City Remedial, a long standing customer of Resapol, contacted our London technical team in March 2021 in order to assist with recommending and supplying a product solution for the reinstatement of reinforced concrete set to take place on 120 Oxford Street. Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe’s busiest shopping destination, beating Madrid’s Gran Via by almost 12,000 visitors a day, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate’s latest Pan-European footfall report; 120 Oxford Street currently houses the Next PLC store and ex Arcadia demise. City Remedial had been contracted to perform necessary repairs to the basement, under pavement and vaulted areas that run around the entire perimeter of the building, as well as through a restaurant situated behind it. The original material coating the walls had failed due to water ingress causing the concrete to spall and steels to corrode.
Concrete spalling effects a wide variety of structures and can have wide ranging consequences in terms of health and safety, structural integrity and asset value. Spalling can also be hazardous in terms of falling debris or trip hazards within areas accessed by the public, if left unchecked it can often accelerate and spread so that the structure becomes unstable. It is recommended that any concrete repairs dealing with spalling be carried out in accordance with BS EN 1504, the European and British Standard for the repair and protection of reinforced concrete. It is also not only important that diligent substrate preparation is undertaken but also that the chosen repair material is compatible with the original concrete. After consulting with City Remedial in order to take into account the projects specific needs, Fosroc’s Renderoc HB45 was chosen following an extensive site visit conducted by members of the Fosroc technical team.
Renderoc HB45 is a high performance, hand applied, fibre reinforced medium density concrete reinstatement mortar that successfully conforms to the requirements of BS EN 1504-3 Class R4. It is generally utilised for the reinstatement of reinforced concrete where low permeability characteristics are required and where higher compressive strength is a consideration. The material boasts a polymer modification which provides extremely low permeability to water, carbon dioxide and chlorides. It can also be applied quickly and efficiently by wet spraying, enabling the contractors to cover much larger areas in shorter periods of time whilst still being able to maintain a great smooth finish; these key characteristic made it the perfect cost-effective product solution.
After finalising the material Resapol London have been consistently on hand throughout 2021 in order to provide quick and reliable delivery of the product direct to site. However, due to the limited amount of space available at the project site the majority of the material needs to be stored at the Resapol London distribution depot in order to avoid long lead times and subsequent delays. The project is close to the finishing point, with a completion date set for April 2022.
Renderoc HB45 has performed extremely well, John Butcher the Director/surveyor at City Remedial had this to say on the HB45 and Resapol’s service:
“Resapol have given us a second to none supply and advice service throughout the whole of this project. Deliveries have been prompt and have been on several occasions exemplary. We have phoned up at short notice on more than one occasion, with an urgent need for material and have received the goods within a couple of hours. How often does this happen?! Fosroc HB45 is a versatile product with ease of application, both by hand and wet spray. The wet spay method gives us a better bond and quicker application on the larger contracts. Assisting us with storage space has been a blessing and we are very appreciative of this. The staff at Resapol London also make our day with a “will do” and extremely cheerful attitude, they come highly recommended.”
