Silcot, Vredehoek: An art-deco masterpiece

July 21, 2017

MCM Painters was contracted for a complete redecoration of Silcot in Vredehoek in January 2017.

Silcot is a really well-constructed and beautifully designed art-deco building. Unfortunately, the building’s maintenance has been neglected a bit as there has been no redecoration for 15 years. The lack of maintenance as well as the age of the building gave rise to most of the project involving structural and conditioning repair work with the expert help of our partner in remedial building work, IPMT.

Project details

Upon inspecting the building, we discovered major water ingress due to delaminated plaster plus a number of severe cracks – the result of not maintaining the building over time with no protection against the elements. Over time, the paint system failed and water seeped into the structure of the building.

Firstly, we repaired cracks in the plaster and attended to the delamination. This was done by chopping off the peeled off pieces, assessing repairs needed behind the layers of plaster, applying new layers of plaster after repairs was done and repainting the entire area.

The window and door frames were also in need of repair and attention. All wooden frames were sanded down and sealed with polyurethane which is essentially a plastic in the form of a liquid before it dries. This protects the frames from the elements including water ingress.

Our team also cleaned out and sealed the gutters.

The paint system involved the use of Sika rep to fill small cracks and to allow for a bit of elasticity. This was followed by a full prime and two coats of Premium Satin by Prominent Paints – a top quality low VOC sheen emulsion paint specifically for exterior surfaces.

All horizontal surfaces were treated with a waterproofing compound as well as two coats the same exterior paint.

Structural repairs

We chopped out spalling wood and treated the steel structure with a waterproofing product from Sika to stop oxidation. Spalling is when steel rusts because water entered the substrate. The water ingress rusts the steel and results in expansion due to the effect of the rust which takes up more space and cracks the cement. This results in the ‘burst wall’ effect you see on the outside.

This process involved chopping off the cement to get deeper inside the structure of the building. Next, we cleaned the area out to assess the extent of the damage. Finally, we repaired the damaged area by coating the inside with an elastic product that adheres to the cement and that will allow for some movement of the structure.

Movement and flexibility

Situated on the slope of Table Mountain, the boundary wall does not have the same support as the main building and is more vulnerable to earth movements than the main building. We added joints to give it more flexibility and repaired the damage resulting from organic movement over the years.

The fact that this building survived so long with overdue maintenance of around 5-7 years is testament to how well it was initially constructed. Modern buildings would not have survived that long without the required maintenance after 10 years.

MCM is really proud of this project and would like to thank Sandak-Lewin Property Trust and the body corporate for entrusting us with this project.

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

Higgozicht – Paying the price for poor construction or negligent contractors

February 7, 2017

Community scheme buildings need to undergo a comprehensive maintenance overhaul – including painting and waterproofing – every 7 years, on average. Sometimes it is needed a little earlier or delayed due to financial constraints but essentially, delaying maintenance allows persistent issues to progress and this often results in small problems becoming far bigger and more costly issues to remedy.

Another trend we noticed is that some buildings develop major problems after a decade or so which suggest either poor and hasty construction of the original building or negligence on the part of the previous contractor who simply painted over cracks and other problems in an effort to get the job done as quickly as possible – or both.

Delaminated plaster

Higgozicht is one of those buildings where it didn’t initially look like a project that would involve much more than the standard maintenance and painting with perhaps a bit of waterproofing on the side
Firstly, the plaster was a major issue as it was poorly and unevenly applied. As a result, an extraordinary amount of plastering was done to create a consistently even surface all over the building.

The building’s location so close to the mountain and constructed with bricks are two factors that contributed to the constant movement of the building and lead to quite an advanced state of delaminated plaster. The maintenance cycle was also long overdue. This caused some significant water ingress through the walls into the apartments, causing damp and other water damage issues inside the apartments.

Higgozicht - inst

Painting and waterproofing phase

Firstly, we cut open all deep cracks with handheld grinders and used Sikarep products to fill the cracks. This product sticks to concrete very effectively and is more flexible due to its elastic structure which allows for natural movement of the building.

The painting portion of this project involved the application of a 3-coat system. First, we primed the entire area and then we coated all repairs as well as all horizontal tops with a fiber seal to provide additional protection. Lastly, 2 coats of Nuklad was applied to finish it off.

Walkways and electrical compliance

Another area that was overdue for some much-needed maintenance was the walkways. These were stripped, thoroughly waterproofed and tiled. The spalling underneath the walkways were also repaired to fortify the structure.

As the project progressed, we discovered some illegal wiring and informed the body corporate of their non-compliance. In one part of the building, the wiring was situated too close to the surface and too close to plumbing. To remedy this situation, we contracted a reputable electrician to solve the issues and ensure compliance.

Quality control

Remedial Building Consultants, IPMT, were contracted to oversee the painting and remedial specifications for the building. Their role is to act as a conduit, provide independent advice to the body corporate and to ensure adherence to set specifications. Unfortunately, we are aware that there are some contractors in our industry who just want to get the job done as quickly as possible without the necessary attention to detail or quality. This has resulted in bodies corporate losing trust in the industry as a whole, thus the need to include a third party in the project to oversee specifications and ensure that a high standard is adhered to. We are happy to work with such a contractor as we want nothing less than to deliver a top quality job in a transparent and dedicated team.

Going forward

In summary, we believe that the issues that surfaced due to poor construction or negligent contractors have been negated as much as possible. The next redecoration will only be necessary in about 7 years, when at most painting and minor remedial work will be necessary.

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

Belmont Gardens – Preserving the integrity of an old building

September 5, 2016

In February 2016, we started this project in Gardens, Cape Town which lasted 12 weeks overall. MCM Painters has a long-standing relationship with Belmont Gardens, having painted this building twice in the last 15 years. We were well-acquainted with this structure and delighted to work on this building again.

belmont2

The challenge

This brought us to the challenge at hand: water jetting a building with several layers of paint applied over the years can result in paint scaling off in uneven patches. This is due to some sections of paint having hardened more over the years than other sections which can leave rather nasty divots on the surface. The divots often cause an adhesion problem when we start to prepare the surface for the painting phase. Therefore, just the right amount of water jetting had to be applied to result in an even working surface. Careful and skillful filler application was a crucial element to the success of this phase of the project.

Texture rollers were used to create the desired surface and it was finished off by sanding it down to get the surface ready for our painting team. This phase required a lot of systematic and patient hand labour by our skilled craftsmen.

Two maintenance phases

The first phase involved waterproofing on the back walkway as well as constructing a French drain which is a trench filled with gravel that redirects surface- and groundwater away from the building. With the building situated high up against the mountain and downhill from an underground river, we needed a solution to prevent ground and surface water from penetration and damaging the foundation of the building.

A four-coat system was applied to the walkway, starting with two coats of acrylic paint where the second coat is covered by silica sand to render the essential non-slip quality and provide it with hiding power. That was followed by two top coats to secure and finish off the walkway.

Next, our painting team took over for the second phase of this project. We applied a full four-coat paint system comprising primer, fibre seal and two top coats to complete the look.

belmont1

Summary

Despite this being quite an old building, it has been very well-managed and boasts with good property maintenance record which has preserved its aesthetic integrity beautifully. We are very pleased with the result and grateful to once again have been the contractor of choice for Belmont Gardens.

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

The undeniable value of a good maintenance plan – Humewood

June 29, 2016

MCM Painters was contracted by Sandak Lewin in October 2015 to do scheduled redecoration work at Humewood in Three Anchor Bay as the building was coming to the end of its 7 year paint life cycle.

Humewood2

An excellent maintenance plan followed

There is a lot to be said for the value of regular building maintenance. In our years of redecorating and remedial work experience, we have come across buildings in various states of repair. Some buildings are in a terrible state of repair where desperate and extensive remedial work were needed. Others are in a mild state of repair where some repair was done (but not enough) and where we needed to catch up on outstanding maintenance. Then there are buildings like Humewood where a very timely and responsible maintenance plan was followed. Doing maintenance before the end of a coating system comes to the end of its life cycle saved this body corporate a large amount of money in remedial work.

As a full redecoration lasts for around 7 years but window sealant only lasts for 3 years. This means that the polyurethane have to be replaced around the windows before the end of the redecoration life cycle in order to secure the windows and prevent water ingress. This is necessary because the aluminium of the window frame and the plaster on the walls constantly moves due to ongoing movement in the building.

Humewood1

Redecoration process

The first phase of a redecoration project is normally used to prepare the building. In this case, we started off by water jetting the building, removing flaking paint and opening minor cracks.

The next step was to prime the building to provide the best amount of adhesion for the top coats. For all horizontal tops and parapets, we used a coating called Prominent Fibre Seal which is a pigmented pure acrylic membrane-free waterproof coating with excellent UV resistance.

The painting phase involved the application of a three-coat system: 1 primer coat followed 2 top coats. As a soft and flexible paint, Nuklad maximises protection against the elements presented by Humewood’s proximity to the coast where the wind and rain can contribute to the premature breakdown of the paint system. Next, a wall-to-frame sealant was applied and the roof was painted with two maintenance coats to ensure protection from the elements. A maintenance coat was also applied to all walkway areas.

This project took MCM Painters 8 weeks and was carried out by a team of 6 people ahead of schedule. As Humewood is well-managed and keeps a dynamic maintenance schedule, we expect this redecoration to last the full term of 7 years.

Our reward

One of the great outcomes of this building’s ongoing maintenance schedule and the recent redecoration is when we were told that an owner in this complex had his unit up for sale at R1.8million before the redecoration. After the redecoration project was completed, he increased his asking price to R2.3million. As a direct result of the beautiful new look of the building, he sold his unit for the higher asking price. We are very happy to have contributed to this happy conclusion.

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

A Redecoration Project – Chez Danel

January 11, 2016

We are often called in to attend to the maintenance of a building that was constructed in haste and within a tight budget. Unfortunately, this kind of practice is fairly common place and leads to problems in the structure and waterproofing early in the life cycle of the building. A poorly applied paint system also leads to the need for more frequent maintenance and redecoration which can be costly to the owners.

What did the project involve?

The Chez Danel redecoration project involved such a case when building needed maintenance early in its life cycle. Our assessment concluded that the building was in need of maintenance like crack repair, a new paint system and some waterproofing repair. In addition, the expansion joints were cut to the incorrect ratio and there was quite a bit of delaminated plaster that needed to be redone and repaired.

To address the waterproofing needed on the walkways, we had to lift the tiles, apply a torch system and re-tile the area. The painting requirement was met by using two teams working in unison – one rope team and one ground team. Our waterproofing team and two painting teams operated in a leapfrog manner to ensure that we complete the job in an efficient time frame but without skimping on the quality of the implementation.

As time management and quality control were the two most important project objectives, we are proud to say that we completed the entire project within eight weeks and that this building will gain maximum value from this redecoration project due to the high end paint system and the moderate climate in Bellville.

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

Island View – The Importance of Property Maintenance

November 4, 2015

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

Upper East Side – The Art of Waterproofing

September 25, 2015

There are many aspects to waterproofing and if it is to be effective over the long-term requires specialist skills so that all the sub-tasks can be done correctly with the appropriate materials for maintenance projects to be completed properly.

The building required two maintenance projects: firstly, waterproofing and secondly, a coat of paint was applied to restore this relatively new building to peak condition and to preserve it over the next eight to ten years.

Waterproofing project
The current waterproofing was inadequate and needed to be upgraded quite substantially as most of the balconies were leaking. The process required us to remove each slide door in order to build a 100mm upstand so we could achieve the correct detail underneath the sliding door. The upstand was built from wood and then needed to be waterproofed by torching Malthoid on top of the newly-built upstand. The leaking balconies had to be completely stripped. Cleaning and preparing the balcony surface is essential to ensure that the waterproofing products will adhere and last over time. The balconies were waterproofed, using the heat-infused Malthoid system. Once this was done, the balconies were screeded and tiled to complete the job. Screeding is regarded as important step in the process as it has a high durable and resistant to humidity. Tiling is the finishing step and can lift the appearance of the floor as well as serve functional requirements.

Painting project
When a coat of paint is applied to the walls, it serves two purposes. Firstly, it protects the building from the corrosive effect of the elements and secondly, it preserves and enhances the exterior over time. The first step was to clean the walls by water jetting the building, raking out or opening all the cracks and repairing it with the correct structural solutions. The expansion joints also needed to be repaired and resealed. A full coat of primer was applied, followed by two top coats of Prominent Paint’s Nuklad. This paint is perfect for buildings in wet environments as its flexible and strong; protecting the building against heavy rain when needed. The building was transformed from a yellow-beige colour to a modern grey building with white trim, applying a full three-coat painting system.

Upper East Side – AFTER

Upper East Side – BEFORE

Specialist skills
This challenging job required four different teams collaborating on the maintenance solution and the time needed for each step. For the waterproofing part of the job, we teamed up with an aluminium door team. It was tricky from a timing point of view as the door needed to be removed in the morning and replaced in the evening without creating a security risk overnight. Time management and constant communication with the client were extremely important components of completing this project successfully. Our painting team was onsite for 12 weeks, supported by the waterproofing team and finally the tiling team, who all completed their jobs on time and without difficulties.

This much-needed maintenance project has added real value to the longevity of the building as a sound investment managed by the trustees on behalf of the owners. As a result, the structural integrity of the building is better protected and preserved for the well-being of its residents and guests.

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

Wolroy House – Restoration of a Cape Town Original

August 31, 2015

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.

in Uncategorized /by MCM_Admin

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Silcot, Vredehoek: An art-deco masterpiece