Densifiers Used for Moisture and Color Problems
Densifier stops the deterioration and improves the integrity of the concrete. For new concrete, it is used as a cure. For older concrete, it can be used as a "densifying" sealer under the decorative overlayment.
by Dave Cagle
that will be used by tens of thousands of people, at a minimum, per day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Add to the mix a concrete contractor's nightmare of staining substances, such as spilled coffee, colas and any manner of sticky substances. Keep in mind these substances will have to be removed on a daily basis with a minimum amount of expended labor. Now imagine you have to guarantee that your walkway will look just as it did the day it opened — five years from now.
This is certainly not your typical scenario, but it is one that is faced by concrete contractors who work regularly with the nation's largest theme and amusement parks.
"We're not talking about a typical residential walkway or swimming pool patio," says "Honk" Visger, general superintendent of Site Technology in Atlanta. "Yet, even though it has to stand up to extremely high-volume pedestrian traffic, when you're working on a theme park, the finished product can't look industrial. It has to blend in with the surroundings, and look every bit as pretty as something you would find in a high-end private residence.
Tiger Wall — This new wall is was produced with shotcrete application using two colors of integrally colored concrete. Densifier was applied prior to the artists painting work. Protecting the painting was the use of a UV sealer.
Visger works with virtually every type of architectural concrete in his walkway projects for a number of the top theme parks in the country, including colored stamped, textured and exposed aggregate. But he says he gets a lot of help in preserving his projects' color integrity with the use of a product called PROTECRETE Densifier, also known as PROTECRETE-CDS Concrete Densifier Sealer.
"Densifier works extremely well in preventing staining substances from penetrating the concrete," says Visger. "These walkways have to hold up to everything from strawberry ice cream to Coca-Cola, and every other imaginable thing that can be spilled on them. We've found that Densifier not only helps to prevent staining, but also makes it much easier to wash down the walkways at the end of the day." |
