Tesco Extra Service Yards

Adding Life to Concrete – How MARKHAM applied hydrogel waterproofing systems to Tesco Extra Service Yards across England, Scotland and Wales.

OBJECTIVE

Inspection by Tesco engineers identified certain defects with the original design of the suspended service yard decks which has allowed for significant movement within the structures, leading to extensive cracking of the concrete topping, failure of the construction joints and issues with the interfaces between the deck and surrounding vertical elements of the building.

Heavy HGV’s and delivery van traffic within these areas has also caused further damage to joint sealant and the breakout of some concrete along joint edges/around drainage gullies etc.

The result of these issues, along with moisture migration through the concrete decks, has been serious corrosion of the steelwork supporting these service yard decks, prompting the Tesco Building Maintenance department to source a solution to extend the lifespan of these structures by preventing the water leakage through the decks and protecting the steelwork below.

SOLUTION

The MARKHAM system put forward to achieve these goals was the spray application of AQURON 7000. This retro spray application provides a waterproofing solution that penetrates up to 150mm into the concrete, and contains a Migrating Corrosion Inhibitor (MCI) that will penetrate to the same depth to protect the steel reinforcement within the dock structure.

This was carried out in conjunction with concrete patch repairs, crack sealant works, construction joint rake out and resealing and edge sealing works to create a waterproof deck, preventing ongoing water leakage and corrosion of the supporting steelwork.

RESULTS

As a VOC-free, non-hazardous product, suitable for use on aged concrete structures, AQURON 7000 was a very rapid and cost-effective solution for waterproofing these concrete service yards. As AQURON 7000 can be applied to damp concrete, this has provided a solution that can be carried out at any time of year, a clear advantage over traditional multi-layer membrane products.

As AQURON 7000 is a product that penetrates deep into the concrete matrix, there are no ongoing maintenance requirements or operation costs. The treated areas are trafficable almost immediately after application, making this solution a very attractive proposition in terms of the enabling the normal 24 hour operation of these service yards to continue throughout the whole period of the MARKHAM works.

Across 13 sites and over 29,214m², the AQURON 7000 application has significantly extended the service life of these Tesco Extra service yard decks, reducing the long-term maintenance burden for the Tesco Building Maintenance team.

Download the Tesco Extra Service Yards case study in PDF format.

This and more case studies are also available for download in our library.