Cerritos Civic Center Parking Structure

The Cerritos Civic Center Parking Structure is the central transportation hub for the Civic Center. Originally coated with a urethane deck coating, years of exposure, traffic, vibration, earthquakes and soft settling had taken their toll. It was finally determined by City Engineers that in the long-term, installation of a new coating on the exposed surfaces, coupled with crack repair, would be the most cost-effective solution. Innovative Painting & Waterproofing brought in Polycoat Products for an assessment of the structure. Polycoat’s inspection resulted in the recommendation of a Polyurea-based membrane system with a urethane finish, due to very short recoat times, extremely high tensile strength, high elongation and superior integrated film bonding and toughness. With the critical issues of limited work periods, short project time window, and need for availability of portions of the structure at all times, polyurea was selected for the project due to its combination of durability and speed of application.

Massive removal and preparation procedures were implemented, immediately followed by concrete repair. As quickly as repairs were cured, surfaces were primed with Series 21 Epoxy Primer. Then the major water intrusion system was installed – Series 5502 Aromatic Polyurea, applied by high-temperature, high-pressure plural-component spray using Graco EXP-2 Reactor pumps (with feed pumps, electrical power, air compressor and repair/maintenance shop all enclosed in multiple trailer/workshops with the EXP-2) and Fusion guns.

With the quick-set properties of 5502, Innovative’s spray technicians were able to immediately follow with a coat of Series 6881 Polyurea, a slightly slower-curing system specifically chosen for aggregate broadcast embedment. #16 aggregate was blown onto the surface using a technique specifically developed for the project – employing hopper-type texture guns to blow aggregate over the surface in a uniform manner at 5 times the speed of a normal broadcast, which was followed by Polyglaze 100 Urethane finish.

The area was then finished with line striping and epoxy setting of concrete parking bumpers. As each area was completed, it was opened up to traffic and another area underwent the identical process and the critical time window was met thanks to precise planning and logistics.

Jim Sliff
Vice President
Innovative Painting & Waterproofing Inc.
www.waterproofingcontractor.com