The Stuart McElrath Company, together with Southwest Steel Casting Company, has designed an installed new Arc Furnace ladle pits over the July 4th 2002 shutdown.
 

Arc Furnace Arc furnace tilting to allow molten metal  to flow into a pouring ladle.

As seen in the picture above, the pit is designed to allow a ladle to be lowered into it so that the arc furnace can tilt forward and discharge the molten steel. After years of molten steel splatter the side walls and floor had become eroded allowing water seepage and in some areas exposing the rebar. It was decided that both furnace pits would be replace during the July 4th plant shut down. To begin the replacement, the existing ladle portion of the pit was removed, leaving in place the segment that the furnace sits on. A 2 foot gravel sub-base was added for water drainage along with a sump pump well. To further protect the pit from water seepage, the exterior pit walls were coated with both a chemical and fiber sealant. An additional layer of fiber board were placed over the sealants (for protection during the backfilling) before the pit was backfilled.