Sika supply fresh cover for Blackwell Retail

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Nov 1, 2005

Beaver House in Oxford, home to Blackwell UK, academic and general bookseller since 1846, has recently been refurbished using Sika concrete repair mortars and specialist protective coatings.

Beaver House in Oxford, home to Blackwell UK, academic and general bookseller since 1846, has recently been refurbished using Sika concrete repair mortars and specialist protective coatings.

The concrete panels of this thirty years old building were showing signs of deterioration caused by carbonation, and a repair programme was devised by consulting engineers D R Mills.

An important requirement of the project was to match the colour of the Sika coatings to the original concrete colour of the profiled ribs on the main elevations.

Logistically, access to the fire station at the rear of the building was needed at all times throughout the job.

Specialist contractors Gunite Eastern were appointed to carry out the works.

Following the removal of all defective concrete by high pressure water jetting, Sika MonoTop concrete repair and re-profiling mortar system was applied to re-establish the rib profiles of the concrete panels.

The cementitious MonoTop pre-bagged system is easy to mix and apply, has high build characteristics and has an excellent bond to concrete.

Sika Ferrogard 903 corrosion inhibitor was applied to the structure to ensure long term protection and durability against future corrosion of the reinforcement within the concrete.

Ferrogard penetrates the concrete and forms a chemical protective film around the steel reinforcement.

Following repair, SikaGard 550W Elastic, an environmentally friendly, water based protective coating was applied.

This one component anti-carbonation concrete coating has excellent crack bridging properties, and gives long term protection against weathering and ageing, to date it has a track record of in excess of 15 years prior to maintenance being required, and is available in any colour.

To complete the refurbishment, Sikafloor Pronto rapid curing resin flooring system was used to protect the loading bay decks against continued abuse from the loading process.