Felixstowe Ornamental Gardens

The paths and steps in the Ornamental Gardens in Felixstowe had become worn and cracked. Ronafix Pre-Packed Wearing Screed 25mm+ was used to provide a durable frost resistant topping.

Over £3 million of lottery money has been allocated to a refurbishment project at the Felixstowe Seafront Gardens, which date back to Victorian times. The project includes a Heritage Trail, new planting to enhance bio-diversity, repair of stonework, walls and piers, restoration of ponds and fountains to their original state, refurbishment of the shelters in the garden, new seating and improved signage and lighting.

The project also included repair and improvement to the footpath surfaces, edgings and drainage throughout the Gardens.

Breheny the main contractor on the refurbishment project asked SIG Construction Accessories if they could supply a suitable product for the path and step repair. SIG approached the Ronacrete Technical team and a site meeting was arranged to assess the situation so that the best product could be selected for the requirements.

Ronafix Pre-packed Wearing Screed 25mm+ was recommended because of its durability, high strength and low permeability, making the mortar resistant to frost attack.

First the surface was shot blasted, exposing aggregate within the mix to provide a mechanical key. The surface was cleaned and loose materials were removed by vacuum cleaning. The surface was damped before application of Ronacrete Standard Primer. Ronafix Pre-packed Wearing Screed 25mm+ was then applied to the tacky primer to give a hard wearing surface to the paths and steps.

Ronafix Pre-packed Wearing Screed 25mm+ reaches a compressive strength greater than 45N/mm² after 28 days; it can be trafficked as early as 24 hours after laying and is frost and water resistant.

Ronafix Pre-packed Wearing Screed 25mm+ has played a significant part in restoring the well trodden pathways and steps at the Seafront Gardens. They are now free of trip hazards and strong enough to last many years; allowing future generations to enjoy the splendour of the historic gardens as they follow the paths of their Victorian ancestors.

RonaDeck Sample Cases

Ronacrete has produced a set of sample cases that contractors can use to display a range of resin bound, resin bonded or tree pit systems to potential clients. Each case contains 24 samples from the RonaDeck range, a RonaDeck brochure, a 4GB USB stick containing product literature and a RonaDeck pen.

The cases are available from Ronacrete for £200 + VAT, however upon a contractor successfully installing £5,000 worth of materials (approximately 200-250m²) the contractor will be issued with a credit note for the value of the case with the next order of RonaDeck materials.

The cases can be ordered from the Ronacrete sample cases or by phoning 01279 638700 to place the order. Contractors can select the following samples from the entire RonaDeck range.

12 x RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing

4 x RonaDeck Eco Tree Pit

8 x RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing

Manufacturing specialist construction products since 1969, Ronacrete is a recognised industry leader in the resin surfacing market. Products include resin bound surfacing, resin bonded surfacing and tree pit systems for users within the domestic, commercial and public sector.

Ronacrete resin based paving systems have been used to enhance the appearance of paths around sporting venues, museums, playgrounds, holiday parks, office blocks, hospitals, schools and colleges as well as privately owned driveways, patios and swimming pool surrounds.

Both RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing and RonaDeck Eco Tree Pit resins are UV stable and can be laid from a minimum depth of 15mm, shallower than many seemingly cheaper competitors. The permeable paving system created by the resin and aggregate mix is SuDS compliant when laid on a suitable base. Ronacrete has ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OH SAS 18001 accreditation and is the only manufacturer of resin bound surfacing products that is a member of FeRFA, the resin flooring trade association.

Other products in the RonaDeck range include RonaDeck EcoPath MT a permeable paving system that incorporates rubber granules (made from recycled truck tyres) in the aggregate mix, recycled aggregate may also be used in this system. RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing which is a slip resistant, DDA compliant paving system available in a variety of aggregate blends and RonaDeck Eco Tree Pit which is an easily maintainable, SuDS compliant tree pit system which protects the roots of trees from vandalism or other damage, while allowing the tree to receive the water and nutrients required for its health.

Cadogan Place, Knightsbridge – screeds for prestigious development

Approved Contractor CCS installed 600m² of Ronacrete Ronafix screeds to a nine storey £180 million development in Cadogan Place, Knightsbridge.

Cadogan Place is described by estate agents as a “prestigious street moments from the many fashionable shops, bars and restaurants of Sloane Street”. The buildings are chiefly from the Regency period and many have been refurbished to high specifications. As part of a large refurbishment project CCS contractors laid Ronafix polymer modified screeds to several floors of the development. Ronafix Mix A1 and Ronafix Mix G were laid on underfloor heating systems and on acoustic matting.

Ronafix Mix A1 (also available as Ronafix Pre-packed Screed 25mm+) and Ronafix Mix G (also available as Ronafix Pre-packed Fine Concrete 25mm+) were mixed and pumped with a Putzmeister M760.  Ronafix Mix A1 is a thin bonded or unbonded polymer modified levelling screed which can be laid from any thickness greater than 25mm.  The Ronafix Mix G mix incorporates a 10mm pea shingle for added strength.

Ronafix Mix A1 is covered by BBA Certificate No. 89/2150 providing CCS and the client assurance of quality and performance of the screed in this high value project.

All Ronafix mix designs are also available as pre-packed products that offer the greatest possible assurance of screed quality and consistency. All Ronafix screeds provide; high strength, very low shrinkage and low permeability and some, like Ronafix Mix Designs A, B and B1 provide excellent wear resistance.

Access for all in Anglesey – RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing

The development at Cemaes Bay is being undertaken as part of the County Council’s £6.9m Development of Anglesey’s Coastal Environment Project (2009 -15) which aims to develop on-shore and off-shore facilities to maximise economic benefits and impacts from the coastline of Anglesey.

The project

As part of the Development of Anglesey’s Coastal Environment Project MWT Civil Engineering were contracted to create an ‘access for all beach’. The work involved resurfacing the area, improving access to the beach and installing new street furniture.

RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing was specified for the resurfaced areas with a 1-3mm Brittany Bronze aggregate. MWT Civil Engineering excavated the area prior to laying the asphalt base on which the resin bonded surfacing was applied.

The new beach access is likely to attract many visitors annually and because of its proximity to the sea will frequently become wet, it was therefore necessary for any paving used to be slip-resistant and durable.

Ronacrete’s RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing is a hardwearing surfacing system composed of a resin base and natural aggregates that offers excellent slip-resistance tested to BS 8204-6:2008+A1:2010 Appendix B. It can withstand heavy footfall year after year and is used in a variety of projects with high visitor numbers, including the ramps at Wembley Stadium.

Product and application

RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing is normally laid on concrete or asphalt as in this project. The asphalt’s surface was open textured so RonaDeck Resin Bonded Scratch Coat was applied by MWT producing a smooth substrate for the surfacing.

MWT mixed the two component resin with a drill and paddle mixer and applied it by roller to the substrate. The aggregate was immediately cast into the resin and left to cure for four hours. After removal of loose aggregate, the surfaced area was ready for use.

RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing is DDA compliant, a requirement of an ‘access for all beach” providing a level surface that is slip resistant and wheelchair user friendly. RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing is also suitable for vehicle traffic.

 

Conclusion

RonaDeck Resin Bonded Surfacing has provided a slip-resistant, durable, fast curing surfacing at Cemaes Bay.

Ronacrete is recruiting

Area Sales Manager

Industry Sector:

screeds, concrete repair and coatings, cement based waterproofing, resin floor coatings

Areas to be covered:

London and home counties

Remuneration:

£35,000 (First Year OTE £40,000)

Benefits:

20 days holiday increasing to 25 days after qualifying period, company car

The role will include:

Selling a comprehensive range of high quality materials, for both new and refurbishment projects.

Generating specifications with local authorities, housing associations, contractors, specifiers, and architects.

Increasing our network of approved contractors.

Carrying out RIBA CPD accredited presentations.

Desired Skills and Experience:

The ideal candidate will be based in London or the South of England.

The ideal applicant will have an existing knowledge of the market, established relationships with target group, good communication skills and be a highly respected and successful sales person.

If you would like to register your interest in this position please click here.

Wigan and Leigh Hospice

250 square metres of RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing was laid to the entrance and gardens of Wigan and Leigh Hospice using Harvest Crunch aggregate blend.

The Woodview Centre was added to the Wigan & Leigh Hospice in a £1.5 million building project which included a two storey building to house  the Hospice in Your Home service, consulting rooms and therapy clinics, it also involved landscaping a large area of grounds. Ellenby Construction began work at the site in April 2013. The client’s brief was to “build a modern eco-friendly development within a peaceful and therapeutic environment”.

 It is known that a green and leafy setting can benefit a person’s wellbeing and the landscaping was designed to provide a tranquil and relaxing outdoor environment that could be viewed and visited by patients and their visiting friends and family.

Pathways were installed through the existing woodland area and a new pond was installed, providing a natural link between the new Woodview Centre and the original hospice gardens and nature reserve.

Paths and the entrance to the new centre were surfaced with RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing, using a Harvest Crunch aggregate blend. RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing provides a slip-resistant surface for patients and carers to be able to enjoy the natural outdoor setting in safety.

RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing provides a strong, durable and porous pavement, which is particularly suitable for wheelchair ‘traffic’ as wheels will not sink and get caught as they can in loose gravel paths, the porosity of the system allows water to drain to the base and ensures that paths are free from standing water. This permeability makes the surfacing system SuDS compliant, which is in keeping with other sustainable aspects of the building project which include solar panels, under floor heating and the new pond which increases biodiversity in the area and is refreshed with recycled rainwater collected from the centre’s roof.

Ronacrete Approved Contractor Elite Surfacing mixed the two resin components with a slow speed drill and paddle before adding the resin to a large forced action mixer containing the aggregate blend. After ensuring that the aggregate was fully coated with resin, Elite Surfacing spread RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing to level at a depth of 15mm and smoothed the surface with a steel float.  The finished surface was ready for foot traffic within four hours.

The project was given a Royal seal of approval in June 2014, when Prince Edward officially opened the Woodview Centre. He was given a guided tour of the site which included a visit to the pond and the new landscaped areas via the resin bound pathways.

RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing used in an award winning project

Ronacrete received this piece of news from architect firm Denovo Design, the architects involved in the design of Queen’s Court, Widnes.

Delighted to be able to share our news with you that Queens Court is to be recognised with an International Green Apple Award for Built Environment and Architectural Heritage.

Outdoor space aids health and well being at iconic music site

155 square metres of RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing was applied to the internal courtyard of Queens Court, a new affordable housing block built on the site of the old Queen’s Hall, a once popular music venue in Widnes.

The housing scheme was designed for Halton Housing Trust by award winning Liverpool architects, Denovo Design. Forrest Construction was the main contractor for the project which comprised 17 apartments with car parking and associated landscaping.

The new affordable apartments were built on the site of the iconic Queen’s Hall music venue, which had hosted many bands including The Beatles, The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays but was demolished in 2012 following a fire. Part of the brief for the design was to commemorate the site’s musical heritage, so the building includes a full height showcase art work commemorating some of the many acts that performed there and colourful ‘guitar string’ louvres make a bold statement above each of the designated entrances.

The design for the new apartments needed to compensate for the lack of green space in the area and health and wellbeing was key to the design concept. All residents therefore have access to open space, with lounges having either an upper floor terrace; or a ‘Juliet balcony’. For ground floor residents an “outdoor space” was created in the form of a quiet, landscaped internal courtyard.

To create this outdoor space, flowering shrubs and semi-mature trees were planted around the inner courtyard to obscure the car parking bays and to provide a green outlook from the bedrooms. RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing Quartz Parallel aggregate mix was laid in a curved shape across the centre of the courtyard, providing a pale contrast to the surrounding greenery and red brick of the building.

Product and application

Ronacrete Approved Contractor Elite Surfacing were sub-contracted to lay RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing across the 155 square metres of courtyard.

The RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing system was supplied as a two-component UV stable polyurethane resin and a blend of kiln-dried aggregates; the two resin components were mixed by Elite Surfacing with a slow speed drill and paddle before being added to a forced action mixer containing the Quartz Parallel aggregate blend. The RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing was spread to level before smoothing with a steel float.

RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing is a hard wearing, permeable (SuDS compliant) alternative to traditional paving and has the attractiveness of natural aggregate while being easily maintainable, unlike loose gravel. It is also suitable for wheel chairs and is slip-resistant. The resistance of the resin to ultra-violet light ensures that the resin will not yellow or darken over time, so the Quartz Parallel will retain its light appearance.

“RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing was specified because the Quartz Parallel aggregate mix contained a good selection of colour ways. The other important feature was that it suited the sinuous shape of the pathway unlike traditional paving, which would have necessitated a lot of cutting to shape and would have been more time-consuming and challenging to lay. The finished product in its inviting pale hue, looks immaculate and brightens up the enclosed courtyard.”

Frank Olchowski, Director, Denovo Design

Conclusion

RonaDeck Resin Bound Surfacing is an integral part of the outdoor space provided for the health and well being of the residents at Queen’s Court apartments. Denovo Design was very pleased with its performance and appearance and will be considering its use for future projects.

 

RonaBond four stages of concrete repair at St Saviours’ Estate

Repairs to six blocks of flats were carried out by Ronacrete Approved Contractor Gunite (Eastern) Ltd for Lengard on behalf of Southwark Council.  They used products from the Ronacrete RonaBond Concrete Repair & Coatings range as part of a larger refurbishment project costing around £4m.

Main contractor Lengard was awarded an internal and external refurbishment project by the London Borough of Southwark.  The refurbishment was carried out on six blocks of five, six and seven storey residential flats at St Saviours Estate, London SE1. The project required repairs to the fabric of the buildings.

Ronacrete Approved Contractor Gunite (Eastern) Ltd was sub-contracted by Lengard to carry out concrete repair and protective coatings, mastic joint sealing and brickwork repair.

Gunite cut out and prepared areas of damaged concrete, primed the exposed reinforcement with Ronacrete Standard Primer and then re-primed the reinforcement when the concrete was primed, before applying RonaBond HB40 high build polymer modified mortar.

RonaBond HB40 is a pre-packed high build polymer modified concrete repair mortar. It is often used to repair concrete on vertical surfaces and soffits where ease of application is as important as strength. It is typically applied in layers up to 50mm thick on walls on walls and 30mm thick on soffits.

RonaBond HB40 is particularly suited to the repair of overhead concrete, such as the underside of concrete staircases, which can become damaged over time, especially when exposed to the elements as the staircases are on the St Saviour’s estate.

The repaired areas were then made ready for decorative and protective coatings by the application of RonaBond Easy Skim FC. This is a pre-packed polymer modified mortar which is applied as a skim coat in thicknesses up to 3mm, to provide a smooth, hard finish to damaged, blemished and repaired concrete. It is a levelling mortar that provides a smooth “harder than plaster” finish to walls.

The final stage involved the application of decorative and protective coatings to the repaired surfaces. Two products were used at this stage, RonaBond Crack Bridging Anti-Carbonation Coating WB and RonaBond Anti-Carbonation Coating WB.

RonaBond Crack Bridging Anti-Carbonation Coating WB is a high build elastomeric, waterproof and carbonation-resistant façade coating based on water borne acrylsiloxane. It protects façades against water ingress while allowing diffusion of normal levels of background moisture vapour. It provides excellent protection against corrosion of the steel reinforcement when applied to reinforced concrete.  The siloxane component improves dirt shedding properties and protects against leaching of contamination through the coating.

RonaBond Anti-Carbonation Coating WB is a smooth, coloured, water borne acrylic anti-carbonation coating for use on vertical surfaces, soffits and at DPC level.  It allows the passage of moisture vapour so it is particularly suited for application to substrates which may contain entrapped moisture.  It can be applied to external walls and façades and protects against water, frost, and weathering it is also an effective barrier against the damaging effects of carbon dioxide gas. RonaBond Anti-Carbonation Coating WB is available in a wide range of colours, BS or RAL colours can be produced.

The RonaBond products used by Gunite provided a complete four stage concrete repair system at the St Saviour’s Estate project. Stage one, bonding agent (primer), stage two, polymer modified repair mortar (RonaBond HB40), stage three, levelling mortar (RonaBond Easy Skim FC) and stage four, protective and decorative coating (RonaBond Anti-carbonation Coating WB and RonaBond Crack Bridging Anti-carbonation Coating) greatly improving the integrity of the concrete and appearance of the flats on the St Saviour’s Estate, as well as providing protection from further corrosive damage for years to come.

RIBA CPD three – Concrete Repair & Protection to BS EN 1504 gains RIBA approval

Industry expert and manufacturer of construction products, Ronacrete, has had a third CPD approved by RIBA. Concrete Repair and Protection to BS EN 1504 is the third CPD from Ronacrete to receive RIBA approval in less than a year.

The CPD Concrete Repair & Protection to BS EN 1504 has been assessed by RIBA and categorised under the core curriculum subject:

Designing and building it: design, construction, technology and engineering

Compliance: the legal, regulatory and statutory framework

Knowledge level: General awareness

Learning outcomes of the CPD – a knowledge, awareness and understanding of:

• Causes of concrete degradation
• Assessing the types of repairs required
• Types of repair available
• Testing methods

This RIBA certified seminar offers guidance on the correct methods of carrying out concrete repairs and what can be done to avoid future issues. The seminar focuses on the importance of preparation, installation methods and protection.

Concrete Repair and Protection to BS EN 1504 will be presented at the RIBA roadshow in Brighton on 23^rd April and can be booked online at http://www.ribacpd.com/cpdroadshow/riba-brighton-cpd-roadshow/124/

“Our technical team have put a lot of time and effort into producing an interesting and informative CPD about the implications of BS EN 1504 on concrete repair projects. I am sure it will prove as popular as the other two RIBA approved CPDs (Guide to Specifying Modified Screeds and SuDS Compliant Permeable Paving – Resin Bound Surfacing Systems) that Ronacrete is now delivering to architect firms on a weekly basis and which are receiving very positive feedback.”

The RIBA Core Curriculum was created by RIBA for its members to ensure that key architectural skills are covered in learning activities. It is a requirement that chartered members take part in a minimum of 20 of their yearly 35 hours CPD from the Curriculum, spending two hours of CPD time in each of ten key topics. RIBA Certified CPDs can be identified by the RIBA CPD Providers Network logo and attract double CPD points.

CPD in the workplace

The Ronacrete technical team are also happy to travel to present the CPDs in the workplace and will reimburse for lunch. Further information and booking details for RIBA CPDs can be obtained by calling 01279 638700 or by sending an email to cpd@ronacrete.co.uk.