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What is concrete remedial work?
Contractors United are specialists in all types of remedial and waterproofing works. The majority of concrete remedial work stems from problems with water. When water penetrates the concrete and reaches the steel reinforcement, concrete spalling occurs, more commonly known as concrete cancer. |
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Why does concrete cancer occur?
This can happen for a number of reasons, for example due to old porous concrete, poorly vibrated or cracked concrete and concrete where the steel reinforcement has been laid too close to the surface. It is more commonly referred to as concrete cancer because once it starts it spreads through the slab along the interlinked steel reinforcement and if left too long the damage done can be irreversible and the structural integrity of the concrete can be severely reduced often to crumbling point.
When water reaches the steel in concrete, the steel begins to oxidize or rust, oxidizing steel expands putting pressure on the concrete, eventually causing the concrete to crack. This is called delamination and can cause visible damage to the concrete shown by rust marks leaching out of cracks.
As with cancer in humans, early detection can greatly increase the rectification of the problem. Depending on the stage of the problem, there are a number of different techniques Contractors United specialize in, to solve the damage.
The rectification process
The first step is finding the source of the problem, for example, where the water is coming from, and stopping it. This can be done by using various positive and negative membranes and barriers for waterproofing.
The next step is to fix the damage done to the concrete and reinforcement. For later stage concrete cance we must use more invasive techniques such as using small demolition hammers to excavate the cancerous sections of concrete and exposing the oxidized steel. Upon exhamination of the steel we can determine if new steel needs to be inserted or whether we can just clean up the old steel. If detected in the early stages before spalling has begun, for example, where there is only hairline structural cracking, we can use one of our numerous less invasive specialist procedures.
Once the rust is removed from the steel we use quality products to galvanize the steel and patch the concrete using our specialist repair systems.
Specialist areas:
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Concrete spalling to balconies |
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Concrete polyurethane crack injections |
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Façade refurbishment |
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Waterproofing and water ingress problems and solutions |
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Sealant and painting works |
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Epoxy repairs |
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Grout injections |
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Internal and external membranes |
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Form work |
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Concrete testing |
Prevention and Waterproofing solutions
As in all cases the best way to fix the problems associated with concrete spalling is to prevent them from happening in the first place. Contractors United also specialize in all types of concrete waterproofing, joint sealing and membranes.
Quality of Service
Personal face to face service, each client has their own personnel Contractors United representative, making business easier to conduct.
Why use Contractors United?
Contractors United guarantee all our contractors work will be done to Australian standards, and if it isn’t we will fix it free of charge.
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