Regular maintenance on a property asset is a necessary and smart thing to do if you want to protect your investment. Maintaining the building ultimately results in saving money over the long term and prevents a situation where such a property asset deteriorates to the point where the owners need to incur enormous costs to remedy the effects of neglect over time.

Island View is a sectional title building situated near the beach in Milnerton and as a result of this location, environmental conditions like the wind and the salty ocean air contributed to the breakdown of the paint system. In addition, the sandy base of the building caused a lot of movement in the foundation and this caused structural damage over time as well as water ingress.
Aesthetically, the building needed the following redecoration done: new glass balustrades, new wooden decks on the top floor, removal of tiles between floors, re-plastering of the walls where tiles were removed and new paint colours.

The redecoration process took place in four stages and was conducted by a few teams. Firstly, the construction team needed to remove the old balustrades and the tiles from the front of the building. After this was done, the area was re-plastered.
The next step required the redecorating and painting team to commence with remedial work, including a number of areas where the plaster was delaminated and attending to vertical cracks. These areas were repaired using the latest Sika specification which is a globally recognised specification guide for roofing and waterproofing.
Expansion joints are extremely important to minimise structural complications for this building, again due to the sandy foundation and resultant movement in the foundation. Some of these expansion joints were delaminating and had to be correctively re-cut to address the problem.

A new four-coat paint system was applied, using Prominent Paint’s Nuklad product as the two topcoats. This is an extremely strong flexible paint which is well-suited to this environment and we believe this system adds an additional 2 years to the building’s maintenance cycle (a normal paint system would only be able to last 3 years under these conditions).
At the same time, our waterproofing team was carrying out maintenance on the flat roof with the torch-on system. Re-torching of the delaminated areas and other worn away areas were needed, plus the flashings needed to be repaired and properly re-attached to ensure a proper, sustainable waterproofing and to add a finished look to the roof.
Lastly, the glass teams fitted new balustrades to lend the building a more updated and modern appearance.

We believe that with regular property maintenance, the new system will last 5-7 years however, it is important that the body corporate be more attentive to the ongoing maintenance needs of this building, given their proximity to the ocean and the resultant environment effects.

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.

A historic building, Wolroy House is a national monument, situated opposite the police station in lower Buitenkant Street in Cape Town’s city centre.

MCM Painters was contracted to carry out structural repair and cosmetic restoration work. As a ‘resident’ of Cape Town city centre, paint systems deteriorate over time due to environmental factors like windy summers and rainy winters. After a few years, water will start to penetrate the substrate which causes defective plaster as well as delamination of expansion joints, window sealant and spalling. Chemicals released into the environment can also play a part.

Preparation was very important on this job. Our plan of action included starting with following our Midas specification in full. It took three teams a time period of six months to complete the work on this five-storey building that required extensive scaffolding, rope technicians and complying with the City of Cape Town’s safety regulations.

Wolroy House, Cape Town CBD

The following elements were attended to:
– Extensive plaster repairs
– Waterproofing to flashings
– Torch on horizontal surface areas repaired
– Repairs coated with fibre seal
– Expansion joints repaired
– Seals replaced around windows
– Full primer coat applied
– Two top coats of pure acrylic were applied

Today, the building has a full three-coat paint system in place to protect it from the elements and we expect this system to protect the building from water ingress and deterioration for the next seven years.

John Grainger, the Chairperson of the Wolroy House Body Corporate at the time of the project, had this to say: “Many of the difficulties and obstacles encountered during the recent major refurbishment of Wolroy House were resolved through weekly site meetings between the Body Corporate trustees and MCM Painters representatives. In my view, the willingness of MCM Painters  to actively participate in every site meeting was one of the most positive aspects of our extended relationship with MCM Painters .”

About MCM Painters
MCM Painters is a professional contractor 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.