A major restoration project is underway at North Marine Park in South Shields.

This £3.2 million scheme will see the historic park brought back to its original Victorian roots.

Contractor CSC Services is delivering the work as part of the National Lottery-funded programme.

The firm has also called on Sika to provide its concrete repair and management system on structures throughout the park, including a bowls clubhouse. With the building showing signs of disrepair, initial investigations involved its exposed perimeter soffit being subjected to a series of hammer tests. The perimeter of each repair site was then saw-cut to a minimum 10mm depth or until steel reinforcement was encountered. Repair sites were broken out to 25mm beyond the back of steel reinforcement, with residual material being cleared during each shift to minimise trip hazards.

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Before installing Sika's repair solution, all concrete surfaces were jet washed to remove contamination. Sika® FerroGard®-903 was then installed. This corrosion inhibitor coating delays the start of corrosion and reduces its progression. The liquid solution penetrates the surface to form a protective monomolecular layer on the reinforcing steel. Corrosion protection with Sika® FerroGard®-903 can increase service and maintenance lifecycles by up to 15 years when used as a part of a complete Sika concrete repair and protection system. Steel reinforcement and repair sites were primed with Sika® MonoTop®-610, a high-performance, polymer-modified solution, and reinstated with Sika® MonoTop®-615 repair mortar.

Concrete due to be treated was thoroughly soaked with clean water until uniformly saturated without any standing water. Sika® MonoTop®-620, a one-component, polymer-modified cementitious smoothing coat, was installed over the concrete surface to seal pores and the level the mortar. Water-based primer, Sikagard-552W Aquaprimer, was used ahead of several coats of Sikagard® -550W. This crack-bridging protective coating works at low temperature, providing excellent resistance against weathering and ageing. It offers a high diffusion resistance against CO2, reduces the rate of carbonation and is resistant to aggressive atmospheric influences.

CSC Services said: "Sika's concrete repair and total management system proved ideal for this project. Its usability was as impressive as its performance – it lived-up to every expectation. It ensured this challenging works programme was completed on time and without issue."