Engineer recommends removing gym slab, using structural foam to stabilize Carrie Matthews Recreation Center floor

A consultant told Decatur City Council that the gymnasium floor at the Carrie Matthews Recreation Center has settled and recommended removing the settled slab, stabilizing the subgrade and rebuilding the floor over structural foam to prevent future settlement.

The consultant, identified in the meeting only as a structural consultant, said the center — built in 1968 — shows varying voids beneath the slab, including a 3.25-inch void at one core location and a six-inch void at another. “The final conclusion, our conclusion, is that the gymnasium floor, the half of it that has not been removed, half has been removed, needs to be removed and smooth down some soil, cut down, and then replaced with what's called a structural Styrofoam,” the consultant said.

The recommendation calls for excavating the settled portion of the slab, smoothing and recompacting soils and installing two layers of…