Technical Guidelines for the Maintenance of Concrete Structures

The Technical Rule (TR) on the Maintenance of Structures, which has been in effect since early 2021 in conjunction with the DAfStb guideline “Protection and Repair of Concrete Components”—commonly known as the Repair Guideline— Circumstances not covered by the new TR on Maintenance continue to be governed by the DAfStb SIB Guideline. The TR on Maintenance takes precedence; however, it specifies which provisions of the DAfStb SIB Guideline are superseded. There may be regional differences here, as the adoption by building authorities in the individual states—as part of the implementation of the Model Administrative Regulation on Technical Building Regulations 2020/1 (MVV TB)—is subject to the respective state law. With the exception of Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Saxony, and Thuringia, the TR Maintenance is already applicable in all other federal states (as of May 2022).

The TR Instandhaltung, established by the German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt), is divided into two parts:

Part 1 of the updated regulations serves, among other things, to define a rehabilitation objective and to select a suitable method for achieving it. Part 2 addresses specific performance requirements for a product or method aimed at preserving or restoring the condition of building components.

TR Maintenance provides expert planners, contractors, and building inspectors with a concrete basis for planning and a high degree of planning certainty. It regulates the protection of reinforced concrete and the load-bearing structure in parking garages and underground parking facilities. Here, cost-effective and sustainable solutions are required to reliably protect the structure from wear and tear, moisture ingress, frost damage, etc., in order to ensure its long-term operation. These solutions must comply with the updated regulations.

Triflex waterproofing and coatings, primarily based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), meet the requirements of the new TR Maintenance. We offer solutions tailored to the requirements for underground parking garages, ramps, and spiral ramps, as well as custom-fit detailing solutions that take the updated regulations into account. In addition, our range of tested, code-compliant systems offers numerous options for various surface variants in accordance with classifications OS 8, OS 10, and OS 11a/b, which we have further developed in line with the new TR Maintenance standard. This enables parking garages and underground parking facilities to be maintained in a cost-effective and sustainable manner while complying with regulations.

As part of the introduction of the TR Maintenance standard, the following adjustments have been made to the OS systems:

The choice of topcoat determines whether OS 10, OS 11a/b, or OS 14 is used. That is why we offer, for example, Triflex ProPark as a modular system, depending on the surface load and the desired topcoat. The waterproofing system meets all performance criteria in accordance with OS 11a/b and OS 14 as specified by TR Maintenance.

The two parts of the new TR Maintenance specify numerous aspects of concrete maintenance that were previously unclear. Designers and applicators will find practical, reliable guidelines in TR Maintenance that offer them maximum safety. At Triflex, we have optimized our system solutions to comply with these regulations and support users with specific recommendations for action to ensure compliance with TR Maintenance, as well as with suitable system solutions.