Sherwin-Williams finds the finish for Copperworks

Developers of the historic landmark Copperworks factory building in Leeds which has hosted a number of royal visits chose a new flooring system from Sherwin-Williams to finish its restoration as a modern warehouse facility.

The 24,400 sq metre concrete floor surface of the 90-year-old former foundry was in varying states of disrepair with several layers of coatings and iron tracks, with heavy wear and tear and oil contamination.

Sherwin-Williams’ experts, having examined the various challenging environmental issues, came up with a programme of flooring installation to meet the exacting specifications which included diamond grinding and shotblasting.

An oil-tolerant primer was applied to prevent delamination and RS Dampshield – a two-component epoxy resin membrane – was used in areas where moisture had been detected.

This was finished with two coats of Resucoat HB, a high-build, low odour, epoxy resin industrial floor coating for high impact and wear resistance. It is extremely hard wearing with a high gloss finish and has strong adhesion onto varied substrates including concrete and appropriate primers. It also comes in a variety of colours.

The old works have been refurbished with buildings re-roofed and re-clad and a modern warehousing and distribution facility of 300,000 sq ft has been created for owners Towngate plc.

The project manager said: “A solution was required to coat the floor to provide a sound surface which the tenant could keep clean easily. Sherwin-Williams has provided a first-class solution, providing a suitable specification and details of the guarantee within a very short space of time to assist us in meeting the programme to a very high standard.”

The foundry was previously known as the Leeds Copperworks and then Yorkshire Copperworks and has played host to a number of industrial breakthroughs, as well as royal visits, and at its peak was the workplace of a 5,000 strong workforce before it closed in 1980.

Sherwin-Williams’ high performance flooring systems are used in diverse industries including food and beverage, pharmaceutical, industrial, retail, commercial and aerospace offering benefits of non-taint, hard- wearing, decorative, impact resistance, slip-resistance, abrasion resistant, chemical protection and thermal shock resistance.

Credits

• Sherwin-Williams