18 Apr 2018
More and more international projects are seeing Andura specialist coatings used for exterior finishing of buildings.
This month sees the completion of six apartment blocks in Gibraltar with Andura’s Pro-Flex high performance coating.
Built in the mid 1980s, the Watergardens, Gibraltar is a complex of six luxury apartment blocks up to 12 floors high comprising some 300 apartments. Situated beside the Ocean Village Marina and beneath the Rock of Gibraltar, the apartments have panoramic views to both Spain and Morocco.
When the apartments came up for external redecoration, having been painted some 10 years previously, specialist contractors Noneedtopaint Ltd, were commissioned by facilities management company BFA Management for the refinishing of the glass reinforced concrete constructed buildings. As approved applicators of Andura Coatings, Noneedtopaint Ltd specified Andura’s latest Pro-Flex technology which is not only water and dirt resistant but also has elastomeric properties giving excellent resistance to any subsequent cracks in the substrate. Jabe Hewer, director of Noneedtopaint Ltd, commented, “We chose to use Andura Coatings as we have been working with their products for a few years now and have a really good relationship with the company. We wanted to use a long lasting coating rather than a traditional paint as it will last and keep its new look a lot longer.” He added, “We find that Andura provide great service and are always contactable and available to help answer any queries that we or our clients have.”
The 12,000 square metres of external wall area of the six apartment blocks all received a classic primer and then finished with the Andura Pro-Flex specialist coating. Some 3,000 litres of both primer and Pro-Flex was used on the project. So confident are they in the finish and the work, that both the contractor and Andura provided a partner guarantee of 15 years, covering both work and materials.
For the contractors Noneedtopaint, the project was far from straight forward. The company used suspended platforms and rope access on each of the buildings as scaffolding couldn’t be used due to the podium level not being strong enough to take the weight. Weather conditions were also sometimes difficult with the wind very strong at times due to the location and height of the buildings.
Andura’s Pro-Flex technology provides excellent long-term protection and decoration for buildings. The elastomeric properties of Pro-Flex technology give excellent resistance to subsequent cracks in the substrate. Using the very latest advances in coatings technology, Andura has now developed Pro-Flex Ultimate which is specially formulated to combine all the benefits of Pro-Flex technology with improved breathability, water and dirt resistance for a harder wearing, longer lasting and beautiful finish to keep exterior walls in top condition. Pro-Flex Ultimate comes in 16 standard colours, plus a colour matching service is available.
Pro-Flex is classified as ‘highly breathable’ and ‘highly water resistant’ as tested in accordance with German (DIN), European (EN) and International (ISO) standards. The addition of silicon resin and silane to Pro-Flex considerably improves resistance to dirt pick-up.
Andura provides a technical support package to engineers, architects, specifiers, end-users and contractors as well as training and on-site assistance.
Further information on Pro-Flex coatings is available from Andura on 01869 240374 by emailing info@andura.co.uk or by visiting the company’s website at www.andura.com
