Alpha Alabama Apartments

It seems like college students have all the fun. Especially those who are University of Alabama students renting apartments at the Alpha Alabama Apartments in Tuscaloosa. These residents enjoy a courtyard that sports a putting green, grill station, workout area, swimming pools and sitting areas. Yet while this is an area of leisure, it took a lot of challenging work to create this space.

Because the courtyard is on top of a parking garage, the first task was selecting the right waterproofing system.

George Mraz, project engineer at Trinitas Construction of Lafayette, Indiana, the general contractor on the project, said he recommended the Sarnafil G476 self-adhered waterproofing membrane because “it is a great product that is well known and durable.” He added that because this system was going to be buried under pavers and landscaping rocks – making it difficult and expensive to repair any leaks – it was important to use a system that is known for being leak-free.

The waterproofing installers, Ideal Building Solutions of Norcross, Georgia, faced several logistical and schedule challenges from the very beginning. The first was figuring out how to give the landscaping company access to portions of the roof without damaging the new waterproofing system.

Installation began by pressure washing the sections, ensuring a clean substrate. Then the primer was applied to the cleaned substrate. After the primer was allowed time to dry, the Sarnafil G476 self-adhered membrane was rolled out and pressed into the substrate with a heavyweight roller to ensure proper adhesion to the substrate.

The walls and penetrations were then flashed with either G410 or G459. All seams were probed multiple times to guarantee proper welds, and the crew cut three test welds of each type of membrane and performed a pull test daily.

All of this was done under a hastened construction schedule. “The courtyard was going to be closed off on a mandatory completion date, so each section had to be completed for the weekly inspection, which included flood tests,” Finney said. The roof sections also had to be temporarily tied in. Although there were several delays caused by rain, Ideal Building Solutions was able to meet the required deadline.

Another critical issue was protecting the finished sections while the landscapers installed river rock and pavers. “To accomplish this, we left the middle section for last to leave a traffic lane for all landscaping materials,” Finney stated. “To get the rocks and pavers into the far corners of completed sections, we laid down thick plastic protectors to make a temporary path for the materials carts, making sure to periodically check under the plastic paths to ensure no damage was occurring.” Finney added that they also took the same precautions when transporting the final decorative elements for the courtyard.

“There were some details that had to be designed on the fly,” Finney explained. “The Sika technical representatives helped us figure things out in the field, which was very helpful.”

“Ideal Building Solutions delivered a very professional job with a clean look,” Mraz commented. “For a contractor to achieve that on one of their first installations of a system speaks volumes for their workforce and work quality.”

It was this work quality and professionalism that earned Ideal Building Solutions first place in the Waterproofing Category of Sika Sarnafil’s 2015 Project of the Year competition.