Watertight Infinity Pool - Buddhist Temple

Challenge

A local Buddhist Temple in South Auckland was looking for some way of waterproofing their reflection pond. This was no easy task, as the pond had certain considerations that other ponds might not necessarily have.

While it is a given that all ponds must have a watertight finish, it was especially imperative for this reflection pond, as there was a living space underneath it. There were certain criteria the pond’s membrane needed to meet:

• It had to be robust as it would be exposed to other trades working concurrently with the waterproofing applicators;
• It had to deal with the multitude of penetrations (including a complicated stainless steel water level system) without sacrificing its overall waterproofing integrity;

Challenge

• The waterproofing system had to account for the interesting pool design – one with water cascading evenly along the entire length of the pond’s edge and recirculating back into the pond;
• There was an issue with the substrate, as it couldn’t be vented, meaning any moisture trapped in the concrete would eventually break down the adhesive used to bind the membrane to the substrate;
• The work would also be carried out in the winter months, so the waterproofing job had to be done in wet weather conditions where membrane adhesion and welding could be compromised if not managed well.These are a large number of factors to consider for any waterproofing job!

Solution

Viking Roofspec was introduced to the project and its challenges. They suggested installing Viking Enviroclad waterproofing membrane which would achieve the goal of total water tightness. Firstly, to deal with the trapped moisture issue, Viking Roofspec made sure that the unvented substrate would not lead to moisture intake, by sealing the concrete with a hydropoxy coating. To maintain the recirculating water, a clamp-ring drain (minus its grill) and a custom-made PVC coupler were designed and fitted.

Solution

Additionally, to ensure watertightness for the stainless steel water level system at the pool edge, the technical team had formulated and submitted to the architect, an appropriate detail for absolute watertightness below the surface. Viking Enviroclad membrane has high puncture resistance, so it coped beautifully with the high foot traffic from all trades during construction.