Solutions for Car Parking Garages

Sika solutions make a positive contribution to all car parking garages' overall building performance while also reducing construction and operating costs. With longstanding experience in providing solutions to meet new build or renovation car parking garage project needs, Sika products and systems fulfill a wide range of applications, including:

Flooring for ground bearing slabs, intermediate decks
Flooring for top decks and exposed areas
Flooring for ramps and entrance areas
Flooring for entrance areas, walkways and staircases
Floor joint and detailing solutions
Corrosion and fire protection for steel structures
Waterproofing for the building envelope
Concrete repair and refurbishment
Roofing

Sika produces Single-Ply and liquid Applied Membranes designed for built-up parking deck and flat roofing systems, as well as thermal insulation and all the required ancillary materials and accessories. More than 50 years of success in this field all around the world has now clearly documented that Sika parking deck and roof waterproofing solutions provide outstanding performance, with reliable, sustainable, and long-lasting results.

Current demand in the flat roofing segment is driven by the need for eco-friendly, energy-saving solutions such as green roof systems, cool roofs, and solar roofs, which can all simultaneously help to reduce CO2 emissions. Whilst refurbishment projects continue to gain in significance for mature markets such as Europe, emerging markets elsewhere are still moving towards higher quality roofing solutions with complete Sika membrane system solutions. For parking structures, the Sika membrane systems are primarily used to meet the demand for ballasted or green roofs and utility roof decks where the top layer of the system build-up is also designed as a hard-wearing surface
for pedestrian and / or vehicular traffic.

Because of their exposure to the elements, the top decks and externally exposed areas of parking structures suffer not only from the diverse stresses of vehicular traffic and chemical attack, but the seasonal and daily thermal variations and fluctuations which cause significant dimensional changes in the structure and its components.

The Sikafloor® parking structure systems are specifically designed to accommodate and where possible to absorb this stress and ensure the waterproofing and protection are maintained durably over time. In these exposed areas it is of course very important to properly plan the drainage and also the color of the decks. Lighter colors have higher solar reflectance and can therefore help in keeping a building cool. Sika provides system solutions for every application area and exposure requirements.

On intermediate decks the traffic can impart significant and often high stresses on the surface, into the concrete substrate and the whole structure. Therefore tough and rigid systems are used to protect against damage in a cost-effective way. Sikafloor® MultiDur EB-24 and the fast curing variants Sikafloor® Pronto RB-25 or RB-28, which are based on methacrylate, are durable deck coating solutions.

In a filigree load carrying structure such as many modern parking structures, cracks are likely to form and then to open and close in the decks. Therefore Sika provides solutions that are elastic and crack-bridging as well as being extremly wear resistant to accommodate these cracks and the abrasive traffic loadings.

The epoxy resin based, rigid Sikafloor® MultiDur EB-14 is a standard solution to protect the ground bearing slab. With high wear and chemical resistance it is a cost effective standardised solution for typical ground floors in multi-storey car parks.When lower levels of exposure are anticipated, good protection can also be provided using Sikafloor® HardTop CS-23 W, which creates a monolithic concrete floor finish that is an economic solution for surface hardening and good wear resistance.

In some buildings groundwater pressure can impose additional stress on the ground floor deck coating system from below, which can sometimes appear as blistering in flexible coatings and/or in delamination of larger area. In these situations a water vapor permeable coating system as Sikafloor® MultiDur WB-10, can relieve and accommodate this pressure without adverse effect on the resinous top coating system. Additional the epoxy resin based primers Sikafloor®-160, Sikafloor®-161 and Sikafloor®-701 fulfil EN 13578 as being suitable for use on wet concrete and therefore these can also provide a safe base coat for the desired subsequent resin coating layers.

The 30 year track record of Sikafloor® EpoCem systems providing solutions as as a temporary moisture barrier (TMB) to allow successful resin coating system applications on green or damp concrete, clearly shows the ideal way to achieve durable long term success for applications on such challenging substrates. Sikafloor® EpoCem bonds perfectly to green or hardened concrete, whether dry or damp and uniquely therefore prevents osmotic blistering of resin based coatings over damp substrates. 

Car park entrances and ramps usually have the highest traffic loading in terms of frequency, breaking and acceleration, sometimes in combination with higher speeds, which dictate the need for the highest resistance and durability against this stress. High slip resistance is frequently an additional requirement in these areas, in order to prevent cars from crashing into kerbs, walls or barriers.

Sikafloor® MultiDur EB-14 is a cost effective and tough, rigid system designed to withstand these high demands. The polyurethane resin based Sikafloor® Multiflex PB-32 is a tough elastic system which can also absorb some significant movement of the structure. The ramps and entrance areas are often sections that cannot be closed or blocked off for maintenance works, or if they can, then only for a very short time. For refurbishment works in these areas the very fast curing and tough elastic Sikafloor® Pronto RB-25 and RB-55 systems, are ideal and enable the areas to be put back in to service with the minimum of delay.

The unique Sikafloor® OneShot PB-55 and PB-55 UV systems are the ultimate problem solvers on the market for this type of critical application. They combine the performance properties of a top quality deck coating with the speed of application of a spray applied polyurea membrane and the whole system build-up is completed in less than one day and trafficable after just a few hours. The Sikafloor® OneShot system properties in service also exceed the performance requirements in terms of wear resistance, crack bridging and durability for a long service-life.

Floor joints in parking garage decks are a major challenge in both new construction and the refurbishment of existing structures, as their water tightness is one of the key factors for durability. With specially designed connection flanges, Sika® FloorJoint PD and Sika® FloorJoint PDRS are combined with Sikadur® Combiflex® SG to provide 100% watertight movement joints. As previously mentioned in regard to modern parking structures and customer preference, the environment and aesthetics play an increasingly important role. In addition to creating a lot of undesirable traffic noise, traditional metal edged and mechanical movement joint systems have clear limitations where the joint line and widths are variable or complex in these situations.

Also when noise reduction is specifically required the Sika® FloorJoint PD joint panel proves its strengths. This prefabricated carbon fibre reinforced polymer concrete panel fits seamlessly and virtually invisibly into the joints and with the adjacent resin coating systems and floor coverings. In the difficult areas where ramps and deck / floor slabs connect, vertical movement in these joints can often occur and cause problems; there is also the potential for larger vertical joint movement caused by the extended length of the slabs. In these situations Sika® FloorJoint PDRS is the perfect solution as the concentric integral rubber seal allows for greater movement and at the same time it protects the watertight Sikadur® Combiflex® system from damage.

The prerequisite requirement for a car park flooring system is a sound concrete support structure and floor slabs. Therefore adequate monitoring and maintenance of the reinforced concrete is essential in order to ensure the designed service-life of both the protection systems and the structure itself.

Sika has a full range of well-proven products and systems for all aspects of concrete refurbishment, including many innovative solutions that are ideal for use on parking structures, for example:

• Steel reinforcement protection
• High performance repair mortars
• Protective water repelling hydrophobic impregnations
• High performance protective and aesthetic surface coatings
• Penetrating
  
• Corrosion inhibitors
• Joint sealing and waterproofing systems
• Structural strengthening systems
  

A durablelong-lasting corrosion protection system is required for steel parking structures that is for exposure classified as more severe than just their location. This is due to their open structured design that is open to the elements, plus the aggressive influences of exhaust fumes and possibly automotive fluids, de-icing salts and the vibrations from vehicular traffic.

Therefore, high performance corrosion protection is important for both new build and refurbishment of parking structures,where the materials may have to be applied offsite the paint shop, or on site in the ambient conditions of the location. Similar corrosion protection coatings are necessary for many other steel components as well as the load bearing structure and ancillary equipment for operation, including all of the parapets, barriers and security fencing, plus any communication masts and other equipment supports, etc.It can be difficult to make the right price-performance selection of the best optimized corrosion protection coating systems from the numerous ones available in the market, but Sika can guide you through this efficiently. With the SikaCor®and Sika® Permacor® ranges, the right solution is available for every steel coatings application.

Sika has over 100 years of experience in providing below ground waterproofing solutions. The selection of the most appropriate waterproofing concept and system for any specific project is dependent on many factors, and it is important to involve a qualified waterproofing specialist at the early stages of design – for both new and refurbishment projects.

Underground car parking areas are no longer just utilitarian spaces, where a dark, damp and uninviting environment is acceptable. So once again to ensure the attractive appearance and an inviting, useable and saleable environment, the waterproofing of your buildings’ basement is of the utmost importance, and it is also essential for the smooth operation of an underground car park.This is in addition to the potentially disastrous consequences of damage caused by water ingress that could result in major additional costs during the life cycle of your structure and even significantly reduce its life span. Fortunately Sika has developed secure, proven waterproofing solutions for both new build and refurbishment of underground parking structures.