TOP-TECT™ - What is it, and how does it work?

HENRY: Hello, and welcome. My name is Henry Mitchell. Thanks for joining us today. I’ve got Lionel on the line now. Can you hear me, Lionel, all right?

LIONEL: Yes, I can, Henry. You’ve got me coming through?

HENRY: Yes, thanks. Well, thanks all you guys, and girls, that have logged on to find out a little bit more about TOP-TECT. It’s really awesome to see people out there that are keen to learn. So yes, thanks again for coming on board. Hopefully, in the next 15 minutes, we can tell a little bit more about TOP-TECT and what it is and how does it work. So we’ll get into it.

So a couple of housekeeping [points]. There’s a question-and-answer button on your screen; ask questions whenever you want, and we’ll try and answer them throughout the presentation. Yes, as I said, my name is Henry, I’m tuning in from the sunny Hawke’s Bay, a little place called Napier, on the east coast of New Zealand. I’ve been with MARKHAM for about 10 years now, and quite a passion of mine about waterproofing the matrix of the concrete, which we’ll tell you a bit more about. Over to you, Lionel, tell us a little bit about yourself.

LIONEL: Thanks, Henry. So I’m based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. So working with Henry a bit and share tips along the way, but basically looking after designing, costings and projects on the ground here in Melbourne. So we’ve had a lot of these type of projects go through our books in the last few years. I’ve been on board with MARKHAM for a bit over a year, and prior to that, spent probably 15 years in the construction industry, prior to that, in height safety and material supply. So, excited to be in this area of construction now, helping people get better use and longer life out of their concrete structures. Thanks, Henry.

HENRY: Awesome. So we’ll just run a quick little poll, just so we get a bit of a better idea of who’s out there today. So a couple of questions here, just click the box. Engineer or civil engineer, architect, asset owner, or interested in new and advanced technologies? So we’ll just wait for the answers to come up in a second, gives us a bit of an idea who’s out there and who’s wanting to learn new stuff.

Awesome. So we got a lot of you guys in the audience, 71% are interested in new and advanced technologies. That’s awesome! So we can help you out there today. So we’ll crack into it.

So we’re going to talk about TOP-TECT. Some of the learning outcomes you guys are going to get today is: the common roof deck waterproofing methods in use; a multi-pronged approach and its benefits to waterproofing top deck, concrete slabs; and a little bit about how we can help you in the end-to-end approach, slab joint design, and with performance-based warranties. Lionel, tell us a little bit about the waterproofing challenges out there and what you’ve come across.

LIONEL: Yes, thanks, Henry. So in my short term at MARKHAM, and from previous projects that I’ve learned about that we’ve been involved in, a lot of the feedback we’re getting from the market, and the reason why so many people are starting to look at this now is, a lot of the traditional methods out there are failing for a variety of reasons. A lot of, obviously, waterproofing is done with what we call a topical system. That’s something on top or attached to the surface of the concrete, like an epoxy system, a compound of sorts, sheet membranes, all that sort of thing. They’ve obviously got their place, still do, and some very good systems out there.

However, they do get let down often. Because they are on the surface, they’re exposed to things like damage, materials and elements can break them down; vapours can still get through them sometimes. Basically, what we’ve found is, in these systems, with or without epoxies or membranes, is that if the concrete is not right, and it cracks up or breaks down or there’s a fault with the joins, for example; it just makes it a whole lot harder to fix after the fact. That’s where we come in, obviously. Moving on to the next one, Henry, if you could flick that on there.

So basically, that leads us into what we try and address, some of those needs in the market, with TOP-TECT. So TOP-TECT is our three-part waterproofing system that’s been tried and tested mainly in hydrostatic below ground level situations, and we’ve employed the same approach to your top decks of carparks and buildings. So basically, the idea is that we prefer to start in design with you, where we go through where the pour breaks are, the joins are, your type of concrete mix design. The TOP-TECT system is a three-part waterproofing, where the admixture goes in when the concrete is mixed. After the placement, the concrete is then sprayed with our cure and moisture seal, AQURON 2000, to help with the curing shrinkage and cracking reduction, and to also help with that extra line of defence in the concrete. Obviously in the joints, we’ve got delayed-swell waterstops, specially formulated to our, you might say, specification.

So that three-prong approach, obviously, is sometimes used as the only waterproofing element in the building, turning the concrete structure into its own water barrier. But we’ve also worked recently in projects where they’ve also put our treatments into the concrete and come along later still with their epoxy compounds or sheet membranes. And what we’ve found in those situations where they’ve got high risk is, they had our stuff in the concrete for the extra line of defence as a belt-and-braces approach, and they’ve actually found with the compatibility that the topical systems like paints, epoxies, and membranes have actually lasted longer and had a better performance as a result of having our treatments in the concrete. Does that give it a bit of a wrap there, Henry?

HENRY: Yes, that’s good. As either the last two slides, this slide or the last one – membranes have got their place, we’re not bagging them. We are risk-averse, which we’ll cover off a little bit. But there is obviously major cost savings, major program savings, and then backup with the warranties for you guys.

So just diving a little into depth in how we do it. So MARKHAM has been researching and studying concrete technology for the last 25 years as a company; we’ve worked with universities around the world, we’ve worked with doctors in concrete, we’ve worked with engineers; the likes of yourselves online here; studied internal and external. And the biggest conclusion we can find is that if you can stop the moisture migration in concrete, you can stop a lot of problems. So you can see in this little slide here, that’s obviously on a nano form, and you’ve got all your little pores and porosities where the moisture is coming out when it’s in its curing process, and it has left these spaces there. This is obviously on a nano form; you’re talking about a concrete pour about 50 nanometres. A human hair is about 100,000 nanometres, so you can see the sort of nanotechnology we’re talking.

And what we’re saying is that instead of letting all that moisture get out of your concrete, and then all sorts of other nasties jumping on the back of the moisture that goes in and out of those porosities for the rest of the lifetime, we’re talking about transforming that moisture at ‘green’ concrete stage into a hydrogel. So we’re feeding the process, we’re getting better shrinkage. Better shrinkage equals more durable concrete, more harder concrete, stronger concrete from day dot. So we’re extending the life of concrete by effectively embalming it. So this can be spray-applied or mixed into the ready-mix plant. Our spray-applied treatments have got a unique catalyst where we can get penetration up to 150mm into your concrete, and therefore, protecting the matrix of your concrete.

That just leads on a bit what we’re talking about, Lionel was talking about the last slide, with compatibilities. Because we’re working inside the concrete, we’re not on the surface as such, we can be compatible as long as there’s a key for anything to bind at the top.

I guess the last bit is that extending life of the concrete. So that’s one of our missions here at MARKHAM is “Adding life to concrete”, by just putting more of the good stuff on concrete. There’s nothing foreign here, it’s a form of the Calcium Silicate Hydrate (CSH) process. When the cement particles are getting hydrated, when the concrete is curing, they grow little arms and tentacles and ground the aggregate around it, and therefore we get our concrete strength. So over time, the hydrogel actually turns just more into the good grey matter of concrete and gives it lifelong strength. It can’t be worn or abraded off, it’s inside for the lifetime of concrete. Does that sort of cover off, Lionel?

LIONEL: Yes, very well, Henry. There’s a lot of other spin-off benefits. So we get obviously situations where we apply it for moisture-sealing or anti-dusting or hardening or a specific outcome. But what our clients find all the time is that you get these other benefits of harder concrete that lasts longer; there’s less cracking, better usage. In a car park situation, for example, there’s pretty much no dusting or tyre squeal. For example, when you go in there 10 or 12 years later after the fact, it’s still a nice grey-looking concrete car park. It still looks like a few months old.

HENRY: Good point to add there, Lionel, as well. Because we’re sealing the matrix of the concrete, and the concrete will always dust as long as CO₂ can get into it. So by effectively embalming your concrete, we not only waterproof it, but we stop CO₂ getting into it, and therefore eliminate any dusting problems.

So just moving on a little bit; about the integral waterproofing system design. So as we said earlier, MARKHAM have been working in basement and below grade waterproofing projects and structures for about the last 20 years in New Zealand and Australia. And now we’re like, well, we can stop hydrostatic pressure with the hydrogel treatment, the spray-applied, the gaskets, all that, a full design. So why not look at – be risk-averse, but also look at the likes of car park decks, areas exposed to concrete, that sort of thing, for durability and long-term waterproofing.

So we talk about the three-part system. So we get the hydrogel admixture. This is mixed in at the ready-mix plant, forms a hydrogel right through the matrix of concrete, gives you a homogenous, flowable, workable concrete as such. So you can think of a hydrogel like a gel, it lubricates your concrete. We’ve got the spray-applied secondary waterproofers and cures. So again, by forming this hydrogel inside the concrete, we’re feeding the hydration process. So we’re giving you equal to 14 days water curing. We all know water curing is the best curing; it’s not always the most practical if you’ve got a multi-storey carpark, trying to contain all that water. So we can spray-apply penetrating sealers and give you curing. Your boys, the construction guys, whoever’s on site can be back on as soon as it’s visibly dry. The third part is, the most important part is, the crack-sealing, crack control gasket. We get involved in the design stage and work out a sawcut plan, if need be, and gasket all those joints.

That’s a bit of just a quick overview of the integral waterproofing system. It’s a three-part system. There’s a fourth part that I like to talk about, and that’s the design, which I will hand over to Lionel to finish us off.

LIONEL: Yes, thanks, Henry. So basically, when you’ve got a really good and simple system, like Henry has gone through the three-part system, when you combine that with how we work as a company in our projects, is we like to work with our customers the whole journey through from when it’s on paper. You’re talking about what outcomes that you or your client (the property owner) wants out of it, the service life of the concrete, and the structure and the building and what it’s getting used for. We’re very interested in those performance outcomes. So we get obviously engaged in the design, right through to the project actually going live on ground and getting built. The whole process in the design and costing, obviously we can engage all with our own staff with you.

But on the operational front, the other dimension to this is that most of our systems and chemicals and gaskets and everything, we’re actually controlling the manufacturer right through to the application onsite with our own staff. So we QA control that whole process, and because we can do that, we actually offer performance warranties for your project for those particular areas on that site that you’re working on. That’s why it’s very individual project-based approach that we have, based on your performance outcomes. So we’re, I suppose, the one-stop-shop from design through to the actual costing of the job and going to contract, as well as the actual operational and supply chain, all controlled as well by MARKHAM.

Obviously, our treatments being a natural treatment, nil-VOC, they’re eco-labelled with Environmental Choice New Zealand, which is also recognized by the Green Building Council in Australia and New Zealand. So we’re great for Green Star projects as well to get those stars up. Yes, does that sort of wrap it all up there for you, Henry? Got anything you can add?

HENRY: That’s good, Lionel. I guess as I said earlier, we are risk-averse. So we’re not afraid to stand back at the start of a project and say no, there’s risk, we think you should go belts-and-braces here. That’s what we’re all about as well. So for instance, if you had a 25-storey building with a $10 million penthouse on the top, with a pool, well, obviously we can see the risk is a lot higher in that project than a multi-storey car park building. There’s a whole lot of different aspects, the design comes into whatever, is it PT or is it tray-deck? So we really look at every project very differently, to make sure we can give you … and then pass on, once we’re committed, we can pass on that 25-year or that 50-year performance warranty.

Yes, that’s a bit of a wrap.

There’s a few questions here. Before I close the screen, these are our email addresses as well, if you want to reach out. We will send you out our after-presentation pack, just to cover off. But if I just stop the share now, there we go. So there’s a few questions here, you might want to answer some of these, Lionel. What type of projects does the system suit?

LIONEL: Yes, good question. So anything that you’ve got a concrete roof on, we can definitely look at with you in design stage. Obviously, as we’ve just been over, that’s where we like to start is in the design. So even if a job is about to go live, a lot of building companies have got their own design team, so they might get awarded to a design and construct or something, and they might be reviewing how everything’s going to go. It’s still a process we can work through. Type of projects can be, as I said, top decks of car parks, like the picture behind me. It can be a top deck, as you said, like a belt and braces approach above living spaces, where we actually treat the concrete, and then they can come along with their topical membranes and pavers and outdoor gardens and everything on top. But with the assurance that the concrete underpinning it all is actually given the best life. Does that sort of give that an answer?

HENRY: Yes, definitely. The person could ask the question again if they needed a bit more, or reach out. The second question is, Did you say ‘embalming’ concrete? Yes, I did. Effectively, if you think about the hydrogel, we’re transforming the moisture in the concrete into another state. So it can no longer move in and out of the concrete. We’re not putting anything foreign in concrete that’s not already there. So we’re effectively feeding the hydration process during the concrete early stages, getting better curing, more durable and stronger concrete.

But if you think of the hydrogel, all the pores and porosities right through your structure are transformed into this hydrogel in a nano form. So the hydrogel is down to about 10 nanometres. Remember, I said that a concrete pore is about 50 nanometres, a human hair is about 100,000. So you wouldn’t just be able to break up in the concrete and see this hydrogel as such, these are very, very nano-form technologies. Hope that answers your question.

Another one there, How long does the warranty last? Lionel?

LIONEL: Yes, so it depends on your situation. I might sort of also address this along with the other question that’s coming about, Do you only need to hydrogel the topmost layer? So in a given project, especially multi-storey, is we often treat different floors or different areas with different types of treatments for different outcomes, depending on what the space is used for. So obviously, the anchor of this whole webinar was about the TOP-TECT, obviously. So with other floors further down, like there might be multi-deck car parks where we just do the basic cure and anti-dust spray treatments. There might be a basement at the very bottom where we actually do the three-part waterproofing again in the basement. There might be floor coverings in a retail space or mixed use, or you might have medical tenancies or a hospital, where we have our moisture sealers and medi-sealers as spray treatments. Then at the top, we can do your TOP-TECT, with or without topical systems. So does that sort of give you a bit of a holistic approach to a project? You can use hydrogels in other areas for other reasons.

HENRY: That’s good. I mean, the hydrogel is the core of our system, but there’s a number of different makeups in each system that does different things. If you just want anti-dusting and curing, we can put on AQURON, that sort of thing.

Can it be used for maintenance to existing concrete floors and cracks? Yes, it depends what you call maintenance there. I was just reading this question in the bottom. We’ve done a lot of existing projects, the hydrogel with our spray-applied treatments. Obviously with existing car parks, you’ve missed the boat on admixtures as such, because the project is already built. But our spray-applied treatments can penetrate up to 150mm on existing concrete as well. So yes, we can give you waterproofing; we can give you durability; and we can give you anti-dustings on existing concrete. We do a lot in the marine sector in some of the other divisions here at MARKHAM, of existing wharf structures, and stop salts and chlorides getting into the concrete.

So hopefully, that answers your question, can it be used for maintenance of existing concrete floors and cracks. If it’s a crack bigger than 0.5mm, we’d have to address it in a different circumstance, an injection or some other type of system. If it’s up to 0.5mm and it’s non-moving, we can self-heal that crack and spray-apply. But as we said, every project is a little bit different, so we like to have a bit of a chat with you guys at the start, and make sure that everybody’s on the same page; and we can actually hand you across a system that’s going to last the time.

So that’s a wrap. Thanks very much everybody for jumping on board, really appreciate your time. Reach out to Lionel or myself if you have any projects, or any questions, other things. But also feel free to give us a bell about any construction projects that involve concrete, because we’re dealing with everything from below ground basements to top deck car parks every day. We’re applying about 150,000 square metres of treatments per month across New Zealand and Australia. So there’s a big team here, of us, that can really put our heads together and come up with a solution for you guys. Anything to add, Lionel?

LIONEL: Yes, thanks, Henry, it’s been a good session. Probably to finish off with a bit of a plug in there for all our TECT systems really, Henry. We’ve got BASE-TECT, which deals with the same three-part waterproofing systems for basements in hydrostatic, or even near the beach, where you want to stop those king tides affecting your structure. Even the SLAB-TECT system, which is for exposed concrete car parks, warehouses, all that sort of thing where you want to get maximum life out of it. Right up to obviously your TOP-TECT. In our civil space, we’ve got CIVIL-TECT. So we’re really about protecting your structure, adding life to it. Does that sort of wrap it all up?

HENRY: Yes. There’s just one more question which jumped up there. Can you recommend a waterproofing liquid for a levelled threshold concrete channel drain? Well, I mean, we can. If you want to waterproof the matrix of your concrete, we talk about admixtures and spray-applied. So yes, we can definitely help you there. Reach out to us on the email. If you’re in NZ, give me a holler. Or if you’re in AU, Victoria, get in touch with Lionel. If we can’t help you, we will be able to put you in the right direction.

Thank you, and have a great rest of your week, and we’ll see you on the next webinar.

LIONEL: Thanks, everyone!