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Module 04 · Track 2 — Applications

Soil Stabilization &
Excavation Assist

The single-component playbook: choosing between AP Soil 600, AP Fill 700, and AP Fill 720; the install parameters that make columns instead of fence posts; excavation assist that replaces sheet piles; and curtain wall grouting from the ground to the basement wall.

8 LessonsSingle-ComponentPermeation GroutingFull Course
⚑

After this module, you'll be able to match the right single-component resin to the soil and the problem, set spacing/catalyst/pace so the material permeates instead of channeling, sell and execute excavation assist against traditional shoring, and run a curtain wall job from layout to artesian shutoff.

Key Takeaways

AP Soil 600 = pure permeation. Sand and loose soil, excavation assist — it soaks in but barely foams. Never exceed 2% catalyst.
AP Fill 700 = permeation + foam. Voids plus stabilization, and the primary curtain wall product. Catalyst 3–10%, never more.
AP Fill 720 = the thickest. Seals active leaks and riddled void profiles, cuts off water — but it does not permeate.
Single-component can't permeate clay. Clay is two-component or jet-grouting territory — say so on the estimate.
Pace is everything. Pump too fast and the resin channels up the rod — a "fence post" instead of a column, with powder at depth.
Curtain walls inject SLOW: about a half gallon per 30 seconds, tight 18–24″ centers, tracking travel hole to hole.
Lesson 1

The Applications — And Why Single-Component

Four jobs make up most soil stabilization work: embankment stabilization, erosion remediation, sinkhole stabilization, and strengthening deep weak soil strata. Behind most of them is the same villain — the infrastructure erosion cycle: a leaking storm or sewer pipe below the water table slowly carries soil away, voids grow, and the road or slab above eventually fails.

Excavation assist is the growth application — chemical grouting as a replacement for sheet piles and trench boxes where traditional shoring physically can't go. What used to be a novelty is now a monthly occurrence.

Why this course leans single-component: for permeation work, the line is deep — three distinct viscosity grades (600 / 700 / 720) instead of the one or two grades typical elsewhere in the market. More grades means a closer match between the resin and the soil in front of you — which is exactly what makes correct product selection a skill your customers will pay for.

Lesson 2

Product Selection — 600 vs 700 vs 720

  • AP Soil 600 — extra-low viscosity (38 cP per TDS), the pure permeation grout: sand, loose soil, excavation assist. It encapsulates and binds; it does not foam significantly.
  • AP Fill 700 — permeation plus expansion: stabilization where voids are present, void filling, and the go-to for curtain wall grouting.
  • AP Fill 720 — the thickest of the three (also sold as Spetec PUR HighFoamer): sealing active leaks, filling riddled void profiles, cutting off underground water flows. It does not permeate.
Clay is not single-component territory. These resins permeate through granular soils — clay's fines are too tight. Stabilizing clay means two-component displacement (Deep Lock) or jet grouting. Diagnose the soil before you quote the product.
The $25,000 lesson: AP Soil 600 used in a seawall application found its way into the canal — and the cleanup bill found the contractor. The product matrix isn't a suggestion; wrong product, long day.
Single component product selection matrix
The selection matrix. Permeation: 600 + 700. Voids and water cutoff: 700 + 720. Mines/tunnels/pre-post injection: 720.
Lesson 3

Install Parameters — Columns, Not Fence Posts

  1. Determine depth first. Depth drives quantities, and quantities drive the quote.
  2. Spacing: 18-inch centers for AP Soil 600 permeation work; AP Fill 700 can stretch toward 3–4 ft where its expansion carries.
  3. Catalyst ceilings are hard: AP Soil 600 — never over 2%. AP Fill 700 — work the 3–10% range and never exceed 10%. (Set-time tables live on the TDS; verify for your temperature.)
  4. Respect the wait times between injections. The resin needs time to permeate and kick. Rush it and you lose control of where the next shot goes.
The fence-post failure: pump too fast while extracting the rod and the resin takes the path of least resistance — straight up the rod bore. You get a skinny "fence post" with powder-weak material at depth instead of a fat, permeated column. Slow is what spreads laterally.

Equipment: the PolyShark (and the Titan 440 before it) is the single-component workhorse — see the PolyShark Masterclass. For big tote-on-tote jobs, step up to the proportioner; the most anyone's pushed through a single rig in a day is about 600 gallons.

Traditional sheet pile shoring
The alternative you're replacing. Sheet piles and trench boxes — when they can't physically reach the dig, chemical grout can.
Ocala excavation case study slide
The Ocala pit. Elevator shaft inside an existing building — AP Soil 600 columns formed the perimeter wall that let them dig safely.
Lesson 4

Excavation Assist — The Ocala Pit

The landmark job: a two-story Florida building needed an elevator for ADA compliance. The shaft pit had to be dug inside the building — sandy soils, and no way to bring sheet piling through a set of double doors. The answer was Alchatek's first excavation pit: AP Soil 600 columns grouted around the dig perimeter to solidify the soil into its own shoring.

AP Soil 600product
1 galper vertical foot
18″centers
6 daysto complete
"This was textbook. Everything about it was perfect — we had the spacing good, and it came out absolute."— Colt, Alchatek Technical Training

When they excavated, the columns stood as a visible, continuous perimeter wall. The counter-example from another crew: pumped too fast, and the "columns" channeled upward — fence posts with nothing at depth. Same product, same soil; pace made the difference.

Lesson 5

Infrastructure Case Studies

Lesson 6

Competing Against Jet Grouting

Jet grouting is the heavyweight alternative: $3–4 million machines mixing portland cement slurry into the soil at 8,000–10,000 PSI, producing soil-cement columns. The slurry is cheap — the operation isn't; figure on the order of a thousand dollars an hour once the equipment mobilizes.

Lesson 7

Curtain Wall Grouting

Three flavors of curtain: ground curtain walls (a grouted barrier in the soil), wall curtain walls (behind basements and bridge structures), and floor curtain walls (against hydrostatic pressure from below). The product is AP Fill 700 first, or 720 when sealing power matters more than travel.

"I try not to exceed about a half gallon in thirty seconds — and I usually let it sit and flow so that I can track where it's going."— Alchatek Technical Training (curtain wall segment)
  • Inject slow and track travel — watch for material reaching adjacent holes; that's your confirmation the curtain is connecting.
  • From the backside of a wall, don't hammer down full pressure — a Titan 440 turned down to ~1,200 PSI is a curtain-wall pace.
  • CMU (cinderblock) walls are a nightmare — the cores swallow material. Approach from the exterior whenever the site allows.
  • Alchatek's products are PFAS-free — tested and confirmed; increasingly a spec question on water-adjacent work.
Curtain wall products slide
Curtain wall products. AP Fill 700 primary; AP Fill 720 (Spetec PUR HighFoamer) when sealing wins.
Lesson 8

Curtain Wall Specifications

3–10%AP Fill 700 catalyst (never >10%)
1 galper vertical ft (in ground)
1 galper 6 sq ft (on walls)
18–24″centers — tighter than stabilization

Vocabulary

Permeation Grouting
Low-viscosity resin soaking through granular soil and binding it — AP Soil 600's specialty.
Excavation Assist
Grouted soil columns acting as shoring where sheet piles and trench boxes can't go.
Curtain Wall
A grouted barrier — in soil, behind a wall, or under a floor — cutting off water movement.
AP Soil 600
Extra-low viscosity (38 cP) pure permeation grout. Catalyst ceiling: 2%.
AP Fill 700
Permeation + expansion. Catalyst 3–10%. The primary curtain wall resin.
AP Fill 720
Thickest single component (= Spetec PUR HighFoamer). Seals leaks and voids; does not permeate.
Fence Post
The failure column from pumping too fast — resin channels up the rod, leaving powder at depth.
Infrastructure Erosion Cycle
Leaking pipes below the water table carrying soil away until the surface fails.
Jet Grouting
$3–4M rigs mixing cement slurry at 8–10K PSI — wins past ~100 ft; loses on cost and access above ~13 ft.
Artesian Inflow
Groundwater rising under its own pressure — the curtain-wall and 720 scenario.
CMU Wall
Cinderblock — hollow cores swallow grout; curtain from the exterior when possible.
PFAS-Free
Alchatek resins are tested free of PFAS compounds — relevant on water-contact specs.

Knowledge Check

Score at least 4 of 5 to unlock module completion.

Q1. Pure permeation grouting in sandy soil — which product and what catalyst limit?
AP Soil 600, never exceeding 2% catalyst
AP Fill 720 at 10% catalyst
AP Lift 430 with Gen Cat
Q2. What is AP Fill 720's role in the lineup?
The deepest-permeating resin for fine sands
A structural lifting foam for slabs
The thickest product — seals active leaks and riddled voids, cuts off water, but does not permeate
Q3. An excavated "column" looks like a skinny fence post with weak, powdery material at depth. What happened?
The catalyst percentage was too low
It was pumped too fast — the resin channeled up the rod's path of least resistance instead of permeating laterally
The soil was too sandy for grouting
Q4. What's the injection discipline on curtain wall work?
Slow — about a half gallon per 30 seconds — letting it flow and tracking travel to adjacent holes on 18–24″ centers
Full pressure, maximum speed, 4-foot centers
One large injection at the center of the wall
Q5. The site investigation shows the problem soil is clay. What do you tell the customer?
AP Soil 600 at higher catalyst will permeate it
Double the injection points and use AP Fill 700
Single-component resins can't permeate clay — this is two-component (Deep Lock) or jet-grouting territory
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