Repair & Maintenance

Our clients repeatedly tell us that one of the reasons that they like using UCI is the fact that when we inspect a structure and find damage or defects, that we have the capability to remedy the problem. Many other diving companies, especially those engineering companies specializing in inspection, are not capable of performing repair and maintenance. This means that you may have to hire one company to do your inspection work and another company to perform the repair work. UCI generally has the capability to perform many of these repair or maintenance items while we are on site to inspect the facilities. This can result in a substantial cost savings for the Owner.


UCI tenders ready sand bags used to slow a leak through a faulty valve so that a bulkhead could be placed at the downstream end of a dam outlet conduit. Once the bulkhead was in place, the leak was stopped and we were able to repair the valve.	After the sandbags in the previous picture were placed, the outlet conduit was semi-dry, allowing our workers to enter through a manhole to install the bulkhead. The outlet conduit was a confined space, so workers wore fall protection and a rescue & retrieval tripod was set up.	Our divers are shown here installing the bulkhead (which we designed and fabricated) in a junction box at the downstream end of this dam outlet conduit. After installation, the bulkhead resisted a total force of approximately 21,000 lbs.	After repairing the leaking underwater valve mentioned previously, UCI designed, built, and then installed this new aluminum trash rack at the dam's underwater intake structure.


This photo shows a sluice gate stem in a dam intake control tower which exhibits heavy corrosion and loss of section both above and below water. The stem was in danger of breaking which would have rendered the gate inoperable. UCI was contracted to repair the stem since the gate manufacturer was no longer in business.	This is the same sluice gate stem as shown in the previous picture. UCI fabricated and installed this repair clamp. The clamp was first bolted to the stem and then welded in place both above and below water.	After first performing extensive underwater work to dewater a dam intake control tower, UCI designed parts and instituted repairs to this fabricated stainless steel sluice gate since the manufacturer was out of business.	This sluice gate is inside the same dam intake control tower as shown in the previous picture. UCI fabricated parts and repaired both gates, saving the owner from having to buy and install new sluice gates. These gates are normally submerged under 50' of water.	In this picture, our diver works on repairing a leak in a natural gas pipeline. The pipeline, although buried, was originally on land until beavers dammed a nearby stream, creating this pond that the diver is working in.