At Harbor Steps, approximately 10,000 people use the park daily, as a commuter, tourist, and shopping connector in Downtown Seattle with the harbor-front below.
Harbor Steps park is Seattle's version of Rome's Spanish Steps. Its curvilinear shapes and densely planted foliage soften the hard edges and impervious surfaces that serve daily visitors who traverse the park and linger for special events. The cascading waterfalls and fountains mask the noise of nearby city traffic, and provide points of interest along the 60-foot (18-meter) drop from First to Western Avenue.
Approximately 10,000 people use the park daily, as a commuter, tourist, and shopping connector between First Avenue above and the harbor-front below, with retail spaces at the base and for-rent residential units above.
When the owners decided a refresh was required to keep their upscale reputation, they turned to TNW and Tnemec Company Inc., for a product recommendation. "The existing coatings were chalked and pretty well dead", commented Rick Gilbreath with TNW, inc. "We discussed the benefits with the owners of using Series 156, Enviro-Crete over a standard acrylic elastomeric and after comparing the performance and longevity gains, they decided the extra upfront cost was worth the long term life cycle gains".
"Without getting too technical", Gilbreath added, "Series 156, Enviro-Crete is a styrenated acrylate, not an acrylic elastomeric. The resin is a self-cross-linking micro-polymer. Many coating firms, including Tnemec, manufacture 100% acrylic emulsion Elastomers or Elastomeric paint, but because of the minute size of embedded micro-polymers in Enviro-Crete it can better penetrate into the pores and cracks of a substrate. All the above helps combines elasticity with adhesion, toughness, UV and water or moisture vapor resistance, which is a combination no other coating offers. And in downtown Seattle where we see heavy salt fog in the winter and high UV in the summer, we need all that protection".
After picking colors and a contractor, Pioneer Masonry spent 2 summers applying over 3000 gallons. The outcome was spectacular to say the least.
If you have a problem building, or just want the 20-30 year life cycle that comes with Series 156, Enviro-Crete, please reach out to High Performance Coatings for a site survey or a full specification review.
