Foster Wheeler Headquarters Waterproofing
The Foster Wheeler European headquarters was waterproofed with Impermax, Krypton Chemical’s cold-applied liquid polyurethane.
Overview
The Foster Wheeler European headquarters was waterproofed with Impermax, Krypton Chemical’s cold-applied liquid polyurethane.
| Place | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Site | Foster Wheeler European headquarters |
| Membrane | Impermax |
Challenge
A European headquarters is a working building. People are in it. Plant sits on the horizontal surfaces, and the waterproofing has to reach the outlets and the turns at parapets, not only the open field. A preformed lap has to be cut and stuck at every one of those turns. A liquid film is one coat through the same line.
The membrane has to live with plant, foot traffic for maintenance, and the movement of a large occupied building. The field and the details are one system.
Solution
Impermax is Krypton Chemical’s cold-applied liquid polyurethane membrane. It goes on by roller, brush, spreader or airless equipment, in two coats of about 1 kg per square metre each. The coats are different colours, so a missed patch shows while the work is still open. A spiked roller is run while the coat is wet, to break bubbles before they set. A mesh is not required across the field. It is used at edges and corners, the places a liquid film is asked to turn.
Elongation is 450 to 600 percent and tensile strength is 2.5 to 4.3 MPa. Those figures are typical product data, measured on the product under stated conditions. They are not a cut taken from this job. On a surface that moves with heat, that elongation is why the film can stay with the substrate instead of cracking where the plane changes.
The substrate wants to be between 5 and 40 degrees C. Above 45 degrees C the work needs extra measures. Pot life is about 4 to 6 hours for 1 kg at 20 degrees C and 50 percent relative humidity. People can usually walk the film in one or two days. It reaches about 90 percent of its properties in three days. Final hardness takes 10 to 15 days, and standing water should wait for that. The European Technical Assessment is 06/0263, with CE marking for the 10-year and 25-year working-life categories. The system also carries a BBA agrément.
Cold application matters in an occupied headquarters. There is no torch over offices and plant rooms. Two coloured coats show whether the film actually turned into the outlet, which is the only inspection that counts before the ceiling does it later.
Application
Stir the pail slowly so settled solids come back and bubbles can leave. Do not thin it with a solvent that is not the Rayston PU solvent. The surface is cleaned, cracks and weak spots are dealt with first, then the two coats go down, including upstands and outlets in the same passes. Details are not left for a leftover tin at the end of the day.
On this job the same rule applies at every edge. plant, outlets and the turns at parapets are where water actually gets in, and the building stays occupied while the work is done. A holiday in the second coat is a path. The colour change is how that path is seen before the surface is handed back. Outlets, upstands and fixings take the same two coats as the field, because water does not fail in the middle of a bay. It fails where the plane changes.
Results
The Foster Wheeler European headquarters carries an Impermax membrane, with the details in the same coats as the field. The cure times and the strength figures are the product’s, not a reading taken on this building.
Products
Impermax
Cold-applied liquid polyurethane. Two coats at about 1 kg per square metre each. Elongation 450 to 600 percent. Those figures are typical product data.
FAQ
How is Impermax applied?
By roller, brush, spreader or airless equipment, in two coats of about 1 kg per square metre each. The coats are different colours so a holiday shows. On this headquarters that matters because plant, outlets and the turns at parapets are where water actually gets in, and the building stays occupied while the work is done.
How long before the film can be walked?
Usually one or two days. About 90 percent of the properties are there in three days. Final hardness takes 10 to 15 days, and standing water should wait for that. On this headquarters a film that is walked or flooded early is still soft.
What temperature does the substrate need?
Between 5 and 40 degrees C. Above 45 degrees C the work needs extra measures. A surface in full sun can pass that even when the air feels moderate, and this headquarters is no exception.
What do the strength figures mean here?
Elongation is 450 to 600 percent and tensile strength is 2.5 to 4.3 MPa. Those are typical product data, not a test cut from this job. They are why the film can follow movement at upstands and outlets on this headquarters.
Where do the cure times come from?
From the Impermax technical data sheet, measured on the product under stated conditions. They are not a stopwatch reading from this headquarters. The ETA for the system is 06/0263.