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FEBRUA RY 2018 | 15 Restoration Products & Services The Rotec Vortex is a low-pressure micro-abra- sive cleaning technology designed for the sensitive restoration of facades and monuments. The nozzle projects a low pressure swirl of air, water and an inert, micro-abrasive media powder to clean surfaces gently and effectively without damage to the sub- strate. "It's very effective, yet it doesn't remove the patina from material," says Humphries. Projects of note for Colonial in 2017 included the cleaning of the Metropolitan United Church in Toronto. "It took us five months to remove 100 years' worth of dirt and pollution from the brickwork, and to many peoples' surprise the real colour of the edi- fice proved to be yellow," says Humphries. "In fact, it was such a surprise that a few people were convinced we'd ruined the building!" Colonial, whose high-profile projects include the Library of Parliament, Toronto City Hall, and the award-winning 51 Division police station, will likely be equally busy this year. "We expect things to really heat up in the spring," says Humphries. "Many projects are currently in the negotiation stages across Toronto." In terms of waterproofing, Kryton International Inc. is the inventor of smart hydrophilic crystalline technology. When added as an admixture or applied to concrete, Krystol chemicals create a reaction that causes long, narrow crystals to form, filling the pores, capillaries and hairline cracks of the concrete mass. As long as moisture remains present, crystals continue to grow throughout the concrete, reaching lengths of many inches over time. "One of the benefits of our system is that it can be reactivated over time," says Alireza Biparva, research and development manager – concrete specialist for Kryton. "Even if there is a crack in your structure 50 years down the road, as long as you have water available, the crystals will grow. This is assuming of course that our products have been applied correctly, and to that end we thor- oughly train our distributors about correct usage." This technology has been a boon to innumera- ble restoration projects, and one that the company likes to highlight is the repair of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, in which the Krystol T1, Krystol Plug, and Krystol Repair Grout were used to remedy groundwater infiltration in the facility's underground train tunnel. Krystol Plug halted leaks immediately; Krystol Repair Grout was applied over the plug to permanently stop the water, and then repair teams applied Krystol T1 over the leak repair and to the concrete walls to protect against future water intrusion. Lastly, Arriscraft's specialty in the restoration field is matching old historic stone, and as such it continues to be sought by universities across North America. One of its more notable projects in this regard was supplying the historic Miami University with Arriscraft stone instead of quarried stone (for time and labour savings), and ensuring that it was a realistic match to the quarried option for the early 19th-century stone already in place. Arriscraft build- ing stone has also been used on a number of recent restoration projects in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, in lieu of quarried stone. A Repair of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas by Kryton International Inc.