On the surface
Published: 07 January, 2009
Car park owners need to consider a variety of factors when choosing their car park decking systems and surface coatings. Claire Elliott reports
Choosing the right surface for a car park can be a minefield. Most shopping centres deem the aesthetics of their car parks as high on the importance level, but it’s also key to remember that decking systems and floor coatings are ultimately designed for the protection of the concrete. This could be from rain, fuel spillage, salt corrosion and also to prevent vehicles from skidding – a key health and safety concern.
But the questions that contractors need to ask when considering which car park deck system to choose do not end there. It is also vitally important to consider the many restrictions that can be faced during the actual application of these materials.
Underground car parks are a particular problem. They may be better protected from the elements but application can be the trickiest area to overcome.
Car park refurbishment company USL StructureCare has played a key role at the three new Q-Park multi-storey car parks at Grosvenor’s Liverpool One development, carrying out major deck installations using the Conideck systems developed by BASF Construction Chemicals.
As part of Europe’s biggest new city centre development, the nature of the vast new underground Strand Street car park structure presented unique challenges forcing USL StructureCare to develop new installation techniques. Located under the recreated Chavasse Park between Strand Street and South John Street, the facility provides four parking levels with 2,000-plus car parking spaces
USL StructureCare applied Conideck to the car park deck, which covers around 650,000 sq ft. USL staff had no access to natural daylight, and the nature of underground working meant that it was important to employ techniques that minimised the production of dust when blasting decks. This was particularly important as deck membrane installation took place before the car park’s extraction system was operational.
With no air extraction, Conideck’s solvent-free polyurethane formulation and cold working properties were ideal for the job from a health and safety perspective. Electrical rather than diesel plant was used, also for safety reasons, and no power was needed to install the Conideck membranes, which were roller applied in this instance.
A combination of two BASF Conideck systems were used: Conideck 2257 and Conideck 2260. Both are designed for use on enclosed, intermediate and lower decks and bays, which are protected from weather conditions to a large degree. In turning circles and ramps – the areas that suffer the highest mechanical stress – a greater aggregate content was applied to increase wear resistance, producing a heavy duty, skid resistant surface for long-term protection.
To add to the difficulty, Q-Park’s generic design brief for its car parks dictates that decks are light grey with parking bays marked out with black pads. This distinctive design is more time consuming and complicated to mark out and install than typical bay demarcation, but USL StructureCare’s experience with Q-Park over a number of years was of real benefit to the success of the project.
In addition, the vast parking decks were unusually marked out not from physical features such as columns and walls, but by using coordinates supplied by main contractor Laing O’Rourke and set out by a USL engineer – a first for the company but essential because of the scale and logistics of the job.
Flowcrete also knows how important it is for architects and consulting engineers to select the correct decking systems for their car parks and it has therefore launched a new brochure for its Deckshield car park decking system.
The publication, which focuses mainly on the retail and leisure environment, also caters for facilities managers and other property professionals.
As a pioneer in car park decking, and having recently introduced the fast-track installation system Deckshield Rapide – a solvent free methyl methacrylate car park deck coating system which provides a colourful, crack-bridging, waterproof wearing surface for use over exposed decks of multi-storey car parks – to its existing time proven Deckshield range, Flowcrete’s brochure joins together a range of informative material from Flowcrete and includes a RIBA-approved CPD document, entitled ‘Car Park Decking – Protection, Strength and Aesthetics, which outlines the criteria used when selecting car park decking and the test methods available to evaluate such systems.
Alan Dean, sales director at Flowcrete, says: “The new Deckshield brochure gives an insight into the aesthetic and protective qualities of car park decking.”
He points out: “Deckshield technology offers structural protection from water and salt ingress, due to its ability to bridge dynamic cracking, which can be caused by high traffic density.
“Without decking systems, water can enter the concrete, and over time will corrode the reinforcement. This could lead to areas of concrete working loose and could ultimately lead to the collapse of the entire building,” he warns.
Deckshield’s anti-slip surface ensures safety underfoot and reduces the tyre squeal whhich is a featue of older car parks. It is also chemical resistant and is therefore able to deal with petrol, diesel or brake fluid spillages.
USL has achieved a first by offering its own anti-carbonation coating, Covercrete, specifically designed for use in multi-storey car parks. Covercrete has been developed to offer all attributes which are important in the unique car park environment including aesthetic appeal, cleanability and resistance to harmful carbon gasses. The water-based protective coating is designed to protect concrete from carbonation and chloride attack and is also available in a wide range of colours.
“We already offer clients the comfort of our own range of movement joints and concrete repair materials manufactured, supplied and installed under one roof here at USL,” says Taylor. “To our knowledge we are the only specialist contractor to offer the manufacture, supply and installation of our own range of anti-carbonation coatings also.” The product has been well received with over a million sq ft applied in 2008 alone.
The European Liquid Waterproofing Association (ELWA), is also helping specifiers, architects and car park owners to ensure a long lifespan for their car park surfaces through the generic code – ‘Specification and Use of Liquid Applied Car Decking System’. The code sets out the correct application, safe use and maintenance requirements of these systems to ensure that the materials chosen are durable enough to achieve at least a 10-year lifespan for their car park surfaces.
Peter Cowlard of Makers Parking, one of the leading members of ELWA, says: “It is designed really to try and encourage people to think about why they put this down and how they should be put down. It’s not just about having a nice colour decking, but you also have to consider the structure it is going on. Is it going to crack? What type of surface does it demand?
“The code looks at the types of surface that exist and the type of structure it will be put onto. It’s looking at getting quality into the industry.
Speed is often of an essence when it comes to deck waterproofing. Waterseal, a leading UK provider of specialist coatings and waterproofing solutions, chose Traffideck Waterproofing and Anti Slip Surfacing System from Dow Hyperlast when it was commissioned earlier this year to resurface and waterproof the raised deck car park at the St Marks shopping centre in Lincoln. Ease of application, fast curing time, and the durable waterproofing protection delivered by Traffideck were key selection factors in a project that had to be completed quickly to allow the car park to return to service in the shortest possible time.
Despite marginal weather conditions the Traffideck system was installed, with Waterseal meeting the contract deadline agreed with the client. The application of the rapid curing pigmented wear course of the Traffideck system also allowed the client to select its preferred colours, which enabled the creation of contrasting colour surface zones to help differentiate running aisles and parking bays, improving the user friendliness and general appearance of the car park.
