CPD Specifier May 2015 issue September 2014 | Page 35

Structural Repair

Car park
refurbishment

Long term care for car parks is essential says
John Drewit of Concrete Repairs Ltd,
a member of all three associations which
form the Structural Concrete Alliance

Multi storey and underground car parks are an integral
part of the UK infrastructure and it is essential that they
are regularly inspected and maintained to ensure their
structural safety and for the personal security of users.
Owners and operators of car parks have a legal and
statutory duty to ensure that their car parks do not pose
a risk to users and the general public. In 2002, the
Institution of Civil Engineers published a guide entitled
‘Recommendations for the inspection, maintenance
and management of car park structures’ and this is
currently being revised and updated with input from
some members of the Structural Concrete Alliance.
This document advocates the implementation of a
Life-care Plan for both new and existing car parks
to ensure the structural integrity of the structure is
maintained throughout the planned service life. Regular
inspections, condition surveys and structural appraisals
are recommended to identify any deterioration of
the structure so that repairs can be undertaken in a
planned and efficient manner.
Structural Concrete Alliance members can provide
a range of services to help owners and operators to
inspect and manage their parking structures. Some are
UKAS- accredited to undertake the concrete condition
surveys which might form part of an overall Life-care
Plan and can advise on suitable repair methods to
repair the concrete and enhance the durability.
Most car parks suffer from concrete deterioration due
to corrosion of the reinforcement which is initiated
by high chloride levels in the concrete from de-icing
salts brought in by the vehicles from the surrounding
roads. This corrosion risk can be reduced by applying
waterproof membranes on the concrete decks to
prevent the chloride ions getting into the concrete and
also reducing the availability of water and oxygen to
support the corrosion activity.
If the chlorides are already in the concrete then
corrosion control techniques such as cathodic
protection can be used to reduce or possibly halt the
corrosion activity.
Structural Concrete Alliance members are skilled in the
repair of parking structures and the use of corrosion
control systems to manage the corrosion activity in
accordance with European Standards.

STRUCTURAL CONCRETE ALLIANCE

QUEENSGATE CENTRE CAR PARKS,
PETERBOROUGH
Structural Concrete Alliance member, Concrete Repairs
Ltd (CRL), have recently completed one of the largest
car park refurbishment contracts ever undertaken in the
UK for Hammerson.
The £8.4m contract is for the full refurbishment of all
four multi-storey car parks at the Queensgate Shopping
Centre in Peterborough over a three year period.
The contract has been undertaken whilst the parking
facilities remained in use and the works included
concrete repair and cathodic protection, as well as
deck waterproofing throughout the car parks.
For the concrete repairs and waterproof deck
membranes, CRL used materials supplied by Structural
Concrete Alliance member, BASF Construction
Chemicals (UK) Ltd. BASF Conideck was applied to
the car park decks to enhance the concrete durability
and improve the visual appearance.
GERRARD STREET MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK,
READING
Structural Concrete Alliance member, CAN conducted
concrete repairs to the multi-storey car park in Gerrard
Street, London after an initial inspection of the external
concrete panels identified a large number of spalls in
need of repair.
A textured and coloured finish was required by the
client so that repairs blended in with the existing
surface. The filling and finishing of repairs was carried
out using abseil techniques, with CAN-Span lightweight
cradles, complete with debris net encapsulation,
utilised for all large repairs.
A total of 224 repairs were textured with an aggregatefinish appearance, with painting to match existing panel
appearance - a total surface area of 2,000m2 was then
coated with a migratory corrosion inhibitor using lowpressure spray.

TEL: [phone]

To enable the 10-storey 918 space car park to stay
operational, car parking spaces were closed off on a
rolling basis in areas where work was taking place.
Crash decks were erected above pedestrian and car
access routes.
MERRION SHOPPING CENTRE CAR PARK, LEEDS
Structural Concrete Alliance members Sika and Makers
Construction provided a range of concrete repair,
structural strengthening and corrosion management
systems during a major refurbishment of the 950 space
Merrion Shopping Centre Car Park in Leeds.
Sika carried out on-site testing of the reinforced
concrete and supplied a range of materials for the
project, which included a series of major concrete and
structural repairs, new expansion joints and new anticarbonation and waterproof coatings.
According to Makers Construction, some 21km of
carbon fibre plate, 18,000m2 of carbon fibre wrap
and 37,000 carbon fibre anchor ropes were applied
to a mixture of in-situ & pre-cast concrete elements.
The repaired structure is also being protected with
32,000m2 of anti-carbonation coatings to soffits
columns and beams, whilst waterproof and crackbridging car deck membranes are applied to all
21,000m2 of the car park’s top and intermediate decks.
The Structural Concrete Alliance is an umbrella
organisation which brings together the Concrete Repair
Association (CRA), Corrosion Prevention Association
(CPA) and Sprayed Concrete Association (SCA) to
provide a single co-ordinated voice for the structural
concrete refurbishment and repair industry.
The Structural Concrete Alliance offers a range of free
to attend regional CPD seminars on Structural Asset
Protection and Repair. These half-day events are
scheduled to take place in Exeter on Wednesday 17
September; Hammersmith, London on 29 October; and
Leeds on 12 November.

WWW.STRUCTURALCONCRETEALLIANCE.ORG.UK
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READER ENQUIRY NO: 48