Merrion Centre Car Park

Owing to the necessity of keeping this key city centre car park operational throughout the 48 week refurbishment programme, Sika’s market leading reliability was essential on a project where the work was carried out one level at a time in order to minimise disruption to traders and shoppers.

The car park needed to use several systems to meet the different needs of each level with each area having to be durable and resistant to chemicals and abrasion. The external top decking also had to have superb crack bridging properties to accommodate freeze-thawing and the dynamic movement which is associated with reinforced concrete structures and exposure to UV.

The project engineer required an uplift in strength of the reinforced concrete elements of the car park, Sika proposed the use of a carbon fibre structural strengthening system using SikaWrap® anchors and the high performance SikaWrap 300, a reinforced carbon fibre fabric which was used for the flexural and shear strengthening of slabs within the building structure.

Sika® Galvashield® sacrificial anodes were applied to the concrete patch repairs to protect against incipient anode corrosion. Sika® Ferrogard®-903+ was spray applied to the remaining areas of the concrete slab to protect against further corrosion occurring to the steel reinforcement due to the presence of chlorides and carbonation.

For the intermediate decks, a system featuring Sikafloor®-161, Sikafloor®-375N Elastic and Sikafloor®-358 was chosen. Sikafloor®-161, 2 part epoxy resin, was used as ahighly moisture resistant primer. It was then covered with a layer of Sikafloor®-375N Elastic, a solvent free highly elastic polyurethane membrane with crack bridging properties and a seal coat of Sikafloor 358. Broadcast with quartz aggregate for anti-slip qualities and resistance to abrasion, it is an ideal choice for car park applications.

For the exposed top decks, which were failing and delaminated in large areas exposing the concrete deck to water ingress, the company’s Sikafloor® Pronto decking system combined long term waterproofing integrity and exceptional resistance with a fast application that minimises the time that the car park deck would be unoperational. Featuring PMMA (polymethyl methacrylic), the resin flooring system is ready for foot traffic after one hour and fully cured after two.

As well as a market leading range of products, Sika also provides a free comprehensive car park survey service. The Sika technical team will visit the site and produce a visual site report that highlights the immediate issues and can be used in conjunction with advice from a qualified structural engineer to formulate a life care plan as recommended by the Institute of Structural Engineers.

With the renovation of Leeds’ most iconic and busiest car park on track towards its completion in November 2014, the specification of a range of innovative products from Sika will ensure the car park is returned to its best within the shortest time frame possible.

Sika® Galvashield® sacrificial anodes

Sika® Ferrogard®-903+

Sikafloor®-161

Sikafloor®-375N Elastic

Sikafloor®-358

SikaWrap®