CASE STUDY
Concrete-alternative restoration brings new life to United Dairy Farmers fuel islands
From crumbling concrete and rusted metal to a long-term solution the store’s customers can admire. All without removing the gas pumps.
Due to effects of harsh weather, the United Dairy Farmers convenience store in Loveland, Ohio, was seeing their fuel islands deteriorate. Rusted metal support bands were exposed and starting to come off. They had become a safety concern for customers and employees.
The metal bands needed to be removed. But the store owner didn’t want to shut down to do a complete tear-out-and-replace of the concrete fuel islands.
That’s where Simon Surfaces came into play.
A durable solution without disruptions
Simon Surfaces developed a plan to restore all six fuel islands in a phased approach. Two fuel islands were closed at a time. This enabled to store to continue to sell gas while the restoration was being done.
Instead of tearing out and replacing the concrete, Simon Surfaces built up the existing concrete foundation using an epoxy-mortar material. The epoxy provided a long-term, attractive finish that was even 2-3 times stronger than concrete. It’s also resistant to gasoline spills, oils, salt and other chemicals.
“Removing gas pumps and tearing out the entire fuel island is the old way of doing things,” said Rich Serignese, Simon Surfaces vice president. “With today’s concrete-alternative restorations, the image of a gas station is greatly enhanced when the project is completed because the foundations look even better than new.”
“As the Director of Facilities for United Farmers, I am responsible for our guest’s ultimate satisfaction from a physical plant perspective, both inside of the store and outside, and the fuel pumps. Simon Surfaces has offered me a product that I am proud to stand behind, and showcase to our guests. The results are aesthetically pleasing and have stood the test of time at the stations we have completed the projects at,” said Tim Clifford, UDF director or facilities.
