Waterproofing of the tunnel underneath the exhibition centre that links various elements and the lift pits at each end.

THE CHALLENGE

To deliver an underground walkway consisting of nearly 750m³ of concrete that was waterproof to a Grade 3 (BS 8102:2009) despite it being located immediately adjacent to the river Mersey.

THE XYPEX SOLUTION

Xypex provided the required protection as a stand-alone waterproofing solution for the whole of the tunnel including the suspended underground roof slab and was also used for the waterproofing of the lift pits. Additionally, utilising Xypex as Admix helped keep the concrete program on track despite the location meaning that construction was frequently disrupted by high winds.

Xypex Admix C Series    -Walkway base,
-Walkway walls
-Walkway suspended roof slab
-Lift pits

Xypex Concentrate   – All joints

Hydroswell Bentostrip  – All joints

THE RESULTS

Xypex waterproofing negated the requirement for additional processes, materials and trades, speeding up concrete placement and value engineering cost out of the project. As the lift pits were part of thick cores Xypex was used in just a 250mm topping of those cores to add further value. Being able to fulfil all the substructure waterproofing requirements with only Xypex meant a single warranty could be issued.