterproofing system.
Since then, I have accumulated the equipment and have developed a system, again using only compressed air, to power a vacuum system capable of removing the excavated soil. So, the entire excavating system is powered by compressed air form a 185 CFM compressor. No electricity is needed.
2. How does the DRY2K process work?
Basically, instead of breaking out anywhere from 8” to 14” wide (depending on what system you are currently using) around the perimeter of the floor, you break out an access hole approximately 8” wide and 3’ long. Using my Horizontal Excavation Machine (HEM), you dig forward horizontally under the floor for 4 to 6 feet (depending on the soil conditions). Now, move 8 or 12 feet down the wall, and break out another access hole. This time you dig back towards the first hole, aligning and intersecting with the first excavation. Then, from the same access hole, turn the HEM around and dig forward again. Repeat this until you’ve finished the area you’re waterproofing. So, you’re eliminating about 70 to 80% of the concrete breaking, removal, disposal, and replacement. The process saves considerable labor and reduces concrete replacement by about 75%. Pretty simple, pretty quick, and pretty easy.
3. What kind of drainage pipe can I use?
Almost any pipe can then be inserted through the excavated area, as long as you can flex the pipe enough to make the bend. Usually, just partially saw cutting a solid pipe every 30” will allow for this bend. Even an inexpensive corrugated perforated drainage pipe with a sock, like the kind you find at Home Depot or Lowes, will work just fine. You can use whatever pipe you want.
4. What about the cove area?
5. What can you tell me about the machine used to dig the tunnel for the drainage pipe?
I call it the Horizontal Excavation Machine, or HEM. It’s used to create the trench under the floor. A rotating proprietary Air-Spade nozzle, on the end of a 24” long extension connected to the HEM, is used to pulverize the soil directly beneath the floor. A two-way valve on the end of this extension can be reversed to blow the excavated soil back into the access hole, where a vacuum system collects the soil and deposits it into a 30 or 55 gallon drum. You can easily attach additional extensions between the HEM and the nozzle to extend the length of the machine and the length of the dig.
6. What happens when the drum is full?
When the drum is full, you can either dump the contents into buckets, or you can wheel it over to a window, remove the lid, and using a 3” vac hose, vacuum the contents of the drum through the window and outside into whatever container you want to use to carry the dirt onto your truck, or dispose of the dirt in low spots on-site. Remember, this is clean fill dirt, not mixed with broken concrete, so, in most cases, you won’t need to haul it off-site and dump it.
7. Can the nozzle be used for other purposes?
Absolutely, the system can also be used to dig the sump pit, and vacuum up the dirt, saving time and labor again. Air-Spade makes a handle and 4’ extension designed for potholing which could be used for digging the pit. It could also be utilized for exterior excavation work when installing wall anchors or straightening a foundation wall.
8. Is there a downside to using this system?
The primary downside is that air will not pulverize a solid object such as a rock formation. So, if you have rock formations under the floor in your area, then, depending on the frequency, you may need to break open the floor and use conventional methods to complete the job. The system can handle gravel placed under the floor, as long as it can pass through a 1.75” opening.
The only other downside I’m aware of is that you will need to tow a compressor to the job-site and supply the fuel to operate the compressor. However, since you can dispose of the excavated soil on-site, and since you will be removing about 70% less concrete, you may get by with a smaller truck. Or, you could mount your compressor to the truck bed.
9. Will the DRY2K system reduce work injuries?
Using the vacuum system, all the excavated soil gets deposited into a 30 or 55 gallon drum and is then vacuumed outside. You’ve just eliminated the number one cause of workcomp related injuries in the waterproofing industry - the twisting and turning involved to pick up a bucket of dirt or concrete and put it through a basement window.
10. What about leaking floor cracks?
As long as you have room to break out an access hole, you can tunnel under leaking floor cracks, eliminating a majority of the concrete removal and replacement. There’s no need to move appliances, cabinets or other items located between the access holes.
11. If I become a licensee, do I have to change the name of my company or
use the DRY2K logo?
Absolutely not. While I think the DRY2K trademark may be beneficial to you at some point, you are not required to use the name in any of your advertising. In fact, you’re free to call the system anything you wish within your designated licensed territory . This is not a franchise opportunity and I will not dictate to you how to advertise or how much to spend to promote the DRY2K name. That is totally your decision.
12. Do I have to completely change the way I waterproof now?
No, not at all. You can offer minimally invasive basement waterproofing as an option, or upgrade, if you like. It's up to you. You can easily phase this into your existing operations without a lot of disruption.
13. How many DRY2K licenses will you have in my territory?
That depends on the population of your territory. My current plan is to have one license for every one-million, or fraction of one-million, in population within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Each individual license agreement will reflect the then-current terms and conditions. As an illustration, if your MSA had a total population of 2.5 million people, I would have three licenses for that market. Assuming they’re available, you could sign up for one or two, or sign up for all three and have exclusivity. As another example, if your MSA contained 850,000 people, then only one license would be needed for exclusivity.
14. I’m interested, but what’s it going to cost me?
While I’m not going into detail here about the investment, let me say this, it’s easily affordable and can be recouped from the savings you’ll realize on every job completed by your crew. There are really three investments you’ll need to make.
1) The monthly license fee. Assuming you don’t change your pricing, you’ll easily have this paid in installation savings sometime during the second job each month.
2) The monthly volume fee. Rather than require you to open your books to me and pay me a monthly fee based on dollar volume, I’ve chosen to base your volume fee on the number of Horizontal Excavation Machines (HEMs) in your possession each month, and the first one is free. Currently, each additional HEM volume fee is a minimal fee.
3) The purchase price of a system. Volume will dictate the cost to manufacture and assemble the parts necessary for this system to work. You’ll need a 185 CFM air compressor, an HEM, a vacuum system and the Air-Spade equipment, along with all the hoses, connections and other parts. If you already have a compressor, then the rest of the system should still be fully paid for with installation savings from one crew sometime early the second month of your license. From then on, all the savings go into your pocket.
So, assuming you keep one crew busy, you should have one entire system paid for and begin generating additional profits sometime during the second month of your license from jobs completed by that one crew. And that’s also assuming your business doesn’t increase by being a DRY2K licensee, which it almost assuredly will increase if you begin including state-of-the-art minimally invasive basement waterproofing language in your advertising.
Now, you need to ask yourself two questions. 1) What’s it going to cost you if you don’t become a licensee, but a competitor does? 2) How would you position your company to compete against DRY2K?
15. Assuming I want to pursue this, what’s the next step?
The next step begins with you. You’ll need to either call or e-mail to let me know you’re interested. Obviously, I only have a limited number of licenses for your territory, so the sooner you contact me the better your chances of obtaining one or more licenses and assuring exclusivity. During the initial contact, we’ll need to determine where you are in your decision-making process. If you think you want to see the system in action, we can arrange to visit your area and demonstrate the system either at a job-site or at your office. If you’re ready to lock in your territory right away, that can be arranged too. It’s totally your call. You decide.