Tramways Village – Crich Derbyshire

The Commercial Sector

Tramways Village Police Telephone Box – Concrete Repair & Remediation

WHO are Restek?

Restek are specialists in concrete rejuvenation & ground remediation and undertake all aspects of specialist concrete repair.

Restek received a call from the Tramways Village at Crich regarding a very special project. They engaged Restek to turn back the years on the Tramway’s very old police phone box. Initially, we thought this was going to be a huge project, until our client informed us that the remediation was only to the outside. Although the original concrete police phone box had clearly stood the test of time, it was in need of some TLC to bring it back to its former glory.

The Police Telephone Box Remediation Process:

The initial site inspection identified an insect infestation in the cracked concrete, so our first job was to exterminate, exterminate, exterminate! We utilised a dust-free quilling machine to remove the old paint. The quill machine fires high-pressure water & glass particles at the concrete surface, to remove any paint or loose concrete. After the quilling, we then remove any loose concrete and quill residue, by brushing it away, to leave a clean surface.

Any exposed re-bar was cleaned and corrosive protection was applied to the re-bar. We used hand trowels to apply the new concrete, to the exposed re-bar and to fill each of the cracks. Our specialist remediation team then reinstated the original concrete profiles to improve the square edges & corners of the police box.

A fairing coat was then applied by hand trowel to give a smoother finish on which to apply the RAL coloured paint. Blue RAL coloured masonry paint, in keeping with the original colour of the police box, was chosen by the client. Restek’s specialist concrete repair team then hand painted the iconic piece of history with the chosen RAL coloured paint.

We then applied a clear waterproof gloss finish to the police phone box which not only improved the visual aesthetic of the police box but also added additional protection from the elements, ensuring longevity of the remediation was maximised.

Although time wasn’t an issue with this iconic project, it was completed in record time. In fact, the whole project was finished three days before we started, due to the space time continuum.