21 Sep 2001

Background

  • Location Beirut, Lebanon
  • Engineer Bassam El Hashem
  • Contractor La Cite Beirut - Partnership, Bassam El Hashem
  • Distributor T.A Group, Sarl

La Cite is a residential apartment building located on Rue Sidani, about 4 or 5 city blocks from the Corniche and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Engineer of this outstanding development is a trend setter in the construction world with many colleagues often following his work and duplicating it in their own projects.

A waterproofing challenge arose when he realized there was flowing water coming through a false water table from a below grade spring located one side of the building along with a broken sewer line that was not likely to be fixed anytime soon.

Solution

From the outset, the Engineer had ruled out the use of external membranes. He welcomed T.A Group’s approach to use Kryton products to overcome his waterproofing challenges. After one year from their initial proposal and with careful evaluation on the part of the Engineer, the project started and T.A Group was contracted to carry out the below-grade waterproofing using Kryton’s flagship product, Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM).

By simply adding KIM to the concrete mix at the time of batching, waterproofing concrete becomes a quick and easy process that won’t hold up the construction timeline. The Krystol system uses advanced integral crystalline waterproofing technology to transform porous concrete into a permanent, water-resistant barrier and provide a guaranteed defense against water damage and steel reinforcement corrosion. If cracks later form, the incoming water will react with KIM and trigger further crystal growth, filling cracks and keeping the structure watertight. Unlike external membranes, Krystol will not deteriorate - it is guaranteed to last the lifetime of the structure.

The success of the system encouraged the Engineer to apply it to the water reservoir of the development and it is likely the product will be used in the rest of the building as well.

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