The Bronx, one of New York City’s five iconic boroughs, has recently experienced an upswing in new and redeveloped projects. A modern YMCA facility located in the borough’s Edenwald neighborhood was one of the most significant projects, providing a valuable community resource in a state-of-the-art recreational and wellness facility.
The 50,000 square foot center has two swimming pools, a wellness center, gymnasium, and other much-needed facilities, while furthering One NYC’s mission to revitalize neighborhoods and ensure access to opportunities for all residents. The construction of this YMCA marks 22 facilities across New York City.
Developed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) this milestone project was constructed by general contractor Gilbane, NYC, and designed by local award winning architecture firm, Marvel. EPRO certified applicator EAI, Inc. installed EPRO’s E.Protect Underslab and E.Protect+ Wall waterproofing systems.
“What we really like about the EPRO system is the speed of application and timely onsite technical support. The spray applied system is fast and easy to apply,” says Rob Carvalho, President, CEO, EAI, Inc. “Like any project, we had to deal with some unforeseen construction site challenges. EPRO stepped up and really helped solve these issues to ensure we completed the project on time and on budget.”
Structural waterproofing was needed for 40,000 square feet of underslab waterproofing and 10,000 square feet of post-applied wall to prevent water and vapor intrusion. Multiple grade beams, elevator pit and sump were completely enclosed in the E.Protect underslab waterproofing system. The stepped perimeter footings were also wrapped with the system up the side of the footing form where it then transitioned to E.Protect+ Wall for the post-applied, positive side vertical waterproofing application.
The combination of the E.Protect Underslab and E.Protect+ Wall systems completed a full “bathtub” wrap of the below grade building envelope.
“EPRO and their applicator were very helpful through the completion of our project. The worked with our on-site team and the design team to quickly mitigate any issues we encountered,” says Ben Miller, Senior Project Manager, Gilbane. “They worked with us to understand the unique challenges of our project and quickly provided responses that dealt with our issues specifically, instead of pushing us off to typical details.”
EPRO’s redundant field-installed waterproofing assemblies include the 176 mil E.Protect Underslab and 180 mil E.Protect+ Wall systems which combine multiple protective waterproofing materials. The fluid asphalt emulsion spray applied component, e.spray, creates a monolithic, seamless waterproof barrier. Combining this fluid applied coating with the other system components, including a durable high density polyethylene sheet (HDPE) e.base 205, and a high swelling bentonite protection sheet with HDPE, creates high performance waterproofing assemblies that are robust and forgiving to challenging site conditions.
The system also has a 10 year, No Dollar Limit warranty, which is premium, uncapped warranty coverage that provides the highest level of assurance a manufacturer can provide in the industry.
The applicator was EAI, Inc., the general contractor was Gilbane, and the architect was Marvel. RWDI served as the waterproofing consultant on this project.