Chemicals company a.b.e. Construction Chemicals supplied a proven combination of two of its products for the waterproofing of water features at Namibia’s popular Norotshama River Resort set on the banks of the Orange river about 60 km from the South African border, which was completed in November last year.

Being an acquisition of the Chryso Southern Africa group, a.b.e provided 4-mm-thick index unigum membranes as well as Super Laykold, a rubberised bitumen emulsion usually applied in conjunction with index unigum membranes, for the waterproofing of an earth dam as well as various ponds that line the driveway to the Norotshama main complex.

“The project called for the waterproofing of a total area of about 4 599 m²,” says a.b.e. Western Cape technical sales consultant Brett Papayanni.

a.b.e. Extreme Waterproofing approved applicators head Pieter Blaauw visited the lodge as a guest and on discovering that the previous waterproofing of the ponds and dam had failed, suggested that the owners invest in the services of his company, using a.b.e. products that he has successfully installed over many years. “The owners of the lodge, subsequently, travelled to Cape Town and the contract for the new waterproofing project was awarded to Extreme Waterproof- ing,” Papayanni explains.

“It proved a challenging contract with the Namibian mid-summer temperatures a major element to contend with. “In the draining heat, the existing earth dam’s ground surface had to be compacted before index unigum was installed in a loose-laid application. The overlaps were torched on to seal the edges,” says Papayanni.

He explains that a.b.e.’s index unigum is a waterproofing membrane manufactured using polymer-modified bitumen which has been reinforced with a rotproof, nonwoven polyester fabric and a strengthened fibreglass mat. The membranes are covered on the top face with an evenly distributed fine, serigraph talc which allows the membranes to be unrolled easily. The lower face is lined with an anti-adhesive film and embossed so that the film retracts easily and presents a larger area for faster application. When the membrane reaches the correct temperature, the lower face becomes smooth indicating it is ready for bonding. The embossing feature also allows good vapour diffusion in loose-laid or spot-bonded applications.

Mineral versions are also produced on which the top surface of the membrane is protected by heat-applied slate granules.

Super Laykold was used as flashing for the water features at Norotshama River Resort. “Super Laykold provides outstanding adhesion and is tough, flexible, nontoxic and suitable for total water immersion, which was called for in this project,” concludes Papayanni.