A Mapei system has been used to strengthen the structure of a new digital business support and entrepreneurial centre – The Bloxwich Launchpad. Located within the former Bloxwich post office, the new centre was delivered by Speller Metcalfe for Walsall Council. The Mapei application, which included strengthening of all structural beams and some minor concrete repairs to support columns, was completed by structural refurbishment specialist, Makers Construction.

The Bloxwich Launchpad initiative is one of five projects taking place under the Bloxwich Town Deal and forms part of a £1.5 billion transformation programme of investment taking place within the borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands. As well as providing modern facilities to help local residents upskill and access back-to-work support, the centre also includes meeting rooms, crafting spaces and a print room to support entrepreneurs and small businesses.

All works were carried out by Lichfield-based Makers Construction, who also brought Mapei to the project. The Mapei system was specified to strengthen the beams supporting the first floor and edge ring beams, which required upgrading to support the load of an additional new roof office space. The installation utilised approximately 100 lm of 100 x 1.2mm Mapei Carbon Carboplate Laminates.

Following preparation of the surface, levelling and filling of small surface defects, Adesilex PG1 – an EMICODE: EC1 Plus-certified very low VOC thixotropic epoxy adhesive – was applied to Mapei Carboplate carbon fibre laminates using a specially designed tool on site to ensure a constant adhesive thickness of 2mm. The laminates were then applied by hand to strengthen the underside of the beams. The 100mm Pultrused carbon fibre plates are pre-impregnated in epoxy-based resin which gives resistance, flexibility and structural strength gain. To provide additional shear strengthening to the beams they were primed with Mapewrap Primer 1 and, finally, Mapewrap Carbon Fibre sheets were installed using Mapewrap 31 – a solvent-free, impregnating epoxy resin. Whilst the Mapewrap 31 was still tacky, the carbon fibre wrap was broadcast with kiln dried sand to give a key to the final render and coating system.

“We assigned a team of four skilled tradesmen specialising in concrete repair and structural strengthening to this project. Once the preparation work on the columns and beams was completed, repairs were reinstated using Mapei Planitop Smooth R4 structural repair mortar. The product was highly workable, easy to apply, and delivered an excellent finish. The beam strengthening process also exceeded our expectations in terms of ease of application, both for the carbon plates and the wrap. This was further supported by site visits and guidance from the Mapei team. The client was extremely satisfied with the quality of the final result as it was completed to a high standard,” commented Simon Lamb, Managing Director, Makers Construction.

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