Important Installation Considerations

Existing Substrate Inspection

Inspection of the existing substrate condition and defects is of utmost importance for the “What happens below, will happen on top”. Concrete and cementitious products react in the same manner as the substrate that it is placed on, for example, if there is a construction or control joint in your existing substrate, it needs to be respected and transferred all the way to the final layer, for ANY coating or overlay will crack in the same line if you don't. The same applies to existing cracks and failures, it needs to be addressed first, prior to commencing with any subsequent layers or products placement.

We feel very strong about the Existing Substrate Inspection, due to the fact that the outcome of your product application is influenced in every aspect by the condition of the existing substrate.

Yes, various of our products are specifically developed to correct defects within your substrate, however you cannot rectify a defect with a further defect, let's do it right to not repeat a bad experience.

The following list is an example of a potential test criteria which can apply to your project. The level of inspection accuracy is determined by the skill and experience of the entity doing said inspection.

No project is the same as the other, and the inspection requirements are largely determined by the level of difficulty of your project, the existing conditions of your substrate and environment, in addition to the final utilization specification.

Any applicator can only address the failures and defects that they see or know of, in the absence of knowing, it becomes an assumption, leading to potential disappointments.

The more integrate the project requirements, the higher level of expertise will be required to do the existing substrate inspection, preparation and ultimately the product placement.

Product knowledge is important for an applicator, however experience to "read" the existing substrate conditions, is something money can't buy.

We therefore will always recommend that a specialist applicator, with relevant experience be appointed, however various of our products can be applied by novice applicators, and for convenience, we assigned a Skill Level Indicator to the bulk of our products, in order for the end user to decide on the level of skill appointed. Please note it is only an indicative recommendation.

Basic Inspection Items:

1. Condition

Whether the substrate is sound, clean, dry, and free of contaminants like dirt, grease, and oil. Non-destructive test.

2. Compressive strength

A non-destructive test that can give a clear indication of the compressive strength of the existing substrate, which can be compared with the intended use, design and regulations pertaining to substrate being tested.

3. Pull-off strength

A destructive test to determine whether the substrate has the minimum pull-off strength as may be required by the product to be placed.

4. Reinforcing steel corrosion

Whether there is corrosion of embedded steel, which can cause concrete to crack and break loose. A non-destructive visual test, should the rebar be exposed or a destructive break test, should the rebar still be imbedded.

5. Test for reinforcing steel presence

A non-destructive test to determine whether there is any reinforcing steel within the substrate.

6. Moisture

Whether the moisture level is within the recommended range for the material and adhesive

7. Defects

A visual and non-destructive knock test to determine the presence of cracks, chips, delamination, hollow sections, degradation of material, holes or any other imperfections within the substrate.

8. Scratch Test

A non-destructive test that assists to determine the presence of latency on the substrate surface, in addition to a determination to where the substrate qualifies on the MOHS hardness scale. This will provide insight to the condition of the substrate to accept further coatings and whether the surface require further preparation.

Other methods for inspecting concrete include:

• Concrete core sampling
• Lab testing
• Destructive testing
• In-situ RH test
  

Preparation Preparation Preparation

Before resurfacing of concrete, repairs or any other coatings to be applied to concrete, it is of the utmost importance that you prepare the surface by at least doing the following:

1. Cleaning: Remove all dust, dirt, debris, oil, grease, curing agents, and existing paint. You can use physical methods like sandblasting, concrete grinding, mechanical preparation, shotblasting, scarifying or pressure washing to clean the surface. The quality of the existing surface will determine the method of cleaning to be applied.

2. Repair cracks and voids: Repair any cracks or voids in the concrete.

3. Levelling: Level the surface to create a smooth and even base. It is more economically viable to rectify the substrate levels prior to the application of the final finish product, the later material supply cost is normally more expensive, thus not advisable to use as a final levelling material. It is however pertinent to note that the more layers of material are used, the bigger the chance of potential failures due to the integrate bonding requirement between the various layers. It is advisable to approach a professional, if not completely certain of the preparation procedure to follow.

Installation Skill Level

Although all person should be able to reasonably apply our products, there is a potential margin of error that can be problematic, thus the reason why we will always recommend the use of a certified specialist applicators to do the installation. The use of such certified specialist applicators significantly enhances the probability of success, in turn augmenting the quality and longevity of your installation. Please feel free to contact us for a list of potential specialist applicators, if required.

For ease of reference, we include an Installation Skill Level indicator, assigned to the majority of our products. Please note that this is merely an indication for application and use of our products for the intended purpose, whilst the majority of the materials can be applied for various other applications as well. The Installation Skill Level indicators are also based on a perfect scenario substrate being available, alluding to the fact that no additional preparation requirements are required. Refer to the previous sections, “Existing Substrate Inspection” and “Preparation Preparation Preparation” for more insight. The aforementioned goes hand in hand with our Installation Skill Level indicators.

Installation Skill Level Indicator:

1/5 No extensive training or experience required
2/5 Minimum skills of a general contractor required
3/5 At least phone our technical advisors for a telephonic discussion about the product
4/5 At least require a visual inspection from our technical advisor
5/5 Recommend the use of a certified specialist applicator

Mix Ratios and Mix Methodology

The majority of our products are cementitious two-part products which require one part water to mix the product into a slurry, however we do have one two-part resinous product in our product ranges.

We recommend that the applicator mix our products by means of a electric drill with relevant mixing attachment or a paddle mixer to ensure a fast, accurate and homogenous mix result.

Once fully mixed, allow approximately 2 minutes for the chemicals to fully react within the product, do not add additional water.

For our cementitious products, mix with clean water, we would prefer that the whole bag of material be mixed once with the correct amount of water, however some our products are very reactive and the pot life becomes problematic, should the full unit be mixed once off.

It is thus possible; however, we highly recommend that accurate weight and water volume measurements be used, with a very specific instruction not to exceed the specified water quantities. Should you exceed the water content at any stage, the application will most probably be problematic and prone to fail. Do not add water to try and stretch the material pot life or yield, the ratios are very specific for a reason.

For our two-part resinous products, we recommend that the product kit be mixed once only and be used immediately. The pot life of all our products is highly impacted by the ambient temperature, warmer temperatures will cause an accelerated reaction and vice versa, however planning is very important and the kit should not be mixed in parts.

There are some of our products that specifically stipulate to NOT SPLIT the ratios, thus not to make up smaller inaccurate portions mixed with the part two component.

Installation, Curing and Preventative Measures

All our cementitious products are water and moisture content dependant, and will require moisture from the product mix as well as the existing substrate to remain as stable as possible and not be drained untimely, due to porous and thirsty existing substrates. We therefore recommend that the existing substrate be watered down to be damp with no surface water, prior to the installation of our products.

Our products should be applied and finished, whilst not adding any additional water. Any product system that will require a primer coat followed by a final product coat, other than sealers, the second product should be applied whilst the primer coat is still in a wet state, in order for the chemical bond to be wet to wet. Should the first coat be cured to far, it will need to be sanded or slightly abraded to remove the polymer-based coat created during curing, enabling good binding with the next coat.

The majority of our cementitious products will react exactly the same as your typical concrete installation and need specific application and curing methodologies to avoid delamination, wind and other cracking to occur.

Contrary to concrete curing, our cementitious products should not be water cured after installation, curing should be managed, at best, by covering it with a plastic sheet to maintain a controlled and unexposed curing environment.

Facts Everybody Should Know About Concrete & Cementitious Materials

Concrete is a living material

Concrete changes every moment, and concrete will do what concrete will do, us mortals merely try to harness its positive characteristics, whilst attempting to guide its shortcomings and negative characteristics.

Concrete is the most-used material in the world

It may not come as a surprise to discover that concrete is incredibly widely used; it is, in fact, used more than any other material in the world.

Concrete is not cement

To think ‘concrete’ and ‘cement’ are identical is like saying flour is the same as cake. Concrete does contain cement, and other parts including water and aggregate of various sizes and quality. Cement by itself is just a powder.

Incredibly high compression strength

Concrete commonly reaches 20MPa-35MPa compressive strength, in other words, it can withstand substantial compression before it fails. It does however lack tensile strength, thus it cannot withstand stretching or pulling that well. For this reason, reinforcing steel or fibres are introduced to augment these shortcomings.

Concrete continues to strengthen for decades

The concrete setting reaction is an exothermic reaction, starting off at an incredible speed until initial set, slowing down till about 28 days later, when it is recognised as final cure for final strength. It continues to strengthen for decades afterwards, due to the conversion of calcium hydroxide into calcium carbonate and its absorption of carbon dioxide over time. Some bacteria also help to strengthen concrete!