Company Announcement - a.b.e Construction Chemicals’ VIP Polyurea coating was selected to waterproof the roof of a prominent holiday apartment block in the Western Cape. a.b.e. Construction Chemicals, part of the Chryso Southern Africa Group, holds an  exclusive agreement with Voelkel Industrie Produkte of Germany for the local distribution of the company’s globally-specified range of protective coatings and joint fillers. Noel Abendroth, a.b.e.’s Divisional Manager: VIP Polyurea Systems, says VIP Polyurea coatings was recently applied to about 900sq m of the Strandsig Holiday Apartment block in The Strand in the Western Cape. Thermoseal, based in Cape Town, was the a.b.e.-approved applicator; and the main contractor was Reeno Roofs.

“VIP Polyurea protective membranes - free of harmful volatile organic compounds and solvents - are generally designed to perform for around 25 years, depending on the nature of the project, which substantially cuts the costs of repairs and maintenance,” he explained.

Some of the advantages of VIP Polyurea systems include:

• Extremely fast reaction and curing times (5 to 90 seconds);
• Exceptional adhesion to correctly prepared concrete, steel, aluminium, plastics, fibreglass, wood and foam;
• Seamless and jointless flexible coatings;
• The ability to transgress multiple substrates in one application;
• Application is possible to any thickness in a single application;
• The retention of flexibility and crack-bridging properties at temperatures of between minus 20 degrees Celsius to plus 120 degrees Celsius;
• Exceptionally good sound insulation;
• Resistance to ultra-violet radiation, saltwater, and aggressive atmospheric conditions; and
• Ability to cover large areas at a rapid rate.

Two new versions of VIP Polyurea coatings are now available from a.b.e: VIP Polyurea cold spray-applied, high and low pressure systems for specific waterproofing applications, offering elongation (flexibility) capacity ranging from 240% to 650%;and a.b.e. has also introduced the use of Polyurea coatings as insulation layers attached to special prefabricated, lightweight boards produced by Rigifoam. The new, unique version of Rigifoam’s popular Lamdaboards was developed by a.b.e. and Rigifoam for South African conditions.