Product category:
Concrete, Cement, Admixtures
News Release from: David Ball Group | Subject: Waterproof concrete for above ground structures
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 07 December 2007
David Ball advises car park contractors
worldwide
David Ball talks about the problems of bridge and car park repairs because building contractors still under-estimate the benefits of using waterproof concrete for above ground structures.
David Ball, chairman of the David Ball Group, developers of specialist sand and cement products, is an expert on durability testing of concrete structures and advises car park contractors from Dublin to Dubai David Ball's warning comes as Winter approaches and local authorities consider their gritting strategies
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 1 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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"Salt spray from gritting roads penetrates porous concrete weakening the structures and it can easily cost a local authority 400 times more to repair a car park than it cost to build it," comments David Ball.
"This is without factoring in the inconvenience and disruption it causes to the city centre when a major car park is out of action".
The particularly wet Summer means that the water table is high, increasing the likelihood of flooding and 'freeze-thaw' damage to structures.
Further reading
New Guidelines On Structural Stability
Concrete Bridge Development Group has set up a working group to produce a guide on "Testing Durability of Concrete Structures".
Pudlo watertight concrete stands up to testing
PUDLO waterproof concrete is being used to construct a series of wave flumes and storage tanks in Howbery Park, Oxon.
Water expands as it freezes, weakening the concrete causing cracking and flaking.
This effect is exacerbated by salt, which accelerates the melting and attracts water.
"Many contractors associate water resistant concrete with below-ground construction but it can also be used to increase the durability of other structures, preventing the ingress of salt water which corrodes steel reinforcements," comments David Ball.
"Salt spray from cars on bridges and flyovers is particularly damaging".
David Ball Group supplies materials to major civils projects where water resistance is critical to success.
This has included The Channel Tunnel, the 'great man-made river project' in Libya and the Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong.
David Ball himself is frequently asked by developers and local authorities to advise on new car park developments and refurbishments.
The company is currently involved in a number of high profile car park schemes including those in Cardiff, Dublin and also in Dubai, where high ground salinity creates particular issues for basement structures.
It was while working in Sri Lanka that David discovered PUDLO, a water-resisting admixture for structural concrete, and saw its enormous potential for improving the durability of concrete.
As a result he bought the company that produced it and has introduced it into the David Ball Group range of specialist products.
He comments: "PUDLO enables the production of an integral, water-resisting concrete for membrane free construction".
"It works by converting free lime in cement to the more stable and harder Calcium Silicate Hydrate".
"This improves the compressive strength of the concrete and provides hydrophobic and pore-blocking elements".
"The result is concrete with significantly reduced water permeability and resistance to chloride ion penetration".
Such is his confidence in PUDLO for improving concrete durability that the David Ball Group provides a 20 year guarantee of water-tightness for structures that are built with PUDLO.
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