THE PROBLEM
The existing bund linings at the water treatment works had reached the end of their service life, with visible failure and break down. As part of the refurbishment works and the equipment removed it was the ideal time to renew the secondary containment.
SOLUTION
Following removal of the equipment and chemical decontamination of the bunds by others we first removed all of the existing bund lining materials by method of vacuum controlled diamond grinding. This ensured that our new coatings were adhered directly to the concrete.
Following preparation a cove detail was installed at the floor/wall interface to spread this potential point of movement, as per best bund lining practice. This cove was made using Remmers Epoxy MT100 mixed 10:1 with kiln dried quartz aggregate.
Priming the bunds
The bunds were primed throughout using the same damp tolerant epoxy primer. Following preparation a large number of blow holes had become visible in the concrete. These had to be filled prior to the main bund lining application. To do this Remmers Epoxy MT100 was mixed with 10% thixotrope to form a filler, which was then applied by trowel.
Blow holes cannot be filled with paint alone! Something many contractors often forgot, resulting in an incomplete bund lining.
Applying the epoxy coating
Remmers Epoxy WHG was then applied in two coats, with added thixotrope to achieve the required thickness on the bund walls. This material remains flexible when cured, enabling it to resist minor cracking in the substate – making this an ideal chemical bund lining material. This is always preferable where possible, especially given the hazardous nature of the chemicals stored in these bunds.
Checking the bund linings
Finally the new bund linings were checked for pin holing using DC Holiday spark testers as part of our standard quality assurance.
This was one of the first projects for a recently promoted supervisor and the quality of their works speak for themselves. Keep up the good work.
