SA Affordable Housing May / June 2017 // Issue: 64 | Page 26

ADVERTORIAL
The state of the towers prior construction. Image: Sika
Sika upgrades
Bencorrum Towers
February 2016 marked the start of an estimated 15-month
restoration project on one of the largest apartment blocks in the
southern hemisphere. The site is the T-shaped Bencorrum Towers
in Durban’s beachfront precinct.
By Mark Duckham
T
he Towers comprise 334 units and house more than
1 000 people. Built in the early 1930s, the once well-
maintained Bencorrum Towers, one 16-storeys high
the other 23-storeys high, had deteriorated to a state of
total disrepair.
With the scope of works, which includes moderate to
severe concrete repair, refurbishment and protection,
Curasure KZN, a building maintenance consulting company,
specified products from Sika’s renowned MonoTop range of
ready-to-use mortars. The Ikusasa Group undertook
quantity surveying for the project while the application
contract was awarded to Coating Worx KZN.
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MAY - JUNE 2017
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING
Sika MonoTop-610, a cementitious, polymer-modified, one-
component bonding slurry and primer was applied for
protection of the reinforced steel. Active corrosion
inhibitors in Sika MonoTop-610 meet international
standards for corrosion protection while its excellent
adhesion to concrete and steel provides high resistance to
water and chloride penetration. This product is a
cementitious, polymer-modified, low permeability mortar
containing silica fume and synthetic fibre reinforcement,
and is used as a high strength repair and reprofiling
system. Its excellent slump resistance allows for easy
application on overhead and vertical surfaces.