Royal Mills Riverpoint Apartments

Winner of the 2010 New England ICRI Project of the Year! 

Built in 1890, Royal Mills near Providence, Rhode Island, once operated one of the world’s busiest hydro-powered cotton mills. In 2004, the mill was purchased with the plan to convert the building into trendy apartments. However, a major fire, 120 years of harsh wet weather, heavy industrial use and neglect from 10 years of vacancy had taken its toll. Royal Mills would need considerable restoration and waterproofing. The mill’s location on the banks of the river made excavation and external waterproofing challenging.

New England Dry Concrete was brought in to assess the site, they found severe water intrusion including wet stone and brick inside occupied apartments, poor conditions in many sub-grade units and no insulation or weather stop from the outside, allowing the weather to migrate right through the walls.

Solution

Along with extensive cosmetic work, significant waterproofing was needed to bring the space to habitable levels. New England Dry Concrete used Kryton’s line of products because it allowed the company to waterproof from the inside out, leaving the building’s beautiful stone exterior intact. As the site sits along a canal and waterfall, the resistance to hydrostatic pressure that the Kryton line of products offered was a very important benefit.

The extensive waterproofing repair work included:

• 305 linear meters (1,000 feet) of cracks sealed with the Krystol Crack Repair System
• Krystol T1/T2 Waterproofing System applied to interior walls to waterproof below the river level
• 23,000 square meters (250,000 square feet) of Hydrostop was used to seal the original stone exterior and reduce water absorption
• To reduce permeability Krystol technology was added to the mortar used to repair the historic stone veneer
• Several slabs were poured using the Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) admixture to provide a permanent waterproofing solution and eliminate the need for external liners
• Over 1500 window sills and lintels were repaired with Krystol Bari-Cote and Krystol Plug
• Several concrete and rubble elevator pits were repaired using KIM

Sustainability was important to the developer, much of the original flooring was refinished and 50% of all construction debris from the historic site was reused in signage and other public areas. 

Developer benefits of using Kryton’s Krystol System:

• Permanent dry concrete, stone and brick
• Zero VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
• No tar or petroleum based materials
• Restored original aesthetics on interior and exterior
• Greatly decreased jobsite waste
• Cost effective solution
• Provided single source system warranted from manufacturer

Now the building takes its rightful place in the US National Historic Register of buildings, providing elegant and dry homes to 250 families.