Water Storage Areas and Swimming Pools

In the waterproofing applications of water storage areas and pools there are some important issues to be considered. Especially for the pools, there will be an amount of water loss because of evaporation which will cause the water level to decrease slightly. But if there is not a successful waterproofing layer in these constructions, there will be a serious amount of water loss and the water level will decrease significantly. The water storage areas are usually indoor applications which has less evaporation values. But especially when there is even a slight settlement in the construction, cracks may occur in the walls which cause water to leak. Due to the problems faced under these circumstances, the brush and spray applied materials are replaced with the geomembrane systems. Water is precious and very valuable; so is storing it. The economic life of the waterproofing system must be as long as the service life of the construction. Low quality materials with relatively less initial cost must strongly be avoided.

ECB and FPO Geomembrane systems have proved their performance world wide in the water storage area and pool waterproofing works of various types of projects they were used with their long economic lives and very high aging resistant characteristics.

Water Storage Area Waterproofing

ECB and FPO Geomembranes are applied in single layers by loose laying and seam welding method for the waterproofing of the water storage areas. In the horizontal applications, OC-Plan® ECB or Polyfin® FPO Geomembrane roll is loosely layed on the prepared concrete surface; than the second roll is loosely layed near the first geomembrane roll with an overlapping of 10 cm. The overlapped part is welded with double seam method using an automatic hot welding machine. The double seam is tested for 2 min applying 2 bar pressure using a manometer. The need for usage of the geotextiles below the geomembrane is decided according to the surface conditions. In the vertical ( walls ) applications, OC-Plan® ECB or Polyfin® FPO Geomembrane rolls are partially hanged from the available height of the walls by temporary fixings. The hanged rolls are overlapped to each other with 10 cm. The vertically overlapped part is welded with double seam method using an automatic hot welding machine. The portion of the geomembrane coming from the horizontal application is again welded with double seam method to the geomembranes coming from the wall waterproofing in order to have a continuous watertight system. All the double seams are tested for 2 min applying 2 bar pressure using a manometer.

The perimeter fixing of the wall waterproofing must be done around 30 cm above the maximum water level. The perimeter fixings are applied using aluminum profiles, special screws, PU or similar sealants. When possible ECB/FPO roundels can also be used in order to hang the geomembranes. The geomembranes are welded to the ECB/FPO roundels using hand welding machines.

Swimming Pool Waterproofing

In order to use a synthetic geomembrane in the waterproofing of a swimming pool, it should be constructed by reinforce concrete foundation and wall system. In such case, the methodology is the same as a foundation and wall waterproofing of a building construction.

ECB Geomembranes are applied in single layers by loose laying and seam welding method for the waterproofing of the swimming pools. For the foundation waterproofing, OC-Plan® ECB Geomembrane roll is loosely layed on the prepared concrete surface; than the second roll is loosely layed near the first geomembrane roll with an overlapping of 10 cm. The overlapped part is welded with double seam method using an automatic hot welding machine. The double seam is tested for 2 min applying 2 bar pressure using a manometer and a visual test is performed on the signal foil. The need for usage of the geotextiles below and above the geomembrane is decided according to the surface and site conditions. After the geomembrane is protected with a plain concrete application of min 7 cm, scaffolding and reinforcement works may start. It is important to leave an enough portion of the geomembrane coming from the foundation waterproofing in order to continue the welding process for the wall applications.

For the wall waterproofing, OC-Plan® ECB Geomembrane rolls are partially hanged from the available height of the walls by temporary fixings. The hanged rolls are overlapped to each other with 10 cm. The vertically overlapped part is welded with double seam method using an automatic hot welding machine. The portion of the geomembrane coming from the foundation waterproofing is again welded with double seam method to the geomembranes coming from the wall waterproofing in order to have a continuous watertight system. All the double seams are tested for 2 min applying 2 bar pressure using a manometer and a visual test is performed on the signal foil. The wall application continues similarly in phases until the ground surface is reached.

The perimeter fixing of the wall waterproofing must be done around 20 cm above the maximum water level of the pool. The perimeter fixings are applied using aluminum profiles, special screws, PU or similar sealants.

NOTES : OC-Plan® ECB Geomembrane system has special ECB accessories. These are internal and external corners, roof ventilators, roof outlets, water outlets, emergency water outlets, sealing sleeves, cable feeds, ECB laminated metal sheets, etc. and are applied using hand welding machines to the geomembranes.