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Any ideas for a concrete bollard covering??? wrap, spray, sak, trowel???

Ronsii

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We got a job that will require making these column bollards look better... they have been hammered by forklifts for the last 20 years or so... they still have the sonotube on them from when they were poured... it's torn up in spots and they cut the 36 inch by 72 inch tall sonotube in half down the length then spliced it with a 6 inch strip of sonotube cardboard down the side with screws...which leaves a big long 1/4" indent... and the actual pour looks like they didn't really vibrate or even tap the tube much if at all.... forgot to get a close up pic...

So I was wondering if anyone here has done something similar to cover/coat these things??? to make them a bit more aesthetically pleasing :) or just any ideas of what might work to wrap them... plastic, metal, etc...??? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)
PS-column-bollard2.JPG PS-column-bollard1.JPG
 

Ronsii

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Good idea :) I mentioned that to the boss while we were looking at them... unfortunately I saw some pretty big crevices on a few of them that had some sonotube torn off in places, so would probably have to sak or trowel them first with some patch...
 

Delmer

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So you want a coating that will stick to cardboard, look nice, and stand up to forklift collisions? :D

Best I can do is synthetic stucco, a latex fortified cement product, brush it on and it will flex enough to cover imperfections and not shatter off when hit with a forklift. If the cardboard it rough or raised on the edges, try a knotted wire wheel on a grinder to even it out, or maybe just sanding disks.
 

Ct Farmer

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Be careful with the bed liner . Most of that is isocyanate based and quite nasty. Should really be sprayed in a booth and you should have a supplied air respirator.

The synthetic stucco sounds interesting. Might have a use for that myself if it would hold up outdoors.
 

Ronsii

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^^^^ I like it :) if that would cover the hollows and pockets in the concrete it would be great!!!


Right now we're kinda leaning towards galv. sheet metal wrapped and banded... probably screwed down an overlapping seam too... It would be fairly quick to install - would look smooth, is paintable.

I wonder if you can get yellow HDPE/PE or similar in 6'x10' sheets about 1/8th inch thick maybe thinner???
 
Last edited:

skata

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midwest
Does the cardboard tube come off easy? I'd probably use some fine Cement patch or thinset and just rub it over the whole surface and use a sponge to smooth out. Then paint. Or find a stucco guy.
 

Ronsii

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Does the cardboard tube come off easy? I'd probably use some fine Cement patch or thinset and just rub it over the whole surface and use a sponge to smooth out. Then paint. Or find a stucco guy.
Hard to say if it comes off easy??? really didn't try was mainly looking... pulled in a few spots that were torn just enough to expose lots of air pockets :( ... don't know if they sprayed a release agent on first... highly doubt it... as I believe they were planning on leaving the cardboard on permanently.
First thing we discussed was patch an sak but just a rough guess on these things looked like a lot of hours to do that however it may end up that way as it is the normal convention with concrete walls. Oh how I'd like to find a guy that could spray concrete/stucco on like they do on build-up walls.
 

NepeanGC

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I'd pull the cardboard tubes off, and parge them. Cheap, easy fast. Probably under an hour per bollard.
 

Mother Deuce

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Jul 17, 2016
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New England
We got a job that will require making these column bollards look better... they have been hammered by forklifts for the last 20 years or so... they still have the sonotube on them from when they were poured... it's torn up in spots and they cut the 36 inch by 72 inch tall sonotube in half down the length then spliced it with a 6 inch strip of sonotube cardboard down the side with screws...which leaves a big long 1/4" indent... and the actual pour looks like they didn't really vibrate or even tap the tube much if at all.... forgot to get a close up pic...

So I was wondering if anyone here has done something similar to cover/coat these things??? to make them a bit more aesthetically pleasing :) or just any ideas of what might work to wrap them... plastic, metal, etc...??? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)
View attachment 212013 View attachment 212014
Hammered by forklifts... There used to be a tug boat fender guy about a mile north of The Chateau St. Michelle gates. Could call Scougal Rubber they used to be off Airport down by the Rainier/Tully digs and see what they have. Protected and ok looking.
 

Chewie2105

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Jun 6, 2018
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British Columbia
there is a plastic guarding set up out there, seen them at a few warehouses ive been in, look slick, and supposed to be forklift resistant, and not as terribly expensive as would think (not cheap though 100-150 USD)

https://www.globalindustrial.com/c/outdoor-grounds-maintenance/parking-lot/protectors

PG3119.jpg
 

Ronsii

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there is a plastic guarding set up out there, seen them at a few warehouses ive been in, look slick, and supposed to be forklift resistant, and not as terribly expensive as would think (not cheap though 100-150 USD)

https://www.globalindustrial.com/c/outdoor-grounds-maintenance/parking-lot/protectors

PG3119.jpg
Yeah, They come in red too ;) we've had them in other warehouses I repaired things in... like this one where a guy backed a 5k lifttruck into a column and shifted it about an inch... made the whole building shake!!! guys in the office thought the building got hit by a truck:eek:
red-plastic-column-protection1.jpg

If you look closely in the first pics you notice that one of the columns is different than the rest...it got completely rammed out a few years ago... even broke the giant gluelam beam on the roof... dropped the roof over a foot:eek: very expensive fix ;)
different-column1.JPG
 
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Ronsii

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Western Washington
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I'd pull the cardboard tubes off, and parge them. Cheap, easy fast. Probably under an hour per bollard.
I figured a quite a bit more than that all said and done to fill all the possible voids and cavities plus the indent strip I know about will take quite a bit of patch... and then paint them too..
 

Ronsii

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Jun 26, 2011
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Western Washington
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s/e Heavy equipment operator
Hammered by forklifts... There used to be a tug boat fender guy about a mile north of The Chateau St. Michelle gates. Could call Scougal Rubber they used to be off Airport down by the Rainier/Tully digs and see what they have. Protected and ok looking.
Hmmmm, wonder how wide of conveyor belting I could get????
 

Blocker in MS

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Nov 5, 2019
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781
Location
Mississippi
If you want to go with rubber, we have a company around here that deals is rubber and gaskets and hydraulic hoses and tubing only. I bet they have at least 6’ wide rubber for making gaskets. I am sure there is something similar you way.
 
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