2016
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Liverpool ONE, a £1 billion regeneration programme, comprises 42 acres of open-air shopping and leisure facilities and involves the careful restoration of several historic buildings. These include the Russell Building, Compton House, the Stanley Building and County Palatine, which were built between the 1860s-80s.
These buildings have a maze of basements that equated to approximately 50,000 sq ft of potential commercial rental space. The basements had deteriorated with age and started to let in water making them unlettable. However, each basement has now been transformed into extensive profitable space. For example, in the Palatine and Stanley buildings, they will be used for additional retail space, whilst in the Russell Building, the basements can now be used as service areas.
Project Requirements
For a maze of basements requiring refurbishment as part of one of the country’s largest regeneration schemes, architects required a waterproofing system that was both versatile and proven. Sika® 1 from global building product manufacture Sika offered the right credentials.
Sika Solutions
The conversion of these basements to useable space is thanks to the first-class Sika® 1 Pre-bagged Waterproofing System which has provided total protection from water ingress, allowing the basements to be used by the new tenants with peace of mind.
The Sika® 1 Pre-bagged Waterproofing System incorporates a specially developed admixture – a unique colloidal liquid – which is mixed with specially blended quality controlled pre-bagged mortars. Once applied to the walls and floors, the admixture reacts with water by turning into a jelly-like substance, blocking all gaps and capillaries in the pre-bagged mortars, and providing an impregnable and invisible seal. The mortars bonding monolithically with the substrate, it essentially becomes one with the structure.
Highly versatile and capable of tackling the most challenging of projects, it was the ideal system to provide protection at the four ageing buildings at Liverpool ONE.
The system provided specialist contractor, Quickseal, with the necessary solution to effectively seal the buildings’ vast basements. The company started by casting a layer of Sika® 1 Spritz Mortar over the basement walls. This was followed by a layer of Sika® 1 Render Mortar and Sika® 1 Finishing Mortar. Sika® 1 Spritz Mortar was applied to the floor, followed by a third layer of Sika® 1 Screed Mortar.
To ensure a complete seal, Quickseal also used Sika® advanced jointing system, SikaDur® Combiflex, which was applied to all joints and cracks. Easy to install, it provides a reliable method of sealing cracks whilst allowing for movement in the building. Suitable for both internal and external use on new build and refurbishment projects, it can accommodate movement in more than one dimension as well as variations in joint width. This, combined with the Sika® 1 Pre-bagged Waterproofing System, created a complete package that provided the basement with a completely dry environment.
Without a certified and proven system such as Sika® 1 Pre-bagged Waterproofing System protecting the basements of these buildings, the future occupiers could have experienced significant problems were water to intrude. However, fully protected, they can now look forward to a dry and prosperous future.
"Sika’s pre-bagged waterproofing system was ideal for this project. Its water-tightness coupled with its simple installation properties meant we were able to complete the waterproofing work quickly and effectively." Martin Lockwood, General Manager at Ward Damp-Proofing
The Result
Such is the ease with which the Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Structural Waterproofing System is applied; Ward Damp-Proofing completed the vaults’ waterproof refurbishment in just one week. The property’s delighted owners have been supplied with two storage spaces which will remain fully-protected against the long-term threat of water and damp ingress and undoubtedly add value to the property having now provided additional dry usable space
