Case Study Data

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Site
Domestic property
Location
United Kingdom
Repair Type
Concrete filler repair
Defect
Fence spurs badly damaged by concrete cancer

Products Used

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Sylmasta AB Original Epoxy Putty
Hard-wearing epoxy putty which offers excellent corrosion protection and can be used as a permanent repair filler

Case Study PDF

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Case Study Details

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Concrete cancer occurs where steel reinforcements inside of concrete begins to corrode. This causes the steel to expand and as a result, the surrounding concrete to fall away and disintegrate.

Having been in place for 30 years, the fence posts were already badly damaged. When disturbed during the replacement of the trellis, they shed several more large chunks of material.

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Replacing every spur would have been a mammoth task and so the homeowner instead sought a means to repair the existing posts. They needed a material which would act as a concrete filler to repair the damage whilst at the same time offering greater protection against corrosion to lessen the impact of concrete cancer in future.

Sylmasta recommended the use of Sylmasta AB Original Epoxy Putty for the application. AB Original is a hard wearing, ceramic-filled putty with high corrosion and chemical resistance. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor use and comes with a two-hour cure for complex repairs.

The longer work time was particularly important for this application. Over 10kg of epoxy putty was needed to repair every concrete spur. Large quantities of putty could be mixed in one go and applied to significant areas of damage without the threat of premature curing.

Sylmasta AB is available in three colours as standard – white, grey and black. Grey was chosen for this repair because of its resemblance to concrete. Part A and Part B were mixed in equal measures. Whilst soft, the putty was pushed into the spur, filling cracks and replacing chunks of concrete which had been destroyed.

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AB Original adhered easily to the existing concrete. Once cured, it formed a rock-hard material to permanently repair the damage caused by concrete cancer. Had the homeowner wanted the putty to blend in more with the existing spurs, then they could have pushed concrete dust into the soft Sylmasta AB before it fully hardened.

This technique is found in the Sylmasta Brick Repair Kit, containing AB Original and brick dust. It is used for the seamless repair of bricks, filling in defects caused during construction work or by processes such as lime blow.

The repair of every concrete fence spur was completed in the homeowner’s spare time over several weekends. They were very pleased with the result. AB Original successfully repaired the damage caused by concrete cancer and improved the appearance of the fence posts, without taking the considerable amount of time replacing every spur would have.