AFAS Experience center, Leusden | A unique product for sealing the wall and deck of the AFAS parking garage

Kimmenade of Helmond was called in to take care of this. This family business has been around since 1905 and specializes in sealing roofs and concrete substrates. "It's a big project we have on our hands here," says concrete sealing director Marco Schippers. "The work includes sealing the concrete parking deck (9,500 m²) and the basement walls (6,000 m²) of the parking garage. Because there will be a green area on the parking garage and a moat against the walls, it is extremely important to seal the concrete completely watertight."

Kimmenade uses a unique product developed by the company itself called Novacell for this purpose. Says Schippers, "This is a sprayed bitumen latex emulsion that provides an absolutely waterproof seal on a concrete substrate." The product has a number of advantages, he says. "For example, because it is sprayed, it is completely seamless and provides one hundred percent adhesion to the substrate. It also makes it possible to achieve high production in a short time frame. In addition, Novacell is extremely powerful, thanks to the latex that still has a possible elongation of up to four hundred percent at -20 degrees Celsius."

Composition and application

Novacell is made in-house. Schippers explains the composition and application of this product. "We source the raw materials bitumen and latex for this. Bitumen is hot when it arrives. By applying a specific process developed by us to it, it is still possible to mix both raw materials. This creates an emulsion in a cold composition suitable for spraying. Self-developed trucks then drive to the work site, where built-in pumps spray the product. For this purpose, the trucks have a 150 m long hose, which, incidentally, we also use for building roofs."

Up to 2,000 square meters per day

Before Novacell can be sprayed, the substrate must be clean and flat enough. This is why pre-treatment is often necessary, according to Schippers. "We start by preparing essential details. For example, we reinforce critical seams with a polyester cloth wrapped in Novaplast, also a proprietary product. Then we spray a bituminous primer over the entire surface for each phase. Because the work is divided into several phases, the contractor indicates which part will be done first. Depending on the size of the phase, we can apply Novacell up to a maximum of 2,000 m² per day. This is covered with a polyester fabric made of Novaplast as extra protection against possible mechanical damage, such as construction traffic that will drive over it. Ultimately, a layer of 4.5 to 5 millimeters thick is created. Of course, it will still be tested for layer thickness."

Quality

"Our products offer safety, quality and longevity. Moreover, we are the only company in Western Europe that can do this work on this scale," Schippers concludes. "It's a wonderful project that is running smoothly so far."