June 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
64
Flooring products supplied by
a.b.e. Construction Chemicals
we r e u s e d f o r n ew
floors at the Windhoek
premi ses o f I ndus t r i a l
Building Supplies (IBS).
products & services
a.b.e. – PART OF THE CHRYSO
Southern
Africa Group – supplied a combination of its
trusted flooring products, abecote 337 tough
epoxy paint and abeflo for the 600 m
2
new
floors at the IBS retail/warehouse outlet in
the Namibian capital.
abecote 337 is a two-component, solvent
free, water dispersed epoxy emulsion that
produces a floor coatingwith a paint smooth
finish. Abecote 337 epoxy floor coating is
not only decorative but robust enough to
have been applied as protection for factory
and warehouse floors throughout Southern
Africa. Floors at chicken farms, dairies, motor
workshops and even battery plants – with
their acidic environment – are protected
with abecote 337. The product is also used
as concrete curingmembrane and primer for
a.b.e. hi-build and abeflo.
abeflo is a four-component, solvent
free, self levelling flooring system with clear
resin and hardener components.The product
caters for high-hygiene standards and pro-
vides strong colour retention and a medium
gloss finish.The product also has a derivative
in abeflo HPU: a polyurethane self levelling
chemical resistance mortar.
Peter Jones, a.b.e. Construction Chemicals’
product manager: flooring, says IBS was
impressed by a product presentation on
abeflo he had conducted in Namibia last
year and selected the product to achieve
the neat, smooth, and hard wearing surface
it was seeking for its newflooring. Architects,
Decora ofWindhoek, as a result specified the
a.b.e. system for the project.
“a.b.e.-approved applicator, Implicor
of Windhoek, headed by Chris Deetering,
requested that I fly to Windhoek to
personally supervise the smooth application
of these a.b.e. products. Implicor had
previously undergone a.b.e. training for a
flooring project it handled for Windhoek
Breweries,”Jones states.
“For the IBS project, Implicor initially
THE SOLUTION FOR THIS
demand is Sika’s latest technology Sika
ViscoFlow. In the area of concrete admixtures for ready-mixed and
site-mixed concrete, the Sika ViscoFlow product group opens up
new possibilities for retention of the consistency of concrete and
thus for its workability over periods of hours.
The key element of Sika ViscoFlow is the latest technology
polycarboxylate ether-based superplasticiser, which (enhances)
the workability time significantly, allowing for the period needed
to transport and place the concrete properly.
The initial setting of the concrete is thereby only extended by the
additional workability time gained by the use of this polymer.This is
important for urban construction sites with congested traffic, or in
remote areas resulting in long transportation times.The workability
time can thus be defined based on the requirements:
• Slump retention without additional retardation and
subsequent fast strength development
• Constant slump flow and consistency of your concrete for
hours
• Suitable for a wide range of applications with high or low
water/cement ratio and/or high or low ambient temperatures
Consistency and duration of workability of the concrete mixture
are thereby positively affected along the entire dosing spectrum.
This holds true for all Portland cement types. Sika ViscoFlow
Windhoek industrial warehouse
had to vacuum grind the floors before
applying two coats of abecote 337 as primer.
The primer was required as the floor was
very porous. The primer was applied late in
the afternoon and early evening to help the
systempenetrate the substrate as themidday
heat cooled off. This is always recommended
in areas of extreme temperatures.
A 2 mm thick coating of abeflo – in Pale
Grey colouring – was subsequently applied
to produce quality flooringwhich completely
met the client’s expectation and approval,”
he adds.
In over seven decades of operation, a.b.e.
ConstructionChemicals has formulatedprod-
ucts that are trusted and applied by major
flooring contractors, and can also be used by
the home-owner/DIY enthusiast.
●
Workability enhancing admixture
The South African construction industry with its
many challenging projects is demandingmore
and more workability time of fresh concrete,
in order to be as flexible as possible.
