Once again the speed of our cribbers pays off in terms of staying just ahead of the weather allowing us to schedule and complete work that needs mild conditions to proceed. Earlier delays cost us a few weeks of good weather, but the production of our crews has got us back on track, and with -20 C weather likely in the forecast we finished the spray on damp proofing just in time
The first step of the damp proofing involves caulking the tie holes that bind the forms together. This is a nasty black goo that is squeezed out of a gun and into each tie.
Each of the tie holes is filled first with the black compound. It remain flexible over time and prevents water from penetrating the basement walls.
This is a two man crew, the first does the tie hole filling, the second does the spray work
With the tie holes all filled, the spray applicator gets on his suit and face mask and fires up the compressor in the cube van. Spraying the entire basement will not take very long.
The first pass is at the joint between the footing and wall. This is a key area and gets a generous coat
Our operator has 25 years of experience damp proofing foundations. Here he is coating the walls in 6-8 inch passes.
Note the orange spray mark near the top of the wall. Grades have been marked on all corners by yours truly. Staying one step ahead of the guys is a constant challenge for the active site manager.
And the shiny black coat goes on and the job is done. The spray work can't be done in very cold conditions, fortunately we have been blessed with a very mild early winter. We have a few jobs left to do and we can backfill this basemen and start working above the ground.