Existing Situation

The lift shaft had been suffering from water infiltration and flooding for approximately two years. This is a common problem in lift shafts. The problem was made worse due to structural defects within an adjacent drain. The infiltrated water regularly reached a level of .5m. The continual standing water caused corrosion to the substrate and a constant foul odour which permeated throughout the ground floor of the care home. The lift was situated next to the kitchen area which made the issue even more serious.

It was first necessary to repair the structural defects.  A dual process was then chosen to deal with the infiltration issues.  We selected a combination of rapid reaction polyurethane grout to halt the infiltration and ‘Ultracoat’ 100% solid epoxy coating system was chosen to seal, re-furbish and strengthen the base and walls of the shaft.  ‘Ultracoat’ was selected because of its speed and ease of application and also its independently tested ability to adhere to damp substrates, ensuring that the lift could be back in service as quickly as possible.

Preparation

Prior to the Ultracoat application, the substrate was cleaned and prepared, using high pressure water blast to clean and remove all coating and contamination, leaving a good surface key in the substrate. Following the cleaning, we injected a single component expanding polyurethane grout at regular intervals to stop the infiltration.  A fast set hydraulic cement mix was used to install a 45 degree fillet at all vertical and horizontal 90 degree joints.  The final part of the preparation was to spray a mild wash solution to kill off any bacteriological growth this was rinsed off and followed by a dilute acid etch to give the optimal surface to the concrete print to coating.

The chamber was then sprayed with the Ultracoat plural component, structural epoxy coating to a thickness of 3mm. After two hours the coating was inspected. The ‘Ultracoat’ had cured leaving a solid coating with no infiltration issues. (The lift was then put straight back into service).

Summary

Ultracoat’s superb proven ability to adhere to damp surfaces and prevent infiltration/exfiltration made it an ideal choice for the lift shaft conditions.  The coating will deliver a long-term refurbishment solution and a warranty was provided to the customer. Independent testing of the product’s chemical resistance and other attributes gave the customer confidence in specifying this method of refurbishment. In addition, the speed of application and short curing time ensured that the lift was off-line for a minimal time period.