Corrosion Control with Protectosil® CIT
Reference Objects
Florida Condominiums
The balconies of apartment buildings are very exposed to the negative effects of weather. Balconies often deteriorate much faster than the rest of the building. This problem is even more acute in seaside areas where the air has a high salt content. Over time, water and dissolved chloride ions can corrode the balconies‘ reinforcing steel, weakening them structurally.
The Ocean Sands condominiums in Madeira Beach, Florida, faced just this problem. By the mid-1990s numerous cracks in the balconies’s surfaces revealed considerable rusting of the reinforcing steel underneath.
In order to stop further deterioration, in 1996 the owners contracted Gulf Coast Waterproofing, Inc. to repair the balconies and apply Protectosil® CIT corrosion inhibitor treatment. Since then annual testing has shown that Protectosil® CIT has actually reduced corrosion levels to low to passive states. Because Protectosil® CIT penetrates deeply into the concrete, binding chemically with the silica of the concrete, it cannot be washed or worn away. Recent core samples taken from the Ocean Sands balconies show Protectosil® CIT still present in the concrete, protecting it from the harsh effects of a mild climate.
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