Asset Management

If you have the responsibility of maintaining a concrete structure, you may already have seen that concrete deteriorating. Concrete remediation can be challenging and expensive. Let’s talk about underlying causes Concrete deterioration, other than structural failure or movement, can almost ... Read More

Whether basement or above ground, concrete car parks are under a high level of situational stress. Traffic load and abrasion; carbonation from exhaust fumes; exposure to moisture-borne contaminants carried in by tyres; and for roof decks, total exposure to the ... Read More

It’s Costly to Maintain Concrete Infrastructure If you’re in charge of the care of civil road or bridge infrastructure (or the related repair budget) you’ll be well aware maintenance does not come cheap; to say nothing of the cost of ... Read More

Wind is a clean source of renewable energy, with minimal operational costs once a turbine is erected. Technological advances, and production process improvements, are reducing the construction costs for wind turbines and farms. Hence the increasing number of farms around ... Read More

Multi-level car parks are not very exciting structures, but of course they’re practical. Due to the inherently low visual appeal, it sometimes seems the façade gets the most attention in the design process! Markham But if you want your car ... Read More

No doubt you know that high-quality curing actually helps concrete last longer. … You’re probably very conscious of high-pressure timeframes and stringent budgets. … In many ways, that sums up the tension that’s going on in this space: cost and ... Read More

Infrastructure for water is a big subject – delivering water, removing water, storage, and processing, not to mention effluent. And there’s a lot of concrete involved in all that infrastructure. What’s involved in maximising service life for concrete water infrastructure? ... Read More

Waterproofing concrete is a potent topic. Are we protecting the contents of the structure? Whatever the structure shelters or encases may need to be protected from the weather, or groundwater, or other elements. Conversely, maybe the structure holds liquid and ... Read More

Wolter Reinold de Sitter, part-time Professor in design of structures in concrete at Eindhoven University of Technology, proposed a Law of Fives for structural concrete maintenance. There are various English versions extant, but fundamentally the Law reads as follows: The ... Read More

Let’s talk about … maintaining concrete bridges. Yes, mundane. But this is an expensive topic. Markham adding life to concrete The Tension of Costs If you are involved in a maintenance budget you’ll be keenly aware of the tension of ... Read More

It’s no secret that the marine environment is particularly challenging for concrete. Structures in the tide or splash zones are especially vulnerable to ageing. The fluctuating moisture levels aggressively introduce contaminants such as chlorides and sulphates into the matrix of ... Read More

Of course, concrete structures will withstand water exposure. After all, concrete’s innate durability is one of the reasons the material is used so extensively in construction. This includes exposed civil infrastructure such as bridges, wharves, and transport elements. Markham adding ... Read More