In August 2022, the Pi Beta Phi fraternity for women at the University of Mississippi completed a $9 million expansion of the fraternity’s house in Oxford, MS – just in time for the new school year. PENETRON ADMIX, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, was specified to waterproof and protect the basement retaining walls.
Popularly known as “Ole Miss,” the University of Mississippi was originally chartered in 1844 and is the state's oldest public university. The main campus in Oxford is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most beautiful and is home to almost 20,000 students.
Pi Beta Phi is an international women's fraternity, originally founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, in 1867. The Ole Miss chapter of the Pi Beta Phi fraternity for women began in 1962 and maintains Pi Beta Phi’s legacy of philanthropic service, innovative member programming and events, and leadership development programs for the sisters.
The Mississippi Pi Beta Phi house is located at 642 Rebel Drive, immediately north of the Ole Miss campus in Oxford. The fraternity’s newly completed expansion of the fraternity house encompassed the replacement of the dining and chapter rooms with new and more spacious rooms, the addition of a completely new dorm wing, as well as exterior renovations to the house.
Switch in Specs Delivers Benefits
“During the planning phase of the project, the Penetron team met with the project architects at Mills and Mills to discuss the advantages of switching from concrete block basement walls to PENETRON ADMIX SB-treated cast-in-place, reinforced concrete retaining walls for the below-grade structures of the house,” says Christopher Chen, Director of the Penetron Group. “We presented our technology over lunch, specifically, the performance of PENETRON ADMIX SB – and they were convinced!”
After the meeting with Penetron, Mills and Mills specified PENETRON ADMIX SB in the building plans to guarantee waterproof and durable below-grade concrete structures for the expansion – and ditched the concrete block design.
B & B Concrete supplied the PENETRON ADMIX SB-treated concrete mix for the below-grade retaining walls in the basement. Delivered in Penetron’s innovative, pre-measured soluble bag packaging, the use of PENETRON ADMIX SB simplifies dosing and helps keep the batching process on track. Easily mixed in thanks to the soluble bag packaging, PENETRON ADMIX SB becomes an integral part of the concrete matrix and performs consistently during the life of the concrete. Virtually no maintenance or treatment is required due to the continuous self-healing abilities of PENETRON ADMIX SB-treated concrete.
“With an impermeable concrete basement in place, the new Pi Beta Phi chapter house will be a home to many generations of Ole Miss students to come,” says Christopher Chen.
Protected by Penetron: This artist rendering of the expanded Pi Beta Phi Fraternity House at Ole Miss show off the new dining and chapter rooms, a new dorm wing, and exterior renovations to the house.
