One of the largest independent day schools in the UK has specified a range of Flexcrete products in order to waterproof internal brickwork walls and provide years’ of effective protection against water ingress.
Products from Flexcrete Technologies Limited, the UK’s leading independent manufacturer of technical mortars and high performance coatings, have been used at Bolton School, one of the oldest schools in Lancashire with a history stretching back 500 years.
With almost 2,400 pupils and set in 32 acres of impressive grounds, Bolton School provides a local landmark with imposing pink sandstone buildings complete with Neo-Gothic façades and turrets. The school provides education for children from 0-18 years, with a co-educational nursery and infant school and single sex junior and senior schools with sixth forms. The school has a host of famous former pupils, including actor Sir Ian McKellen, chess champion Nigel Short and Nobel prize winner Sir Harry Kroto.
The school’s current buildings were constructed between 1930-1960. The Boys’ Undercroft building connects two sections of the school and is partly located below ground. In order to provide additional classroom space, the school wished to refurbish the Undercroft, however dampness was present on the internal brickwork walls of the structure and a repair and protection system was sought which could withstand these conditions.
A Flexcrete system comprising Monolevel 844SP and Cementitious Coating 851 was specified by Cassidy and Ashton, Bolton School’s Architects, to provide a full tanking system. Applied by Specialist Contractor Hawkins Construction (Northern) Limited, Monolevel 844SP waterproof screed and pore filler was first applied by trowel at a thickness of 3mm to level the brickwork surface and provide a fair faced finish.
Cementitious Coating 851 was then spray applied in two coats to provide exceptional waterproofing properties, being able to resist 10 bar positive and negative pressure. It also protects substrates from the effects of aggressive acid gases, moisture, chlorides and chemicals. Both products are easily and rapidly applied, maintain excellent adhesion even in damp environments and are CE marked in accordance with the demands of BS EN 1504, the pan European standard for concrete repair. With quick curing times, minimal time required between applications and non-toxic when cured, Flexcrete’s products allowed the work to be carried out on a fast-track basis.
Fastfill, a rapid setting, single component, Portland cement-based concrete repair mortar, was also applied as a waterproof fillet to the wall/floor angle. Fastfill yields a durable, high strength mortar and sets in as little as 10 minutes at 20°C. With a dense matrix able to resist 10 bar water pressure, it has very high diffusion resistance to acid gases and chloride ions.
With origins dating back to 1983, Flexcrete Technologies Limited manufactures a wide range of concrete repair mortars, fairing coats, waterproof cementitious coatings and decorative protective coatings. With its head office and manufacturing complex based in Leyland, North West England, Flexcrete products are available from stockholding distributors all around the UK. The company also has a global presence through international agents and distributors in 65 countries worldwide with export sales accounting for over 50% of its business.