Concrete Repairs Limited (CRL) recently completed Phase 3 of the repairs and refurbishment contract to the Greyfriars Multi-Storey Car Park in Ipswich town centre. CRL was the Principal Contractor, and the total length of the contract was 3 (three) years.
The Greyfriars building consists of offices on the ground and first floors and the 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 floors are a covered car park with level 9 and 10 being the roof which is split-level. The building is owned by Willis Towers Watson who are an American insurance company.
The contract was made up of various different activities. There was a new sika pronto floor coating/decking system applied to all the decks of the car park and the entrance / exit ramps once the existing floor had been prepared by concrete floor planers. After a thorough corrosion survey was carried out to the concrete decks a cathodic protection system was designed and installed.
There were concrete repairs to the soffits and decks on each floor. These elements were first surveyed and repair drawings issued. A new lighting system was also installed to the whole car park which was designed to work with the existing sensors. All walls and soffits of each floor, as well as the outside of the building, was jet washed and re coated.
It was decided that on the first phase levels 10, 9, 8 and the entrance/exit ramps would be completed. The second phase consisted of various similar works to levels 7, 6, 5 and 4. The third phase included levels 3 & 4 and the redecoration of the external parts of the building.
As the car park was still in use while the work was being carried out CRL and the car park management team had to work together programming the traffic management and co-ordinating the different stages of the contract.
CRL have carried out most of the work in house. The electrical works were carried out by our sister company, Equilux. The preparation to the existing floor decks was carried out by a sub-contractor as it involved large specialist equipment. The Jet washing and re-coating of the walls and soffits again was done by Subcontractors due to the equipment involved.
The car park was closed for the majority of the project due to the Covid Lockdown, so there was little interaction with the public. However, CRL implemented a bespoke risk assessment and method statement to deal with Covid-19 based on the latest Government Guidance on working safely during coronavirus.
In line with this guidance, we implemented a Track & Trace system by displaying QR codes on our site offices we also provided site teams with snoods that could be worn as a face shield when other task specific PPE wasn’t required. We enforced where possible the 2m rule. We provided cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures and products in line with guidance to help stop the spread of the virus. We used our SHEQ Form 13 Site Sign-In Register to register and trace everyone visiting site.