In the spotlight: Planitop® 12 SR

Canada’s winters hammer concrete with repeated freeze/thaw cycles and heavy use of de-icing salts. Planitop 12 SR is engineered for exactly that environment: it achieves a 97% durability factor after 300 freeze–thaw cycles (ASTM C666-A) and shows no scaling after 50 cycles of de-icing-salt exposure (ASTM C672). Those results translate into repairs that resist surface pop-outs and scaling through long winters and spring thaws.

Road salt and coastal spray accelerate steel corrosion by pushing chlorides into the repair zone. Planitop 12 SR has very low chloride ion permeability, less than 1,000 coulombs as perASTM C1202, helping slow the ingress of chlorides that can corrode rebar and shorten service life. Its formulation includes a corrosion inhibitor to further protect embedded steel, a valuable safeguard on bridges, parking decks and marine‐exposed structures. In the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, Planitop 12 SR is even listed by their respective Ministries of Transportation (MOT) as recognized repair products.

In many parts of Canada, soils or groundwater contain sulfates that attack ordinary cementitious repairs. Planitop 12 SR is sulfate-resistant (≤ 0.05% expansion at six months per ASTM C1012), which helps the patch stay dimensionally stable and intact in sulfate-rich settings like foundations, retaining walls and wastewater assets.

Cold weather workability and jobsite practicality matter when repair windows are short. Planitop 12 SR is a one-component mortar, so crews can mix and install quickly without the need to batch multiple components in sub-zero staging areas. It can be applied by trowel or low-pressure spray, and bonds strongly to existing concrete. This makes it an excellent choice when repairs are required on concrete elements of non-standard geometry, or if quick installation is required on a large surface area.

Durability is another key feature of this repair mortar. Planitop 12 SR is fiber-reinforced to provide greater tensile strength and control of cracking; silica fume densifies the microstructure for abrasion resistance; and shrinkage compensation limits cracking. Together, these features produce a tough, low-permeability repair that resists wear from snowplows, studded tires and tracked equipment on ramps and industrial slabs. As well, it’s our ideal repair solution for concrete structures exposed to high levels of erosion such as dam penstocks and water treatment tanks, where contaminants in the water slowly erode the concrete. Planitop 12 SR can achieve half the weight loss compared to regular 35-MPa concrete when exposed to heavy abrasion, as per ASTM C 779.

Strength gain supports rapid return to service. Typical compressive strengths exceed 20 MPa at one day and 72 MPa at 28 days (ASTM C109), with strong slant-shear bond values that help the repair act monolithically with the substrate, which is key for traffic-bearing patches that must handle early thermal cycling and vibration.

Versatility also matters in Canada’s diverse infrastructure. Planitop 12 SR is suitable for vertical, overhead and horizontal repairs up to 2" (50 mm) per lift without formwork, so it’s equally suitable for bridge soffits, parapets, pier caps, balconies and tunnel linings. That simplifies stocking and training across widely separated jobsites.

Finally, Planitop 12 SR is certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61, enabling repairs in contact with potable water, which makes it useful for treatment plants and reservoirs from coast to coast.

Bottom line: with proven freeze/thaw and de-icing-salt performance, sulfate resistance, low chloride permeability, fast strength development and broad placement options, Planitop 12 SR delivers resilient, long-lasting concrete repairs tailored to Canada’s harsh climatic demands