Keeping water at bay

On World Water Day, 22 March, CPG Europe questioned the importance of water and how many of our solutions are being developed to keep water safe inside buildings, or away from it outside to protect them.

Our product brands offer solutions that cover all six sides of a building, including waterproofing solutions for the drinking and wastewater industry, balconies, gateyards, terraces, basements and foundations. Let's see some of these solutions in action, offered by CPG Europe's Vandex and Flowcrete product brands, with case studies and solutions from across Europe.

Restoration of the waterproofing coatings of the Tegel wastewater treatment plant

The Tegel Water Station is one of the three largest water stations in Berlin, Germany. The structure works jointly with the plants in Stople, Spandau and Kladow and has very impressive technical specifications:

• Maximum power: 260,000 m3 per day
• Water extraction: 130 vertical wells
• 30 to 60 m deep with submersible motor pumps
• Pump efficiency: 50 to 150 m3 per hour
• A horizontal filter wheel: 16 m deep with 2 motor pumps

The plant consists of three atomization towers, each with a diameter of 17 meters. Two of these towers required restoration of the reaction tanks and nozzle chambers, and CPG Europe's Vandex brand was chosen for this work.

Vandex's purely mineral sprayable repair mortar, Vandex Cemline Nature, was used for the restoration because it is impervious to hydrostatic water pressure, does not contain industrial recycling materials, complies with German drinking water requirements DVGW W300-5 (P): 10-2014, type 1 and has an exposure class X TWB according to DVGW W300-5 (A): 10-2014.

Vandex's approved mineral coating for drinking water was applied to the ceiling, walls and floors of the towers in a 15mm thick layer. To put into perspective the required volume of Vandex's Cemline Nature coating, the coating was applied to the following areas:

• The nozzle room:

225m² ceiling

225 m² sole

235 m² of walls

• The reaction basin:

60m² ceiling

Circular driveway of 260m²

WATERPROOFING AND RESTORATION OF MUNERA'S PUBLIC WATER RESERVOIR

In the city of Munera, Spain, Vandex's sealing solutions were chosen to repair a public water tank that, if unusable, would leave 6,000 residents of the region without water.

The tank had sustained structural damage and loss of stability due to damage to the roof and support beams. Damage to the concrete roof left it exposed, and rust formed due to high humidity in the environment. As a result, the concrete had to be replaced, along with some of the damaged beams.

Thanks to its impermeable nature, sulphate resistance and low shrinkage, Vandex Cemline MG4 fibre-reinforced spray and repair mortar was applied to repair and reinforce the beams and upper joints of the pillars, to a thickness of 35 mm.

Finally, the Vandex BB 75 E sealing mortar was applied in three layers, 3 mm thick, inside. This mortar was used because of its CO2 and water vapor permeability, capillary absorption, and crack bridging resistance, among many other essential characteristics.

Before

Vandex mortar

After with the use of Vandex solution

WATERPROOF AND NON-SLIP FLOORS

In all parts of a building, when it comes to flooring, choosing products specifically designed to protect spaces that may encounter water is essential to maintaining a solid foundation. Flowcrete, CPG Europe's product brand, knows this all too well and offers several well-known flooring options.

Let's take the example of car parks. To fully protect a flooring and its load-bearing structure, it is important to prevent moisture from the concrete from rising into the ground while preventing liquids from seeping into the underlying concrete.

Flowcrete's Deckshield range offers membranes specifically designed for use on parking decks, including membranes made from a fast-curing methyl methacrylate-based formulation that is less affected by cold temperatures or high humidity levels during application – which is particularly relevant in cold and humid regions.

The floor surface must also be taken into account, as harmful liquids that corrode the surface and seep downwards can cause equally significant damage to the structure of a parking lot.

Deckshield ED from Flowcrete was used here

One way to reduce the risk of slipping is to specify a structured non-slip coating on the floor surface. The texture increases grip and adds slip resistance to the flooring. This is especially important in areas such as sharp turns and ramps.

In industry, especially in food and beverage processing plants, where it is possible to spill food or beverages, positive texture flooring is often used to ensure the safety of personnel and provide additional slip resistance. Flowcrete's Flowfresh range allows aggregates to be included to create textured soil for this very reason. The dispersion of the aggregates can be adapted to increase or decrease the texture depending on the area of the installation.

CPG Europe's waterproofing solutions cover all six sides of the building. Want to know more? Contact us today.