Sprint for 38,000 square metres of screed.

The “Europa-Galerie” has been one of the biggest urban building projects of Saarbrücken with an investment volume of 170 million Euros. For the rebuilding of the historical mining department into a shopping centre 38,000 square metres of screed had to be laid. It should feature a strength category of CT-C35-F5 or in especially high-stressed thin-layered areas CT-C55-F8. The commissioned screeding company Perfekt GmbH Estrich- und Bodenbau, Nalbach, concentrated on Retanol screed made by PCT Chemie, Hemmingen. „In our experience Retanol screeds are reliably firm, deformation resistant and avoid shrinkage. “The quality is always right with Retanol“, managing director Süleymann Okatar justified his choice. Furthermore this exceptional product fits very well for any special cases such as highly loadable screeds with extremely low installation heights.

In the end the main reason to use Retanol has been the time factor. Comparable with many huge construction sites at the end they were running out of time. Retanol accelerates the hardening and drying process by influencing the hydratation, simplified the connection between cement and water. The workability after 3 days is possible subject to the chosen dosage. Most frequent applications are 5, 14 or 21 days. Retanol screed presents almost equal features with temperatures of 12°C or 25°C, as well as with higher or lower humidity. And that is why the screed inside the “Europa-Galerie“ was already walkable the next day. The next crafts could start with their operations. „That saved an enormous amount of time“, Friedrich Eberle said, who was on-site as a technical consultant by PCT with the partner company Perfekt and who monitored the process of the building site by checking the used materials and who would have expressed his concerns if necessary. Additionally he accompanied the construction site as an external technician to keep the screed quality verified permanently.

To produce the screed Retanol as a liquid additive needs to be mixed with the tempering water. To see Retanol’s best effect, sand and cement have to be perfectly set, also the grading curve and the water amount. That is the only way to connect filler, cement and water at the desired speed. If these requirements are fulfilled, the screed presents a higher strength of about 30 per cent than floors that are regularly laid. With some special products for extreme applications the strength might be increased up to 100 per cent. “Once even a lift truck that was as heavy as a mall escalator rolled on a 48 hours-old screed“, Okatar reported of the construction site daily routine. AND, the screed remained firm and worked very well!

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