A new era of waterproofing
SJM-Team Oy uses spraying method for waterproofing of bathroom walls in a senior home that is under construction in Klaukkala, Finland.
Continuous sound of high pressure sprayers fills the air in the Klaukkala building site. A new senior home will be completed in the coming summer and 57 bathrooms must be waterproofed before that. SJM-Team's Managing Director Jussi Lunden grabs a sprayer and swiftly spreads waterproofing membrane on the wall. After 15 minutes the first bathroom is waterproofed and after drying ready for tiling.
“Had I used a roller, it would have taken three hours”, estimates Lunden and moves to the next bathroom.
Waterproofing of 57 bathrooms by a sprayer will take only a couple of days, while with a roller the work would take a month – just to underline the speed of the spraying method.
Saving in time is by far the greatest benefit of spraying. And as we all know, in construction sites time is money.
In Lunden’s opinion, spraying is ideal for extensive building projects. Last year SJM-Team waterproofed 10 000 square meters with the spraying method.
“Spraying method is not convenient for family house construction projects. The equipment alone is a big investment. And you must learn the right technique - it is not just that simple”, he says. Even SJM-Team’s experts needed practise.
“It took a while to get the hang of the technique. And at the beginning we used far too much waterproofing membrane. For six months we developed our technique to get the correct layer thickness. Now spraying is fast, routine work”, says Lunden.
It goes without saying that in extensive construction projects spraying saves time. And the more you spray, the better the technique gets.
“Finished, sprayed waterproofing membrane layer fulfils exactly the same requirements as a rolled membrane layer. And of course, the membrane thickness and tensile strength must meet the given standards”, says Lunden.
SJM-Team has used spraying method also with Kiilto Kerafiber.
Strong partnership
According to SJM-Team's Managing Director Jussi Lunden, they got interested in the spraying method many years ago already.
“Seppo Malen, the founder of the SJM-Team, has a long history with paints and painting, and he wondered why the so popular spraying method was not used in waterproofing. Seppo Malen had noted that, for example, in boat painting spraying was an extremely fast and convenient working method. In waterproofing, the work was still done with a roller. We contacted Kiilto, and after careful research and development work we now have a sprayable waterproofing membrane”, says Jussi Lunden.
Kiilto has taken our opinions and views into account. I believe that this kind of cooperation and appreciation is beneficial to both companies. We have had a chance to express our views and now we have a product to our liking. We have delivered Kiilto valuable information on how the product works on site.
Valuable cooperation
Until today SJM-Team has used in its projects mainly Kiilto Kerafiber. According to Jussi Lunden, Kerafiber suits well for spraying. But now Kiilto has launched also an alternate product, a faster drying waterproofing membrane Kiilto KeraPro.
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