RIW Project - Southmead Hospital Plant Room When it comes to waterproofing plant rooms within schools, hospitals, leisure centres and municipal buildings, project designers, or those responsible for existing properties have much to consider. The risk of spillages involving fuel, lubricants, refrigerants and other potentially hazardous liquids such as acids means that selecting a treatment that ensures long term effectiveness against the liquids it’s intended to prevent from escaping, as well as withstanding the traffic it will be subject to, is vital.
Having been involved with the building of numerous plant rooms for all of the above sectors, at RIW we have a widely specified range of compatible systems for creating bunded areas. Here I discuss some of the best solutions for effective resistance to chemicals, abrasion, and fire, including the necessary application methods.
There’s a general rule when constructing bunds that they should be able to hold 110% of the volume of liquid contained within the installations considered. For example the scale of construction required for light commercial boilers is likely to be far smaller than what would be needed for an external fuel tank.
Even potable water escaping from pipework in plant rooms can cause considerable harm if it’s allowed to soak into the building structure. Therefore, a strategy frequently used in high-rise, multiple occupancy buildings, is to contain any potential leaks in a designated area. This is achieved through treating the entire floor area of the plant rooms; ensuring liquids could not escape to other areas. Helping to avoid damage to the building fabric or subsequent floors, which could put personnel or data at risk, should sprinklers be activated or a pipe starts to leak on a floor above, for example.
A suitable product to achieve this with is RIW Toughseal; an easy to clean floor finish that doesn’t promote the spread of flame – both of these features being essential for plant room protection.
Steel angle sections are often secured to create a vertical upstand, either at the room perimeter or where specific areas within a room are to be protected, due to their robustness. However, these sections require the addition of a tanking membrane, such as Flexiseal Pro, to ensure effective containment of liquids until they can be pumped out or mopped up. It’s also important that the surfaces are easy to clean and do not present a slip hazard, which Toughseal ensures.
Preventing the source of ignition where fuel and lubricants or other flammable chemicals are involved is essential. Similarly, selecting products to protect sensitive storage areas must take into consideration those products characteristics when exposed to flame. RIW Toughseal does not promote the spread of flame and offers Class 1 resistance in testing. According to recommendations from the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations, emergency containment should be provided for all liquids with a flashpoint of 600 centigrade or below; as well as any stored at temperatures above their flashpoint.
Toughseal can also offer benefits to the construction programme as it can also be used, for example, on green concrete without the need for a primer: simply being spray or roller applied achieves a two-coat treatment that is waterproof and chemically resistant.
It can be seen, then, that creating effective bunds of the correct scale and form to suit the many applications and potential emergency situations, which can arise within public buildings, requires careful consideration. It’s therefore in the interests of specifiers, or other responsible persons, to engage with us at an early stage to ensure best results, along with facilitating the design process and help reduce installation time.
For more information on waterproofing solutions for plant rooms created using steel angle sections, upstands or dwarf walls to suit your project, contact our sales team on 01753 944200.
By Chris Mossman, Technical Advisor at RIW Ltd.
