Applying cold liquid greatly reduces the chance of evaporation of moisture and water trapped in concrete as well as expansion of trapped air in the concrete when compared to hot liquid application. With cold-applied waterproofing, you can build a continuous membrane for waterproofing integrity. Conclusion - Which Type of Waterproofing is More Durable? A waterproofing product is considered durable not only when it meets the six critical performance requirements, but also demonstrates the ability to handle jobsite conditions and maintain long-term perfor- mance in the service condition. In other words, it installs easily with minimal defects and is physically tough and chemically inert enough to handle the construction site abuse and long-term aging (from wa- ter, repetitive movement, etc.) to maintain its waterproofing integrity. Since reactive cold-applied liquid waterproofing products have the flexibility to be uniquely formulated to a specific purpose, a well-
designed cold-applied liquid waterproofing product can meet all the requirements to provide the long-term performance needed. With such a product, builders and architects can trust they have a superior and efficient waterproofing system that will provide a seamless, robust, and monolithic membrane that is more durable and longer-lasting, and will effectively and reliably seal and protect surfaces and structures from water penetration.
GREG AUSTIN is the global product director, specialty building materials, for GCP Applied Technologies. He has a background in consulting and almost a decade of experience in waterproofing system development and construction materials.
The Shark Habitat Challenge
Reynolds Polymer Technology, Inc., an acrylic specialist company based out of Colorado, faced the challenge of precisely measuring, documenting, and communicating the production and installation of a custom shark tank window in Georgia Aquarium’s expansion project. In order to do so, the precision cast-in-place concrete rebates needed to be measured in a three-dimensional grid from a set of opposing arches – a daunting task considering the safety of the aquarium’s visitors be - ing a liability. Sure, the rebates could have been measured by drawing a complex grid and measuring points with a tape measure. But this 35,000 lb. (15,875 kg) acrylic viewing window required a ¼” (6 mm) site tolerance. If incorrectly measured, the space between the acrylic window and the concrete rebate could be too small or too large. If too small, thermal movement could fracture the window due to insufficient expansion and contraction allowances. If too large, the engineers would need to reas - sess the variance for potential sealant issuers, causing costly remedial work on site. The window had to fit, and the measurements had to be quick, cost- effective, and extremely precise. The concrete rebates have two opposing arches, one horizontal at 300” (7,820 mm) long, and the other vertical at 480” (12,190 mm) long.
Obtaining an accurate three-dimensional grid, precise enough to manu- facture the viewing window to tolerance, would have taken days while offering measurements exceeding the manufacturing tolerances. The use of a standard tape measure can easily decrease accuracy of up to ½” (12.7 mm) over 33 ft (10 m) due to sag, temperature, and twist of the tape. By using a tape measure, the contractor would have added at least another ½” (12.7 mm) to the existing tolerance. This would have created significant fitment issues with the window. Reynolds Polymer selected the Leica Geosystems 3D Disto to accu - rately measure the rebates expertly fabricated and poured by Brasfield &Gorrie. The Leica Geosystems 3D Disto is a unique tool that captures three-dimensional measurements and projects points for 2D layout applications. The speed and precision of the 3D Disto brings unprec -
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June 2021
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