National Institute of Health

Bethesda, MD

The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) MLP #8 parking garage was in need of repair and recoating.  The 92,000 square feet on the top deck and ramp leading to the sixth floor of the seven-story garage needed shotblasting, cleaning and recoating, including 10,000 lineal feet of curb detail.  The garage was nearly at capacity every day, so work had to be completed without disrupting NIH employees parking in the structure.  Work needed to be done over a weekend.  The July 4^th holiday weekend was selected and work began at 6:00 Friday. 

Standard deck coatings on the market today would require up to 72 hours to cure to a point where they would be able to withstand vehicular traffic. With shotblasting and cleaning required on this job as well as several coats, there just wasn’t time.  Tremco’s high-performance Vulkem® 360NF/950NF/951NF Deck Coating System with its incredible hardness comparable to epoxy 24 hours after final application was the only system capable of meeting the challenge.

The low-VOC, low-odor Vulkem 360NF basecoat, which can be applied to any thickness desired, was used to fill in surface imperfections and deeper, pitted areas, eliminating the need for concrete mortar repairs. It was also used to detail 4” up the vertical walls and on all the joints. Within four hours of the basecoat application, Vulkem 950NF Polyurethane Topcoat was used as an intermediate coat.  Six to eight hours later, Vulkem 951NF Topcoat was applied.  Only 11 hours after the last area was coated, cars were driving on it. 

With 12-man crews on 12-hour shifts and this incredibly fast-curing system, the job took only 47 hours – less than half the time possible with other products. 

Vulkem 360NF Polyurethane Basecoat, an extremely versatile water-cured basecoat.

• Specially formulated for odor-sensitive applications.
• When mixed with quick-cure catalyst, will cure in 3 hours without pinholes or gassing.
• Can be mixed with aggregate for a leveling compound to fill deeper, pitted areas or level back-sloped areas.

Vulkem 950NF Polyurethane Topcoat, near 100% solids, high-performance, extremely tough coating for use as an intermediate coat in a heavy-duty system or as a topcoat for interior applications.

• Low-odor, low-VOC formulation. 

Vulkem 951NF Polyurethane Topcoat is designed for exterior applications and for use over Vulkem 950NF when a heavy-duty system is needed.

• Hardness comparable to epoxy 24 hours after application.
• Superior resistance to solvents, deicing salts, caustic chemicals, gasoline, oils and antifreeze.