“It’s designed to cope with the conditions“… we hear this all the time, and what we want to get across is that it’s not slanting your design to put additional protection in place. Concrete is made of natural materials and therefore will degrade like all other natural materials.
For new concrete, on any construction project, MARKHAM recommends protection measures are put in place at the construction phase. These significantly improve hydration, reducing shrinkage, resulting in a higher quality finish and maximised service life.
SO what is the best protection?
Stop moisture moving. Yes, it is really that simple. How do we do that?
What you need to do is stop moisture from moving around the reinforcing steel, through the concrete. There are many ways to try this – the most common is to coat or paint the surface, which provides some protection but does nothing for moisture inside the concrete, which still moves around. Fact is, conventional coatings deteriorate with time, lose their effectiveness, and should be re-coated regularly. Often a re-coating program would be inconvenient, disruptive and costly.
So how do we stop moisture movement, through the matrix?
You have to block the pores inside the concrete. The most effective way of doing this is with a hydrogel treatment, as they have a relatively low cost, and protect where it matters. Either added from day one or sprayed after the concrete is installed, penetrating hydrogels provide internal protection against moisture movement.
Hydrogel treatments are permanent! NO repair maintenance.
MARKHAM’s penetrating hydrogels permanently defend the concrete from environmental challenges and enhances its natural durability. The hydrogel treatment helps maintain prime quality for longer, controlling water and moisture which contribute to the concrete’s ageing process. There is nothing on the surface to degrade or wear. The treatment goes deep, about 150mm, and will not be affected by traffic over time.
Hydrogel treatment can help defend the concrete from environmental challenges, and enhance its natural resilience, for long service life.
Colloidal nanoparticle silica penetrating hydrogels – seriously cost-effective over time
Think about the implications of the cost over time. A single dose at the concrete plant removes the need for upkeep of a coating system over time and removes the need to repair spalled concrete.
Like to learn more? Have a project-specific question? Get in touch!
