In Part 1 of this post, we made the case that sidewalk vaults must be maintained to keep them structurally sound and watertight. But vaults aren’t just vacant space below grade; they often carry mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components as well.

Structural considerations are obvious for sidewalk vault restoration, but MEP components can be the biggest challenge. We employ innovative tools and methods to accommodate them.

We’ve found that LIDAR (Laser Imaging, Detection, and Ranging) is an effective tool to form a 3D “map” of sidewalk vault spaces, including their mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components.

LIDAR supplements more traditional tools (conventional measurements, probes, etc.) to document vaults’ structural dimensions and MEP elements that may need to be relocated for restoration to proceed. This allows us to design restoration solutions that minimally interfere with existing MEP components.

You might call this work a proactive campaign of underground resistance—with lasers.