Jim Langdon, Contracts Manager for Cast Contracting Ltd, gives us an insight into the company’s first Structural Waterproofing project in Gibraltar
‘The Mid Harbour Estate project is a government led social housing project in Gibraltar. We were approached to carry out the application of waterproof membranes and designed movement joints onto the main concrete deck. Water penetration had occurred throughout the movement and construction joints in the slab and through the rainwater gullies, resulting in considerable damage to residents cars in the car park below.
Our team of Specialist Waterproofing Contractors worked closely with RIW Ltd, the product manufacturers to install appropriate products to the deck from the RIW range including RIW Cementseal, Cementflex, Flexiseal and Toughseal. All products were hand and spray applied to ensure effective coverage of the outside areas and to ensure protection from water penetration.
Jim Langdon commented “ The Mid Harbour Estate Project presented us with a number of challenges due to its location in Gibraltar. The heat of the Spanish sun meant that it was imperative to apply the membranes during the coolest hours of the day – early morning and late afternoon.
Being located next to the coast meant that we encountered extremely changeable wind speeds that played havoc with spraying some of the membranes. Luckily the local knowledge of “The Levanter” (the cloud that often covers the rock of Gibraltar, heralding downpours of rain) received from the local companies and agencies working alongside us, meant that we were able to plan in the different stages of the waterproofing project accordingly.
It was a pleasure to work alongside companies such as Colomendy and JBS on the Mid Harbour Estate project and it certainly made a change from travelling to waterproofing projects across London and the UK!’