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Sika gives car park new lease of life

9 Aug 12 A range of concrete repair, corrosion management and waterproof car park decking products from Sika has helped transform Chelmsford’s 1960s High Chelmer multi-storey car park into a safer, more stylish and modern parking facility.

The project has been shortlisted in the Best Car Park Refurbishment category at the British Parking Awards 2012.

In March 2011, following the discovery of localised instances of concrete spalling due to expansive corrosion of the reinforcement bars, Chelmsford Borough Council acted on professional advice from structural and civil engineers JP Chick to close High Chelmer Car Park and Retail Market to allow significant repairs and a full refurbishment to be completed.

To minimise disruption to shoppers and store owners and ensure the car park could be reopened as quickly as possible, main contractor Gunite (Eastern) Ltd was appointed to complete the £1.6 million phased refurbishment of the car park.                                       

Aiming to reopen the car park fully within 16 weeks, an efficient concrete repair solution with a proven track record was required. With market leading reliability and the ability to exceed the requirements of BS EN1504, the standard for concrete repair and protection, a complete concrete repair, corrosion management and waterproof decking system from Sika was specified.

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During site inspections it was discovered that the car park required 1,500m2 of repairs – 50% more than the original figure of 1,000m2. It was anticipated that the concrete required repairs to a depth of 75mm, however, on starting work this was amended to 85mm.

Sika, offered a range solution for the concrete repair corrosion management using a combination of Sika Galvashield XP2 sacrificial anodes, Sika Ferrogard 903 migrating corrosion inhibitor and 120 tonnes of Sika-Armorex Armorcrete flowable micro-concrete.

The car park decks were then waterproofed with 36,000kg of the highly durable and cost-effective Sikafloor 161/264 car park inter-deck system – finished in a range of colours to differentiate between each car park section. The soffits and columns were cleaned of contaminants using a jet washing process before being repaired using Sika Monotop 615 concrete repair mortar and coated with an anti-carbonation coating.

Combining an all-in-one concrete repair and waterproofing solution from Sika, high quality refurbishment by Gunite and well-managed programme of works by Chelmsford Borough Council, the full refurbishment package was completed within an extended 21 week timeframe. This allowed the car park to reopen in November 2011 – in perfect time for the busiest shopping period of the year.

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