Profoundly damaged by decades of wear and tear, the floor of this historical production hall had to be adapted for new requirements. Parts of the base plate and bituminous screed were contaminated by decades of spilled hydraulic oil with high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
As a heritage building, the floor could not easily be replaced due to concerns about the stability of the construction and had to be repaired while conserving its stabilizing function.
In cooperation with the local environmental agency, the parts of the floor slab and underlying soil that were most heavily polluted with PAH were replaced and in areas of reduced penetration depth, material-conserving and environmentally sound extraction techniques were used.
In preparation of a new industrial concrete screed, the underlying constructive plate had to be patched, filled, cracks had to be filled and service trenches had to be filled in a way that would provide a crack-free monolithic underconstruction for the poured concrete screed.
In just two working days, the new industrial floor of the 3500 square meter hall was poured. A shrink-reduced, fast-curing pumpable concrete screed system was used providing an almost joint-free floor.
Despite the extremely labor intensive preparation of the concrete substrate, the project could be completed at a lower cost compared to a full replacement of the floor.
After completion of the new screed, a sealant of epoxy – emulsion was used to reduce the build-up of dust and dirt.