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Summary
Waterproofing 30 Under Pavement Vaults
Portland Place, London
Located in the Marylebone district of Central London, Portland Place is an unusually wide street that was originally laid out in the 1770s.
Portland Place still contains many original spacious Georgian terraced houses, as well as being the home of the BBC’s headquarters at Broadcasting House, and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The Project
Newton Specialist Contractor Strand Preservations were called upon to develop a waterproofing strategy for a series of under pavement vaults on Portland Place. The original vaults were experiencing high levels of damp, and needed to be converted into dry, useable storage areas.
Starting with just two vaults, but with another 28 to follow, the qualified waterproofing specialists at Strand worked alongside Faraday Property Management to produce a full waterproofing specification. Strand were also appointed to carry out all associated building works.
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The historic (but damp) vaults were not previously fit for use
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Access to the under pavement vaults was tricky
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Newton successfully delivered the full CDM System for Strand to install
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First the cavity drain system was fitted to the walls
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The 20mm floor membrane and independent steel framing could then be installed
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Two Titan-Pro chambers with dual pumps remove any water
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Peace of mind is provided by the battery backup and alarm
The Solution
Strand recommended a full cavity drain system using the Newton CDM System to achieve a completely dry space, defined as Grade 3 by BS 8102:2022.
However, to make things trickier the under pavement vaults all varied in dimension, with arched and barrel soffits presenting a complex installation of the cavity drain system.
In spite of this, Strand installed the 8mm 508 membrane to all walls and soffits, with the 20mm deep 520 eco Floor membrane across the floors. A maintainable drainage system was also creating using CDM BaseDrain channels around the perimeter along with CDM Inspection Ports.
Finally, the drainage was connected to two Titan-Pro sumps with dual pumps, battery backup and alarm systems for reliable water removal and complete peace of mind.
The Result
Despite the busy Central London location making deliveries and waste collections particularly difficult, and strict time constraints on noisy works, the team at Strand delivered a high-quality installation that will keep these under pavement vaults dry and useable for many years to come.
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With the cavity drain installation complete, the vaults were plastered
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New internal finishes were then applied, transforming the space
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Strand Preservations also carried out all remaining fit-out work to complete the under pavement vaults
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These were the first of 30 under pavement vaults to be converted by Strand on Portland Place using the CDM System
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One of the clean and dry new storage areas, thanks to the CDM System
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The newly converted vaults will be dry for years to come
"From the initial concept, detailed comprehensive report and costings, review of the treatment options and undertaking the works to completion, Strand offered an extremely professional service throughout and were a pleasure to work with. The works have been completed to a high standard and have transformed old damp pavement vaults into useable storage areas." Stewart Hawkins, Senior Building Surveyor Faraday Property Management
Speak to our friendly, expert team
Our staff are able to provide guidance for projects of all sizes, whether you require some general advice about damp or waterproofing, or support with technical drawings and specifications.
