Stirling Lloyd: “Towing The Line”

The car park, which has been in use since the 1970's required urgent repair and refurbishment following large scale deterioration of the substrate. The unprotected concrete deck had cracked and spalled, exposing the reinforcing steel bars, resulting in an unattractive and unsafe car park.

Thames Valley Police Authority Property Services Department who are responsible for the maintenance of the Police Station and its car park wanted to repair the damaged areas and improve the car park's overall appearance. They required a visually pleasing and hard-wearing system which was also quick to apply so as to minimise any required closures.

In their search for suitable systems, the Police Authority approached Blunt Construction Ltd of Winchester, Hampshire.

For the deck coating Blunt Construction recommended using Stirling Lloyd's Safetrack SC seamless, slip resistant, coloured surface coating. Durable, rapid curing and UV stable the system is available in a range of vibrant colours and would provide the demarcation and aesthetic finish required by Thames Valley Police.

In conjunction with this they proposed using Stirling Lloyd's Safetrack LM long-lasting, flexible, bright, abrasion resistant line marking system, which is also based on MMA resins and is fully compatible with Safetrack SC. Safetrack LM far outperforms thermoplastic systems, line marking paints and chlorinated rubber, lasting up to five times longer.

Satisfied that these systems would resolve the problems experienced on the car park, Thames Valley Police Authority approved them for use and invited tenders from suitably qualified contractors. From the tender returns Blunt Construction Limited were selected to carry out the contract.

Once on site Blunt Construction Ltd had to prepare the substrate. This involved grit blasting and the breaking out of any damaged concrete.

The damaged areas were then repaired using Stirling Lloyd's MMA based, rapid hardening Metaset repair mortar. Once the Metaset had cured, the rapid curing PAR1 Primer was applied. This sealed the surface of the concrete substrate and enhanced the adhesion of the subsequent Safetrack SC.

Typically in another hour, once the primer had fully cured, the Safetrack SC could be applied. Supplied in pre-weighed quantities to aid on-site quality control, the material was simply mixed, poured out and spread evenly across the substrate.

Once this material had cured, again within an hour, a second coat was applied. Courtesy of Safetrack SC's extensive colour range Blunt Construction were able to meet the client's specific requirements, coating the driveways in grey, differentiating them from the parking bays, which were coated red.

The Safetrack LM line markings were then applied over the Safetrack SC. In total 275 linear metres of yellow line marking material forming hatched areas and double lines and a further 80 linear metres of single white demarcation lines were applied.

In addition to this 160m2 of Stirling Lloyd's Decseal combined waterproofing and wearing course system was applied to the car park's exposed entrance ramp where extra protection against the ingress of rainwater was required.

Non-toxic, using minimal plant and equipment, the systems were quickly and safely applied. The speed and ease of application ensured that not only was the refurbishment work carried out within the given five-week timescale, but by using partial possessions, access was maintained to areas of the car park throughout the contract.

With the refurbishment now complete, Stirling Lloyd have ensured that Reading Police Station has a car park that is aesthetic and safe to use for both the Officers and their vehicles.

For full story and further information please visit www.stirlinglloyd.com/pr05/reading