Ark Bolingbroke Academy

Ark Bolingbroke Academy appointed CLW to investigate water ingress affecting the basement roof podium structure, which forms a patio and parking area externally. This is forensic work rather than new design, establishing why an existing buried structure leaks before anyone specifies how to fix it.

The investigation identified failures in the existing waterproofing to the roof and podium structure, attributed to the use of precast concrete planks on steel beams rather than a continuous RC slab, a lack of adequate falls, and the absence of a fully bonded waterproofing layer. Each of those is a design decision made years earlier, and together they explain the ingress more completely than any single defect would.

CLW outlined a robust waterproofing build-up and proposed remedial approach to brief contractors, and the brief also included reviewing the installation works on site. On remedial work, the value of carrying the design through to site review is straightforward, a correct remedial specification installed incorrectly simply restarts the failure cycle.

Image credit: IKO Group.