The
Project:
Westpac
Date:
2004
The Client:
Westpac Stadium
The Requirement:
Wellington's Westpac Stadium is one of the city's favourite
buildings but the management at the Stadium had a problem with
water leaking through the concrete concourse area into the
offices and meeting rooms below. There was an additional concern
that this water ingress would affect the steel reinforcement in
the concrete.
The Solution:
The challenge was to come up with a cost effective flooring
option that would waterproof the floor, take the traffic of up
to 40,000 people at an event and be able to be cleaned
effectively. The product chosen was the Tremco Vulkem system
which has been used at other stadiums such as The Gabba and
Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
The first
priority was to clean the floor. Chewing gum had to be removed
and then the water used in the cleaning process had to be
contained so as not to cause a problem in the offices below.
This was done by use of a captive water-blasting technique
whereby the water was contained within a cleaning head and
vacuumed out to the exterior of the building.
In addition to
the coating system, cracks in the floor had to be addressed and
sealant coves installed at floor/wall junctions and around
columns. The system had to be able to handle the movement
inherent in a "live" floor as well as the seismic movement for
which Wellington is famous.
Another important
factor was that the floor had to be non-slip. An aggregate was
selected which struck a balance between durability,
clean-ability and grip.
