Below-Grade

Concord Pacific Place (Spectrum)
Vancouver, Canada

BACKGROUND
Located on the former Expo 86 lands bordering Vancouver’s downtown core, Concord Pacific Place is a 204-acre residential/commercial development. When completed, Concord Pacific Place will provide 9,100 residential units and 2.5 million square feet of retail/commercial space.

The newest Concord Pacific Place project, Spectrum, is a $170 million, 32-story retail/residential complex. The complex includes a below-grade parking facility, an in-house movie theatre, a 147,000 square foot Costco store and four high-rise towers housing approximately 1,000 residential units.

During the planning stages of the Spectrum project, bentonite waterstops were specified to waterproof the structure’s cold joints. Early on in the construction process, however, wet and rainy weather made the bentonite difficult to install. The required adhesives weren’t sticking, the bentonite wasn’t adhering properly to rough concrete surfaces and it was virtually impossible to tarp the work areas to keep the bentonite dry.

Frustrated with the resulting delays and leakage, the Spectrum project team began looking for alternative waterstop systems. 

SOLUTION
Building envelope consultant, JRS Engineering, suggested using Kryton International’s Krystol Waterstop System™ to replace the bentonite in the Spectrum development. “We’ve used the Krystol Waterstop System in other jobs in the past,” says Doug Eaton of JRS Engineering. “We knew it performed well and that it would address the challenges faced on this project.”

The Krystol Waterstop System is based on Kryton’s proprietary Krystol™ integral crystalline waterproofing technology, which is proven to waterproof concrete from the inside out. When mixed with or applied to concrete, Krystol chemicals react with water and unhydrated cement to form crystals that seal the spaces between concrete particles and permanently block water penetration from all directions. If cracks later form in the concrete, Krystol reacts with incoming water to grow additional crystals that self-seal the cracks, reducing ongoing maintenance and repair costs.

A worldwide patent is currently pending for the Krystol Waterstop System, which utilizes two cementitious, Krystol-based products: Krystol Waterstop Grout and Krystol Waterstop Treatment. A triangle-shaped strip of Krystol Waterstop Grout is created along the edge of a concrete slab or wall where a new wall is to be poured.  Once the grout has cured, Krystol Waterstop Treatment is applied and the wall can be poured as normal.

The innovative Krystol Waterstop System offers many advantages over conventional barrier systems. It requires no specialized equipment and eliminates the need to prime concrete surfaces. It’s easier to install, saving construction time and labour costs and reducing the requirement for skilled trades. Unlike bentonite or PVC waterstops, Krystol technology won’t deteriorate over time. And because the Krystol Waterstop System combines a chemical barrier with a physical barrier, waterproofing is not compromised even if the application is chipped or damaged. Best of all, the Krystol Waterstop System costs up to 50% installed than other waterstop systems, and it’s backed by Kryton’s no-nonsense guarantee.

After a successful product demonstration, the Spectrum project team chose the Krystol Waterstop System to retrofit leaking joints and replace bentonite in the structure’s remaining joints. The project team was pleased that construction could resume and, says Eaton, “The formwork people were thrilled, because the Krystol system made their lives much easier.”

Spectrum is scheduled for completion in mid-2007. Eaton says that, to date, the Krystol Waterstop System is performing well and all joints remain leak-free.

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Kryton's KrystolT Waterstop System was used in place of conventional bentonite waterstops during the construction of Spectrum's three-level below-grade basement parking facility.

By reducing the requirement for skilled trades, it saves up to 30% off the cost of an installed bentonite system.

A close up of the Krystol™ Waterstop System.