Concrete Repair

Concrete repair products and protective coatings

Licata supplies concrete repair mortars, reinforcement passivation products, levelling and finishing coats and anti-carbonation coatings for the repair and long-term protection of reinforced concrete structures.

Why concrete fails, and why patching does not fix it

Reinforced concrete deteriorates from the inside. Steel reinforcement is protected by the alkalinity of the surrounding concrete, which forms a passive layer preventing corrosion. Over decades, carbonation and chloride ingress reduce that alkalinity, the passive layer breaks down, and the steel begins to corrode.

Corroding steel expands, and that expansion generates pressure that cracks and spalls the concrete cover. Once the cover is gone the steel is directly exposed, and the process accelerates.

This is why simply patching the visible damage does not work. Placing repair mortar over corroding reinforcement leaves the mechanism running behind the repair, and within a few years the patch is pushed off by the same expansion that caused the original damage. Exposed steel must be cleaned and passivated before any repair mortar goes on.

A complete repair sequence

An EN 1504-compliant repair follows a sequence, and each stage exists for a reason:

• Breaking out the damaged concrete back to sound material, and behind the reinforcement where it has corroded
• Cleaning the reinforcement to remove all corrosion products
• Passivating the steel with a protective coating to re-establish protection against further corrosion
• Applying repair mortar selected for the depth of section loss and whether the repair is structural or cosmetic
• Levelling and finishing to reinstate the surface profile
• Protective coating to slow carbonation and chloride ingress and extend the service life of the whole element

Structural and cosmetic repair

Not every repair is structural. Balcony front and soffit renovation is often about restoring appearance and arresting deterioration on elements that are not carrying significant load. Structural reintegration of columns and beams is a different matter and requires high-build structural repair mortars with the compressive and bond strength to reinstate the load path.

Getting the classification right determines which mortar is specified, and that decision should sit with the structural engineer on the project rather than being made on site.

Anti-carbonation protection

Repairing damage without addressing its cause leaves the structure heading back the same way. Anti-carbonation coatings slow the ingress of carbon dioxide and chlorides that drove the deterioration in the first place, while remaining vapour open so the concrete can still dry.

On any repair project it is worth coating the whole element rather than only the repaired areas, both for appearance and to give consistent protection across the structure.

Technical support and supply

Concrete repair products are stocked across our six UK branches. Our technical team can advise on system selection, product quantities and specification documentation for your project.