Bund Lining Repairs
Bund lining repairs is the build up method we use when a bund has localised damage but is otherwise serviceable: forklift impact, hot work damage, perished joint sealant, splash zone attack or a single point of coating failure. It sits between routine maintenance and full replacement, and the right repair adds years of useful life without committing to a complete reline.
How Bund Lining Repairs Work
We treat every bund repair as a small project, not a quick patch. The discipline that keeps a repair sound long term is the same that goes into a new install, at smaller scale. Our standard sequence is:
How It Works
Types and Variants
Bund Repair Performance and Thickness Ranges
Repair thickness matches the original lining system rather than being set independently. Most repairs sit in the range of:
- Coating-grade repairs — 0.5–2 mm, matching the host coating system.
- Mortar and detail repairs — 6–25 mm where broken arrises, cove fillets or local rebuild are needed.
- FRP/lay-up repairs — 3–10 mm or more, where the host is a fibreglass bund lining and the repair is laminated into the existing structure.
A correctly executed repair restores the bund’s original performance. This includes chemical resistance, impermeability, adhesion and integrity within the repair zone and is judged against the same standards as the surrounding lining at handover.
Compatible Bund Lining Repair Materials
Material selection is driven by what the bund is already lined with. The repair has to bond to and work with the existing system, not introduce a new chemistry that becomes a future weak point. We typically apply:
Epoxy Resins
The most common repair chemistry, matching most existing bund lining systems with a reliable bond into the existing coating and predictable cure and finish.
Polyurethane Resins
Used where the host system is polyurethane, particularly on outdoor bunds, top of wall details and external compounds where flexibility and crack bridging matter.
Polyurea Resins
For rapid cure repair where the bund must be back in service inside a single shift, including live retail forecourt and data centre work.
Vinyl Ester Resins
Where the existing bund is a vinyl ester FRP or GRP lining, repaired by relaminating into the host with the same resin and reinforcement.
Novolac Epoxy Resin
Where the existing system is novolac and the repair has to hold elevated temperature or aggressive acid performance.
Advantages of Bund Lining Repairs
Bund Lining Repair Limitations
Need a lay-up specified for a demanding bund?
Speak to Reschem about the right laminate build-up, resin choice and inspection regime for aggressive chemical duty, confined structures or long-life containment assets.
When to Choose Bund Lining Repairs
We specify a repair build-up when one or more of the following apply:
Localised damage
A forklift impact, dropped load gouge, hot work scar or single point of failure in an otherwise sound bund.
Service life remaining
The operator wants to defer a full reline to a planned refurbishment window.
Short outage
A planned outage is short, and a full re-line cannot be sequenced into the available shutdown.
Specific areas flagged
A condition survey has identified areas needing attention rather than systemic failure.
Known System
The original lining is documented, so a matched repair can be specified with confidence.
Multiple bunds to cover
A series of repairs across an estate is often more economical than one full reline.
Incident damage
A tanker contact, chemical spill or fire event has caused localised damage and the rest of the bund is unaffected.
Bund Lining Repair Applications and Industries
Bund repair runs across every sector we work in, with the heaviest demand where assets are long lived and full reline outages are disruptive:
Oil, Gas and Petrochemical
Splash zone, top of wall and tanker bay repairs at terminals, depots and refineries where shutdown windows are tightly controlled.
Power Generation and Transmission
Localised repairs to transformer bunds and standby fuel compounds, sequenced into planned outages.
Food and Beverage
Patch repairs around CIP cycles and weekend deep cleans, restoring hygiene led linings without losing a full production week.
Chemical Processing
Containment repairs on dosing skids, drum decks and reaction floors where one chemistry has attacked one zone.
Sewage and Waste Water Treatment
BSA attacked manhole corbels, wet well crowns and digester roof undersides, repaired during scheduled tank outages.
Agriculture and Aquaculture
Slurry tank repairs, silage clamp wall reinstatement and AD plant bund remediation between cycles.
Nuclear Facilities
Active area repairs under permit to work and contamination control, with arisings managed as the appropriate waste category.
Bund Repair Surface Preparation Requirements
Bund Repair Quality Assurance and Testing
Bund Lining Repair FAQs
Most repairs cause low to moderate disruption, typically a single shift to a few consecutive days depending on the damage and the cure time of the chosen system. Rapid-cure systems can compress this further, returning a bund to service inside the same shift on smaller localised repairs.
Survey and diagnosis usually takes a half-day, cut-out and substrate prep half a day to a day, lining reinstatement a day with the appropriate cure window, and integrity testing within hours of full cure. A typical localised repair is therefore complete and back in service within two to three working days from arrival on site.
A correctly diagnosed and properly executed repair is a long-term solution and should perform for the remaining service life of the surrounding lining. The exception is a repair that has not addressed the root cause – where chemistry, mechanical loading or substrate movement remain unresolved, even a well-applied repair will fail again at the same point.
Yes, phased repairs are common practice across large bund estates and do not compromise overall performance, provided each repair is properly bonded into the host and documented in the maintenance file. The risk is loss of records: a series of undocumented repairs makes future condition assessment and full-bund hydrostatic testing harder than it needs to be.
Repair typically becomes less cost-effective once around 25–30% of the bund needs work, or once a survey identifies systemic rather than localised failure. At that point, repeated patching usually costs more across the asset’s remaining life than a single full re-line, and the operator is better served by a planned replacement.
Repairs sit under the same regulatory framework as the original bund lining, including CIRIA C736, the Oil Storage Regulations, Environment Agency PPGs and any sector-specific obligations such as COMAH, SSAFO or BS 4247. The repair must maintain the bund’s overall compliance position, and that compliance is evidenced through the maintenance file rather than a separate set of repair-specific regulations.
Featured Case Studies
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