FEATURE CAR PARK REFURBISHMENT
Protect and survive
Maintenance experts have been concerned about the issue of water and chloride salt ingress in car parks for many years. According to information supplied by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), but originally published by the Concrete Society, “the partial collapse of the Pipers Row car park in Wolverhampton in 1997 led to the publication of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) guide, Recommendations for the Inspection, Maintenance and Management of Car Park Structures. The guide
recommends the implementation of a ‘Life Care Plan’ for each car park structure. It contains information about the ‘Life Care Process’ in relation to inspection, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement. The report recommends that a condition survey should be conducted every eight years. The Structure and Asset Management
Special Interest Group (SAM SIG) of the BPA is trying to persuade more BPA members to implement this process. In particular SAM SIG is encouraging waterproofing experts to increase their educational efforts. The BPA is planning to publish the European Liquid Waterproofing Association’s Code of Practice as a Parking Practice Note. Those efforts should help owners and operators, but they need to be acted upon. Damage from water ingress occurs slowly and serious damage is often hard to detect with the naked eye, but it is happening and the results and potential issues for the structures can be alarming. Richard Bowyer, business development manager, of Triflex (UK), said: ‘Due to the presence of chlorides, water ingress can be very damaging in the MSCP environment where reinforced concrete remains the primary construction material.’ The solution is to call in a responsible
specialist car park waterproofing and surfacing manufacturer. Triflex has
32 JULY 2010
parking managers. Its solution is Deckshield Rapide, which it claims is an ultra fast-track decking system. Flowcrete claims that Deckshield Rapide
dries ‘just hours after application – speeding up programme times for new build and refurbishment projects and providing a useful solution in wet weather conditions’. Sales director of Flowcrete, Alan Dean said:
‘Rain can hamper the installation process with traditional decking systems. Tis is because, when the elastomeric layer is put down, the next layer has to be applied after 24 hours. ‘Tis is a problem if the weather takes a turn for
the worse during the application – but one avoided with Deckshield Rapide due to its rapid curing times,’ he added Te company is in the process of launching a
new Deckshield Rapide fast installation system. According to Mark Greaves, managing director of Flowcrete, it will ‘enable a full car park deck refurbishment to be carried out within a 24-hour period – thus minimising downtime and lost revenue for the client and the operator.’
Cracking up… salt chloride ingress leads to problems
Held back by cutbacks? Having the ability to respond quickly is key to survival in these difficult times. Greaves is acutely aware of the pressure. He said that the coalition government’s budget reviews ‘will certainly have the effect of reducing the spending of the local authorities that own many car parks.’ He added: ‘However, most car parks are operated by independent companies. Tey will determine expenditure based on legislative requirements and the need to attract customers, so we are hoping that
[Budget reviews] will certainly have the effect of reducing the spending of the local authorities
that own many car parks MARK GREAVES, FLOWCRETE MANAGING DIRECTOR
the cutbacks in work for us will not be too severe.’ Greaves said that he has not yet heard of any car
park refurbishment projects that have been affected by the cutbacks. However Parking News knows of two
refurbishment contracts that have still not gone out to tender. Tey are both in Birmingham. Te car park in Vyse Street, Birmingham, serves the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter. It currently has spaces for 559 cars. Te other one is in Duchess Road. A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said that the delay in putting those projects out to
www.britishparking.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60