a.b.e.®Construction Chemicals supplied a wide range of products for the refurbishment of the waterproofing system to Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront Aquarium Predator and Kelp Tanks.
a.b.e.®– part of the CHRYSO Southern Africa Group – supplied six popular products for new waterproofing on the project. Steff Dalton, a.b.e.® waterproofing consultant in the Western Cape, said the project also involved new waterproofing of the aquarium’s public and service areas.
a.b.e.®approved applicator, Sky Waterproofing – a new specialist division of Skyriders Rope Access – was awarded the contract to install new waterproofing to all the horizontal and vertical areas around the 21-year-old tanks. Roof slabs, external tank walls, damp-proof courses, door thresholds, and other ancillary areas were included in the contract for the client, Two Oceans Aquarium Trust.
a.b.e.®supplied six products to Sky Waterproofing for the project:
* For the roof slabs: bitu.®prime, Index Fidia p4, and Index Testudo; and
* For other areas: duraflex®, superlaykold, and 3-ply malthoid.
Dalton said the main contractor, Haw and Inglis, handled the removal of the existing waterproofing systems as well as the installation of new granolithic sloped screeds. “The areas were then primed with abe®’s bitu.®prime, followed by a 4mm layer of Index Fidia P4 and 4mm layer of Index Testudo to the flat areas. The plinth and ramp areas were given an additional third layer for maximum protection. The 3-ply Malthoid was then applied as a protective layer prior to the sand and concrete paver slab installations. The flat roof area that required new waterproofing is about 800m² in extent,” he stated.
Widely used in both contractor and home improvement markets, abe®’s bitu.®prime is a bituminous sealer and primer that contains petroleum solvents. Index Fidia P4 membrane is manufactured from a compound of distilled bitumen and polymers, while Index Testudo is a torch-applied, high mechanical resistance, reinforced elasto-plastomeric polymer waterproofing membrane.
a.b.e.® has for decades been the South African distributor of Index waterproofing membranes, manufactured by Index Construction Products SpA of Italy, the largest producer of modified reinforced membranes in the world. The products of the company – which operates in over 90 countries – have been independently tested by over 25 respected testing institutions worldwide and conform to stringent global standards.
abe®’s duraflex ®is a cementitious flexible waterproofing slurry, while superlaykold is a perennially popular a.b.e.® rubberised bitumen emulsion. The company’s malthoid is an asphaltic waterproofing membrane with a fibre felt carrier generally used as a protective layer over Index torch-on waterproofing membranes prior to the application of screeds and tiles.
Brett Thomas, Operations Manager of Sky Waterproofing, who worked under the supervision of David Evans, CEO and sole member of Skyriders Rope Access, said some of the challenges involved in the Two Oceans Aquarium project included:
* Unexpected changes in the building programme, due to unforeseen circumstances, called for Sky Waterproofing to take control of the final preparatory works, including the grinding out of termination details, installing 40mm radius corner fillets, and smoothing off concrete surfaces to a professional standard;
* Intricate detailing to damp-proof courses (DPCs) in face brick walls which were ultimately very successfully completed;
* Some of the building’s walls are curved which called for laborious and detailed application of the flat membranes; and
* Existing fibre cement roof sheets had to be lifted so that torch on systems could be applied on top of some of the walls. The sheets were then put back with new fixings. This was carried out by Skyriders’ experienced team of carpenters.
Thomas said the project also included many customised details that formed part of the design and specifications of Paul Koning of KVB Associates, leading building industry professional advisors. a.b.e.®provided technical input and supervision during the large-scaled waterproofing project including the signing-off of regular Quality Control documents issued by KVB Associates as a contract requirement during tender phase.
“Sky Waterproofing created a computerised Cloud database for the contract to provide the client with a backed up digital copy of the Quality Assurance documents. On-site photographs, data sheets, and any other important information relating to the contract, were also added to the Cloud storage. This did not form part of the contract but was implemented by Sky Waterproofing as an additional service,” Thomas added.
Skyriders Rope Access has selected and applied a.b.e.® products for over 15 years on many high profile projects. Skyriders is an a.b.e.® approved applicator for waterproofing, joint sealing and concrete spalling repairs. The company’s Brett Thomas is the newest board and technical committee member of the Roofing and Waterproofing Institute (RAWI).
abe®’s VIP High Performance Coatings Solutions division last year supplied products for the waterproofing of a new Predator Tank at the Two Oceans Aquarium.
PROJECT LOCATION: Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront Aquarium
SIZE OF PROJECT: 800 m²
OTHER PRODUCTS USED/SPECIFIED:
- Index Fidia P
- Index Testudo
- duraflex ®
- bitu.®prime
- Maltoid 3 Ply
- super laykold
PROJECT START & END DATES: Start Phase 1 – March 2017
a.b.e.®EMPLOYEE INVOLVED: Steff Dalton