Waterproofing Historic Brick Arches, Windsor

20 January 2021

Overview

Basement type: Waterproofing	Building type: Historical
Type of waterproofing: Type A	Member: Newton Waterproofing Systems

Newton-trained contractor Structural Repairs are leading national specialists in renovating, strengthening and repairing commercial and domestic buildings. However, in 2020 it was their own requirements that were the focus of their efforts, as they sought to renovate a historic railway arch in Windsor in order to create a new head office for the business.

The Project

Structural Repairs' goal was to integrate their new office space into the iconic train station arches. However, the arches had been empty for 25 years, and also had significant water ingress through the existing brickwork, which was in extremely poor condition.

The Solution

Prior to installing a product to stop the water, Structural Repairs first had to prepare the existing brickwork, an essential step in any waterproofing project that is using a liquid-applied product. In such an old and contaminated structure, this required a combination of grit firing, torque cleaning, pressure washing and a doff machine (high pressure steam).

Following this, the brickwork was repaired where necessary and repointed using an appropriate lime mortar, before finally being ready for waterproofing.

To prevent further water ingress, Structural Repairs applied two coats of Newton 901-P to the entire brickwork structure over the course of four days. The high-quality epoxy formulation is ideal for application onto damp surfaces, whilst the low-viscosity penetrates deep into porous substrates in order to effectively seal the surface, making it the ideal product for Structural Repairs to be able to retain the original appearance of the brick arches.

The Result

Once nothing but a standard and empty railway arch, the office now stands as a fully furnished space with a range of individual work areas. An abundance of installations were made such as a fully furnished kitchen, three bathrooms, several offices and meeting rooms. The successful waterproofing of the brick walls using Newton’s product was essential in achieving this end result.