The Elan, Sydney

CONSULTANT: Diagnostech
BUILDER: Biltbeta

At 136 meters, 40 stories, The Elan is one of the tallest residential apartment blocks in Sydney. The building is also situated in the highest part of Kings Cross, 45 meters above sea level. Built in 1997, there are 18,200 cubic meters of concrete and 2,550 tonnes of reinforcing steel in The Elan.

Challenge
20 years after it was built, The Elan required a complete façade overhaul that included crack and joint repairs, she-blot repairs, spalling concrete, render repair, concrete crack injection, balustrade post repairs and façade coating systems. Furthermore, several balconies required re-waterproofing. ARDEX Australia in conjunction with the consultant specified a wholistic solution that included a complete, fully warrantable SystemARDEX approach. Works commenced in May 2016 and are expected to be completed early 2018. The size of the building makes it one of the largest façade restoration projects currently in Sydney.

Solution
Before work on the façade coating could start, concrete repairs were essential on parts of the building. Spalling concrete and she-bolt hole repairs were rectified with ARDEX BR 345 MICROTEC® Fibre-Reinforced, High Resistivity, Polymer-Modified, Structural Concrete Patching and Repair Mortar and ARDEX BR 120 FC Polymer-Modified, Fibre-Reinforced Fairing Coat.

Areas that were affected by cracks in concrete were reinstated by using ARDEX RA 88 Multi-Purpose Epoxy Repair Adhesive to adhere ARDEX T-Ports, a unique pressure injection port system, before injecting ARDEX RA 142 Super Low Viscosity Structural Concrete Crack Injection Epoxy for hairline cracks and ARDEX RA 144 Low Viscosity Structural Concrete Crack Injection Epoxy for cracks that were wider than 1mm. For render repairs, ARDEX WR Prime Performance Enhancing Polymer Primer & Additive was used in conjunction with ARDEX WR 100 General Purpose Acrylic Render.
There was a large number of joints that needed to be repaired and re-sealed. Throughout the project, a range of ARDEX sealants were used including ARDEX CA 20 P Multipurpose Construction Adhesive and Sealant, ARDEX RA 030 One Component, Moisture-Curing Expansion Joint Sealant and ARDEX RA 040 Polyurethane Joint Sealant.

The specified façade coating system included the use of two coats of ARDEX WPM 300, a two-component water based epoxy polyamide membrane/barrier coating, followed by two coats of ARDEX WPM 330 External Anti-Carbonation Façade Membrane.

Unique Elements
Due to the size of the structure, there was a significant amount of product required to coat the façade. In total, there are approximately 35,000 litres of WPM 300 and an additional 35,000 litres of WPM 330 that were used for the façade coating system.

Dennis Stephenson, Managing Director of Diagnostech Pty Ltd provided the following comment: “We selected ARDEX at the design stage because ARDEX were really the only supplier who offered the full system warranty. The project required compatibility between all products including sealants, render repairs, concrete repairs and coatings. This ultimately provided a level of comfort to the client, knowing that this full system compatibility had been considered and agreed between Consultant, Supplier and Contractor.

We also appreciated the fact that ARDEX were willing to assist Diagnostech with ongoing quality control inspections as the works progressed. This has certainly contributed to what has been a very successful façade refurbishment project.”