Hope View is a new affordable housing development in Washington DC. There will be 42 units in total, spread across a mixture of studios and one- and two-bedrooms. On the ground floor, Recovery Cafe will set up its new home encompassing 8,000 square feet of café- style and classroom space, to provide deep social, emotional, recovery and mental health support networks.
The site was once a gas station, and a vapor barrier was required to protect against any residual contaminants. Since the building’s basement sits one story below grade, the selected system also had to provide waterproofing protection. PreTak was determined to be the best product to encapsulate the foundation, preventing water and contaminant gas infiltration into the building.
EPRO’s E.Protect Wall, a composite below grade waterproofing system was also specified to transition from the pre-applied PreTak system to seal foundation for post-applied sections of the foundation wall.
In total, 10,000 square feet of PreTak was installed under slab and 6,000 square feet was installed vertically for blindside walls. The system was complete with 1,500 square feet of the vertically applied E.Protect Wall.
The team with Osprey Contracting Company, the EPRO installer, particularly appreciated PreTak’s ease of application on a site of this size and shape. “It was a tight site, and it was a difficult site logistically, but the fact we were able to use PreTak and helped us to get in and get the work done,” says Kevin Leasure, President, CEO, Osprey
He adds, “PreTak’s Hydrolap seams made the detailing easy and kept things moving forward quickly.”
PreTak is a pre-applied high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet waterproofing membrane combined with a pressure sensitive adhesive that fully adheres to cast in place concrete and shotcrete to prevent lateral water migration in both blindside shoring and under slab applications. Installation is productive and reliable with up to 8 ft wide rolls to minimize seams.
For Rob Minghini, Senior Superintendent, of GCS Sigal Construction, the general contractor, this project served as an introduction to PreTak. “This was my first time using the product, and I really like the usability,” he says. “I also appreciate the flexibility that it gives me. Typically, we have used bentonite, but working in the springtime with that its challenging. I’ve found that PreTak has been really durable, it’s easy to clean off, and it doesn’t turn to a swelled up mess in these conditions.”
At EPRO, whether the team is introducing a product for the first time or working with steady customers, we ensure communication is fluid and direct between all trades. For Sam Nicolette, the Osprey Project Manager, this was something that was highly appreciated.
“With this project, EPRO being involved was the best thing about that – the technical representation from the team kept things moving quickly. Since we were able to use one product (PreTak) under slab and for the walls, it made it a lot easier for ordering material and speeding up the installation.”
He concludes, “The team have honestly been great and extremely responsive, and we can get what we need answered – and quickly.”