Van Riebeeck is yet another example of a building where the body corporate has taken excellent proactive care of their building. This is the reason that attending to the due maintenance of this building in Sea Point, which mostly involved a fresh coat of paint, was such a pleasure.

Their maintenance secret

The Van Riebeeck body corporate contracts a maintenance person who attends to small touch-ups when necessary and this has made a substantial difference over time. To use one example, their building has a flat roof covered by torch as part of the waterproofing strategy of the building. Their maintenance contractor paints the roof with a silver bitumen coat once a year to secure and prolong the waterproofing. This small act of maintenance has unquestionably saved them thousands of rands in waterproofing costs over the years.

Project involvement

Aside from minor repairs and a coat of paint that was due, the body corporate requested minor alterations to modernise the building without undermining its original integrity. For example, old air bricks were removed which was a very distinctive feature of buildings constructed in the 1930’s and 1940’s

We started off opening and clearing out cracks in the walls and then filling them up to repair and strengthen. Luckily no heavy spalling was needed. Next, we water jetted the building to remove loose and flaking paint. Old paint was feather-edged and all divots were sanded down and filled in to create a smooth service, ready for the application of paint.

Following the process of preparing the surface, we went in with cradles to prime the building and followed up with two top coats of the highest quality paint.

The final touches

Some of the putty around the old steel windows needed to be replaced so the windows would remain securely in place and were given a coat of silver paint. The wooden slats of the garages also needed to be replaced; we removed the old varnish and followed that up with a coat of white paint.

This project was completed in 12 weeks and we made use of a team of six plus one carpenter.

About MCM Painters

MCM Painters is a professional company that specialises in painting, waterproofing and structural repair work in Cape Town and surrounding areas. As a local market leader with 15 years of experience in the business, we take great pride in our work and provide the highest quality workmanship at a competitive price. We guarantee our work, including manufacturer guarantees, for five years.

Contact Ross Peacock on 082 827 1817 or ross@mcmpainters.co.za for further information or to get a free assessment done. MCM Painters – We realise your renovation vision.