The Man Behind the Curtain

Absolute Commercial Interiors have created the new, The Man Behind the Curtain, a Michelin star eatery based in Leeds, has an enviable reputation for the unique, artistic presentation of its food. As ‘one of the hottest tickets in town’ for connoisseurs of exceptional stylish cuisine, it is vital every aspect of the restaurant – including the building – functions to the highest standards. Therefore, when it came to the basement’s refurbishment, only the very best waterproofing solution was considered,  hence the selection of the Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Structural Waterproofing system.

With basement works starting in October 2017 Sika registered contractors, Bosa Contracts Ltd, faced a dual challenge in ensuring the programme was completed within a required two-week time frame. Firstly, the restaurant’s city centre location in a ‘limited traffic access’ area meant taking delivery of materials outside of normal working hours. In addition, on-site teams had to schedule works around restaurant opening times in order to avoid disrupting staff and customers.

Before waterproofing works commenced the basement’s brick walls were grit-blasted to create a suitable substrate. The Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Structural Waterproofing system was then applied to a 100m2 area. This exemplary watertight solution ensures specifiers meet the requirements of a project with just one system – and it requires no ongoing maintenance. A pre-bagged render product, the three-part system features a blend of kiln-dried, specially-graded aggregates and cements, as well as a liquid waterproofing admixture. The admixture is mixed into the render and bonds monolithically to the prepared substrate, blocking all gaps and capillaries to provide an impregnable and invisible seal. This process essentially means the system becomes at one with the structure.

For the basement floor, the ‘peel and stick’, self-adhesive SikaProof®-P system was applied to a 200m2 area. This post-applied solution can be used to waterproof all types of open-cut concrete basements and other below ground structures. Highly durable with superb flexibility and crack-bridging ability, SikaProof®-P complies with BS 8102:2009 Type A construction. In addition, Sikadur®-Combiflex® SG, a high-performance joint-sealing system, was applied to the basement’s wall and floor joints. This high quality solution allows irregular and high movement in more than one direction, whilst maintaining a high quality seal.

Despite the logistic challenges presented by material deliveries and the restaurant’s opening times, Bosa Contracts was able to complete the waterproofing programme to the client’s strict two-week deadline. Thanks to Sika, the threat of damp and water ingress has been eliminated from vulnerable area within the building, ensuring service at the fine-dine establishment will continue unabated for as long as customers demand.