Car Park Repairs ~ (Part 1) The Problem

“You can’t maintain a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong and lasting superstructure.”

Corrosion is a major problem for reinforced concrete structures

When the steel reinforcement in concrete corrodes, it can cause the concrete to crack and spall, leading to structural damage or ultimately in the most severe circumstances cause a disaster of structural collapse.

Regrettably, these circumstances are very common within the region. Irrespective if it’s new car parks with inadequate substructure waterproofing or an aged leaking basement many car parks are resulting in erosion of the structural reinforcement and deterioration of the traffic coating applied.

We have noticed a significant shift in our business demands

Unfortunately, we find that basement car parking is often considered back of house, therefore, less attention, priority and budget is focused on the necessary maintenance and repairs. We have noticed a significant shift in our business demands, receiving many call-outs to perform urgent inspections, produce reports and quotations to repair surface level, visual defects. After producing detailed reports, methodologies and costs associated it is swiftly met with a common response, “there is no budget” or “an alternative temporary solution will be found”.

Examples of the “temporary solutions”

“We have a duty of care and an obligation to bring awareness to building owners, the risk associated to their assets.”

Corrosion is a common problem for reinforced concrete structures and results in serious consequences to the structural integrity, safety, durability, and maintenance costs over time. In the case of a raft slab, corrosion of the reinforcement spreads rapidly and quickly deteriorates the integrity of the entire structure. When visiting the site, we emphasise the impact and risk to owners and strongly encourage the correct procedures to rectify as well as the importance of prioritizing regular inspections and maintenance as we are aware of the potentially huge financial ramifications if ignored.

“Ultimately ignoring signs of corrosion or failing to take swift action can have highly expensive and long-lasting repercussions.”

Coating failures can result from many environmental risks, especially within this region, but what cannot also be overlooked in many circumstances is the inadequate surface preparation, incorrect specification and poor application techniques, not only in the given environment.

Delaminated traffic coating

<-- Delaminated traffic coating

Delamination of the traffic coating system can be catastrophic as the substrate is left exposed, allowing ingress of salts, chlorides, oils and other contaminants that will erode the structural reinforcement (re-bar) within the structural slab. This is often overlooked as a cosmetic problem only.

We understand and sympathize with the constraints many owners or property management companies face with the impact of closing high demand parking for maintenance and repairs. Often, they are already undersupplied with insufficient spaces so the thought of significant disruptions to businesses, occupants and stakeholders is avoided. Regrettably delaying the necessary repairs will lead to more extensive damage, increasing overall repair costs and causing more significant disruptions for unplanned emergency repairs.

“Our message is to emphasize the importance of proactive measures that will minimize the cost & safety risks while extending the lifespan of structures.”

We can overcome these challenges and restore strength, stability and safety to these structures with a few essential steps:

• Thorough Assessment

• Sufficient Client, Stakeholder & business Planning and programme

• Proper Material Specification

• Proper Surface Preparation

• Proper Repair Techniques

• Regular inspection and quality checks

“You can’t maintain a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you are going to have a strong and lasting superstructure.”