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Sika Puts The Seal On City Centre Development

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For Minerva Plc’s 640,000 sq ft commercial office and retail development – The Walbrook Building, designed by Foster + Partners – air and water tightness around the building’s facade was vitally important. To provide a long-term, weatherproof seal around the curtain wall and window installation, specialist contractor Josef Gartner used Universal Membran, an advanced sealing system from global building product manufacturer Sika.

Built by main contractor Skanska, the project comprised the redevelopment of three existing properties – St. Swithin’s House, Walbrook House and Granite House. This city centre development is an impressive contemporary and highly efficient financial office building which occupies 1.6 acres and virtually the entire side of a city street adjacent to the Mansion House and Cannon Street station.

To provide an airtight and watertight seal around the curtain wall and windows Josef Gartner applied the Sika Universal Membran System. The versatile EPDM synthetic rubber waterproofing membrane is designed to provide an efficient method of sealing any construction gaps in building facades. Solvent free, durable, UV and ozone resistant, as well as 100% waterproof, it can be bonded to most building substrates.

Sika Universal Membran regulates and controls the amount of moisture escaping from the inside of a building thus minimising the risk of interstitial condensation. Manufactured in 25m x 0.6mm rolls, Sika Universal Membran is available in a variety of widths ranging from 100mm to 1,400mm. Flexible and easy to use, specialist contractors Josef Gartner simply cut it to the required width and length.

After cleaning the surfaces to which it was to be bonded, Sikabond TF Plus elastic adhesive was applied to the surface and the Sika Membran was put into place.

Guaranteeing the Sika Universal Membran system would be securely fitted Josef Gartner used Sika’s innovative elastic adhesive, Sikabond TF Plus. The single part polyurethane-based elastic adhesive eliminates the need for mechanical fixings, providing a flawless, aesthetically appealing finish to a variety of building substrates.

With the increasing focus on delivering thermally efficient buildings, the creation of weather and watertight seals around all building joints is essential. With careful specification and attention to detailing, the use of systems such as Sika’s Universal Membran provides specifiers and contractors with a cost effective and easy to install method of ensuring the creation of thermally efficient building envelopes.

To aid architects and contractors with the correct selection of a facade joint sealant solution, Sika has created SikaSpec, an innovative online specification tool. The system comprises of a comprehensive database that allows the user to choose from a series of options. This includes the designed movement joint, the type of building – new build or refurbishment, the number of storeys and geographic considerations such as whether the building is north, south, east or west facing. Following this the user selects the type of joint to be sealed, specifies the specific joint type, the colour or shade of sealant required and the maximum cyclic movement of joint. A comprehensive output specification document is then produced that can be simply incorporated into contract documents.

Now complete, Sika’s Universal Membran played a vital role in creating the striking landmark building that The Walbrook will certainly become in the future. By providing durable airtight and waterproof seals, Sika Membran will prevent the loss of heated or cooled air from the building, for the entire life of its rainscreen facade.

For further information on SikaSpec visit https://www.sikaspec.co.uk, for further information on Sika’s range of products, visit https://www.sikaconstruction.co.uk or for general enquiries call on  0800 1123863 .

www.sikaconstruction.co.uk