Bob Higgins has expertise in moisture-related concrete issues, having been involved with waterproofing, technical committees, professional groups, lecturing, teaching; and construction defect litigation.  

Bob Higgins is equally involved in product and process development, having developed most of the products manufactured and marketed by his former company SINAK Corporation, as well as owning or co-owning patents for moisture testing.

Construction Defect – expert opinion and testimony

Inspection – 

Before Installation:  How to properly test, analyze and determine what, if any steps are needed prior to floor installation.

When Problems Arise: Determine what went wrong, why and how to test and analyze correctly and accurately; determining root-cause.

Teaching/Lecturing – available for in-house training for those involved with inspection of concrete, moisture testing of concrete prior to installation of moisture sensitive products. 

Specifications – Assisting in Architects/Engineers/Designers to develop sound concrete specifications for the ever-changing environmental restrictions and product changes.

Professionally
Bob has been involved with waterproofing since 1976 and has acted as an expert in construction litigation since 1985.  Bob was Vice President and Chemist/Product Development for SINAK Corporation for nearly 30 years (1979-2009).  
Bob has written articles in local and national publications, lectured in regional and national conventions.

Bob has contributed to, used as an expert resource or written over 100 papers involving moisture-related concrete issues including deterioration mechanisms, testing protocols, diagnosis, inspection and repair. 

Lectures, Seminars given Internationally, Nationally and Regionally 

ICRI (International Concrete Repair Institute)

WLI (Water Loss Institute)

IICRC ( Institute of Inspection , Cleaning and Restoration Certification)

IFMA (International Facilities Managers Association)

DuPont Flooring Systems

CREIA ( California Real Estate Inspectors Association)

Stone Expo/Marble Institute of America 

CSI (Construction Specifications Institute-regionally and nationally) 

Mott McDonald 

SSPC (Society for Protective Coatings)

ACIA (The American Construction Inspectors Association)

AIA (American Institute of Architects)

British Rail

ACI (American Concrete Institute)

BIS (Building Industry Show)

The London Underground

WFCA (World Floor Covering Association)

SWRI (Sealant, Waterproofing & Restoration Institute)

CEFPI (The Council of Educational Facility Planners International)

CSBC (Customer Service Builder Council)

National Park Service – U.S. Dept of the Interior 

FSU (Florida State University)

CFI (Certified Flooring Installers)

ATF (Academy of Textiles & Flooring)

FEI Group (Floor Expo Inc.)

XL Brands (hosting for various carpet and resilient manufacturers)

Schools, Certification and Industry Continuing Education

Moisture Related Flooring Failures on Concrete Foundations, Academy of Textiles & Flooring, Teacher/Instructor, WFCA Education Center, August 3, 1994 – 1997. 

Certification of Completion: Moisture Related Flooring Failures on Concrete Foundations, Academy of Textiles & Flooring, July 17, 1996. 

Certificate of Completion – Solving Moisture-Related Problems with on-grade concrete – World of Concrete, January 24, 1997. 

Committees 

 CSI – Represented San Diego as a Delegate for the national convention, wrote a follow-up article review on the keynote speaker, June 1985.

SSPC – Review, correction and commentary for SSPC Inspection Handbook (Section 4.3, Inspection of Surface Preparation of Concrete, and the Appendix, Concrete Surfaces) 1996

SSPC C.1.6.B – Task Group on Coatings for Concrete Floors, 1997-98.

ICRI – Moisture-Related Issues with Concrete Floor Finishes Subcommittee Chair: from 2005-2009.

WFCA (World Floor Covering Association) Chair (Technical committee), Authored Industry Position on Moisture-related Flooring Issues “White Paper”, endorsed by virtually every industry organization, October 25, 2001.

ASTM, E Committee, one of three primary authors for ASTM E1907 Test standard, later merged with F1869, 1997-2001.

IICRC, Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration Contractors, Past Chair Concrete Substrates and Subfloors, (drafted initial test protocol), 1998-2000. 

Articles 

• Construction Specifier Magazine, Concrete Carbonation: It’s Prevention and Cure, December 1985.
• Roads & Bridges Magazine (2 articles), “Hydraulic ‘footprints,’ vapor pressure may degrade concrete friction surface”, Bob Higgins and Walter Lum, March 1986 
• Construction Specifier Magazine, Repairing and Restoring Steel Reinforced Concrete, December 1986.
• ACI Materials Journal, Discussion on Committee Guidelines for ACI 330, July-August 1988.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Some Concrete Basics, September 1989.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Some Concrete Corrosion Basics, March 1990.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Commentary on prior article, Review of Concrete Sealers for Large Horizontal Concrete Surfaces, March 1990. 
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Taking a Closer Look at Warranties, September-October 1992.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Who Tests the Testers?, May/June 1993. 
• Parking Magazine, Taking a Closer Look at Warranties (reprint by permission) July/August 1993.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Aesthetics: What’s in a Name?, July/August 1995.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, More Confidence in Moisture Measuring Method, May-June 1996. (This was the precursor to the E1907 and F1869 protocol(s). 
• Flooring, Moisture: It’s a Concrete, Not Flooring Problem, Christopher Capobianco (credited as primary information source), March 1997.
• Western Floors Magazine, Clarification on Moisture-Related Concerns, Ray Thompson Jr. (credited as primary information source) July 1997.
• Flooring, New Studies Indicate Many Concrete Problems Linked To pH, Christopher Capobianco (credited as primary information source) August 1997.
• Western Floors Magazine, Industry Perspectives (Nov 1997 issue) Discussion, January 1998.
• Concrete Construction Magazine, Vapor retarders can’t stop moisture problems (Reader Response Section), April 1999.
• Concrete Construction Magazine, Controlled testing eliminates dew-point effects (reader response), Bob Higgins, July 1999.
• Concrete Repair Bulletin, Understanding Floor Covering Failure Mechanisms, Shondeep Sarkar (cited as reference source), March/April 1999.
• Construction Specifier Magazine, Moisture-Related Flooring Failures: Dispelling the Myths (ran concurrently online – throughout 2001),  March 2000.
• Concrete Construction, Observation on adhesive-moisture absorption (reader response), November 2000.
• Construction Specifier Magazine, Dewpoint and Condensation – The two most commonly misdiagnosed floor moisture failures”, December 2002.
• Referenced resource for: Overview of Industry Guidance on concrete condition assessment and concrete repair for use prior to coating – Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center – Special Publication SP-2085-SHR. 
• Referenced technical resource for ITW Resin Technologies Technical Bulletin #311 – “Water, Water Everywhere – The problem with moisture in concrete. 
• University Study – Characterization of silicate sealers on concrete -J. LaRosa Thompsona, M. R. Silsbeeb, P. M. Gilla and B. E. Scheetzb a.The PQ Corporation, Valley Forge, PA 19428 , USA, b Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802 , USA (referenced Waterproofing Reference and Guide, authored by me).

Legal

Since 1985, I’ve been involved with many legal cases, all throughout the United States. In many cases, my involvement either greatly reduced or eliminated the damages to my client(s) both from a financial and reputation standpoint.