Our Works
Here is a collection of some of our residential and commercial projects that span a variety of works including refurbishment, defect and leakage detection and analysis and historical façade restorations.
RMIT Melbourne
Terrace Refurbishment
The refurbishment for RMIT Melbourne’s terrace involved the rectification of a large leaking terrace area which formed part of a larger refurbishment project on the site.
The existing terrace was covered with a structural slab, screed, waterproofing membrane and tiles when originally constructed. A liquid membrane had previously been applied to the tiles in an attempt to re-waterproof the terrace and treat a number of leaks that had developed over time.
This method of installation would now allow for any moisture retained beneath the new membrane to move freely about the structure and naturally dissipate over time. Any build-up of vapor pressure would be relieved without affecting the integrity or watertightness of the new membrane installation.
Once complete and waterproofed, the area was covered with 20mm pavers set on pedestals and an area of artificial turf which was also raised on pedestals featuring an 18mm compressed sheet to hold the turf, allowing the waterproofed area to be easily inspected at any time in the future.
These previous works failed to take into account the water/moisture entrapped within the original system and as a consequence the second membrane failed due to the effects of thermal movement, vapour blistering and the subsequent rupturing and tearing of the liquid coating applied, which allowed even more water to enter the structure.
The existing coating was unable to cope with the moisture retained in the structure over time. It should be noted that this is not a failure of the coating itself, but a lack of understanding the effects of retained moisture and its future impact on any applied coating.
In this case Australian Waterproofing Consultants elected to install a sheet membrane over the existing failed liquid membrane. This new membrane was loosely laid over the terrace and mechanically fastened to the structure with the laps and details being fully bonded and finished with a liquid membrane that was compatible with the structure and sheet membrane used.
Hotel Re-Roof
Australian Waterproofing Consultants carried specification and site assistance duties on this long-standing hotel. Its roof had a bitumen based flat roofing membrane which had been poorly maintained and repaired over the years, ruling out any additional patch repairs.
During multiple repair attempts, the materials used by previous contractors had not been compatible with the existing membrane, which is a common cause of repair failure.
On this project, Australian Waterproofing Consultants opted to replace the existing bitumen membrane with a more up to date and technically advanced material.
Residential Deck Refurbishment
On this project, the existing residential deck was covered by 2 layers of membrane and tiles and both of these systems had failed, which was allowing water to enter into the living spaces below.
In this situation, the solution was clear due to the extent of the damage to the underlying plywood substrate, all the materials had to be removed back to the deck substrate in order to investigate if any damage to the underlying framing had taken place.
The gutter outlet was also replaced with a proper drip edge to prevent water back tracking under the outlet. Australian Waterproofing Consultants chose to use a liquid membrane, finished with a decorative colour chip finish instead of tiles, which could make the deck prone to thermal heat gain during the day.
Due to its positioning, the finishes used on the deck required the highest degree of flexibility, while also being durable and able to move with thermal loading. After consultation with the owners, we opted to use the colour finish, a solution that now allows easily accessible inspections to the deck at any time.
Once the existing waterproofing and tiling was removed our technicians were able to conduct a thorough examination of the plywood deck and gutter substrate.
We discovered rotten plywood and framing that needed to be replaced and that the gutter outlet was allowing water back into the substrate. To rectify this, we removed the rotten timber 400 mm back into sound timber, the area was then treated with a moss and mould killer so new timber and plywood could be reinstated.
Hyatt Hotel Podium Refurbishment
This project was part of an overall refurbishment to the external podium area of the ballroom for the Hyatt hotel. The existing podium tiles and membrane had failed which led to water ingress in rooms below the podium.
This refurbishment involved considerable work in the perimeter detailing to bring the area to an acceptable and warrantable condition. As part of this project, Australia Waterproofing Consultants were also required to incorporate sound insulation as the area was prone to noise intrusion to spaces below the podium.
The entire podium was taken back to the original floor slab, the required repairs were undertaken, and the membrane works begun.
Historic Façade Refurbishment
Australian Waterproofing Consultants was involved in the specification writing and onsite applicator assistance on a larger project which involved the refurbishment of the historic facade of the building.
During this refurbishment the existing paint finishes were removed, with repairs undertaken to the plaster before the coating works begun. With historic facade works, it is crucial to understand the nature of the surfaces requiring treatment.
When you apply a modern rigid repair plaster to a historic plaster substrate there is a risk of the repair failing due to the uneven forces between the two materials competing against each other.
It is also important to choose the correct historic façade coating system, so it is in tune with the plaster and will allow the building to breathe. In this case we elected to use KEIM Paints as they are considered to be the best historic façade coating manufacturer in the world today.
Older buildings need to breathe to in order to release moisture that is inherent in their structures. The ability to breathe allows for an equilibrium to exist which is important for façades made with traditional permeable lime-based plasters.
Treatment can sometimes involve removing defective, weak plaster layers and replacing them with new plaster for a variety of reasons. However, we do not advocate the use of modern plasters in historic repairs, which are are often filled with modern resins and binders not suitable for old plasters which were commonly hand manufactured on site using traditional methods.
These traditional plasters were often lime rich mortar which in comparison to today’s mixes are softer and more breathable.
Residential Basement
This project presented as a leaking basement in a new residential extension. The walls were concrete block with an exposed podium slab roof cover to be used as an external deck.
Our investigations revealed that there was no waterproofing to the external walls and as it was it was impractical to excavate from the outside, down to foundation level, so we tackled the issue in two phases.
Phase one was to mitigate external water to the outside walls as much as practicable, while phase two involved treating the internal walls with a specialised cement-based material capable of holding back a large amount of hydrostatic pressure.
Council Chambers
Re-roof
The roof in this project was an old malthoid roof covered with a layer of stone ballast. The building was approximately 60 years old with the flat roofing system being of similar age. This roof type was commonly used at the time of construction and the stone ballast cover was used to protect the flat roof membrane from UV degradation.
Upon inspection we found that the membrane itself had become very brittle making it susceptible to damage once exposed to the elements. The roof substrate in this case was an aerated light weight form of concrete.
Our client did not want to expose the underlying roof structure for an extended period of time, so Australian Waterproofing Consultants elected to leave the current membrane in place and use a mechanically fixed roofing membrane. This required the removal of the ballast, a thorough inspection and clean of the roof. A mould killer was also applied to kill any mould spores, this was left for a period of time before the re-roofing work was undertaken.
Mechanical fixing of the membrane was chosen because we knew that the roof substrate was somewhat saturated with moisture which had accumulated beneath the existing membrane. By mechanically fixing (as opposed to fully bonding) this would now allow for any moisture to freely move under the membrane and dissipate naturally.
Saint Patrick’s
Cathedral Ponds
The Ponds within the St Patrick's Cathedral precinct were in serious need of refurbishment. There are four ponds located on the Albert St elevation of the Cardinal Knox Centre with offices directly below and a pond to the rear of the Cathedral known as the St Patrick's Presbytery Circular Pond.
These ponds were constructed in the 1970s and originally coated in an unknown bitumen mastic, they had been re-coated over the years at various times with unknown liquid coatings, so much of the pond base was now covered in blisters and other deleterious materials so re-coating these materials was not a viable long-term solution.
Australian Waterproofing Consultants recommend the removal of the old coatings back to a sound base. During that process we discovered that the base was a bituminous mastic which had also suffered from serious contamination and over coating throughout the years. Our experts opted to go back to a sound concrete base onto which we could build the new membrane lining system.
The lining system consisted of a slurry coat that used a high strength cement modified waterproofing slurry which provides excellent adhesion to the concrete base and was able to be applied so as to smooth out any bug holes and undulations on the surface.
Lastly, several coats of a highly flexible cementitious waterproofing slurry was applied. There were several expansion joints within the ponds which we treated with a strong PVC modified joints system which was encapsulated within an epoxy adhesive mix.
Leak Investigation on a Residential Apartment Complex – Victoria
Residential Apartment Complex - consists of two separate apartment buildings located on a single site. There is a large basement (parking and storage) which services both buildings with a common area green space, swimming pool and walkways separating the buildings. Both buildings are constructed predominantly with precast concrete, concrete block walls and lightweight claddings.
Australian Waterproofing Consultants conducted a two-day site investigation of several leak points and was advised of the active or historical status of each leak point. The leak points were inspected with the aid of thermal imaging, moisture meters and a visual inspection. Where practicable water testing was conducted to recreate and confirm some of the leak points.
Residential Lounge Area Leak Detection
Australian Waterproofing Consultants (AWC) were engaged to investigate the likely causes of water ingress to a Bayside residence lounge area which was experiencing water leaks from the ceiling of the first-floor. It was suspected that the leak was originating from the rooftop balcony. AWC performed a non-destructive visual inspection of the water-damaged areas along with isolated water testing, moisture meter testing, and thermal imaging.
There was damage to the ceiling below the balcony with the plasterboard staining and paint blistering. AWC were able to identify the likely cause of the leak and provide two options to help resolve the water ingress depending on the client’s preference.
Our Clients
Australian Waterproofing Consultants have worked with a number of global
and national clients on a variety of projects including;
