Job type: Basement Waterproofing
This is an example where the right knowledge and experience can really benefit in addressing risk.
What you absolutely don’t want as a Developer, is to drill hundreds of holes into a waterproof concrete wall that’s only 150mm thick, to then fix numerous electrical meters serving apartments, which can’t be removed or disconnected once in place and operational. If water were to come through the wall, it would be an absolute nightmare to resolve, something which Trace have seen cause Developers problems in the past.
In this case Trace were already involved in the project, and recommended that cavity drainage membrane be installed to the wall, to isolate the vulnerable services from any water coming through the wall at any point in time.
The number of fixings into the concrete wall was lessened by installing the membrane, and where we did drill, holes were resin filled before fitting the plugs which secure the membrane in place, thus re-sealing holes where formed.
Battens and ply fixed over to carry the electrical services.
There was also a redundant service penetration – a pipe cast into the wall to form an opening that cables etc could be brought through. This provides an obvious route for water ingress, and was sealed with a detail employing a pipe bung, plug of non-shrink repair mortar, hydrophilic clay (expands when wet), another plug of non-shrink repair mortar, capped internally with a patch of reinforced polymer modified tanking slurry.
The Developer is properly protected because Trace understood the risks and designed them out of the equation.
