Newmarket Leisure Centre

New Local Facility

A 20 year warranty of watertightness and outstanding technical and site service earned sparkling reviews for PUDLO additive in the construction of stunning ‘wet’ facilities at Newmarket Leisure Centre. The people of Newmarket in Suffolk now enjoy state-of-the-art sport and fitness facilities with this local leisure centre, commissioned by Forest Heath District Council (FHDC). This stunning complex links existing ‘dry’ facilities located at Newmarket College with modern ‘wet’ facilities. With the government urging people to get more active, Anglia Community Leisure, who manage the leisure complex for FHDC, run a busy programme of events and sessions in the centre.

Facilities include a six-lane, 25 metre competition pool, a flexible use training pool with movable floor to adjust water depth, a large changing complex, and health suite with spa, sauna and treatment rooms. Thousands of people use the pools each week which are open long hours, some days from 6am to 10pm. Closure of the pools for any length of time to remedy a leak would be devastating financially for the council as well as depriving the local community of an important focus for their recreation, fitness and lifestyle.

Problem-Free Performance

Ensuring long-term, problem-free performance from the waterproofing specification for the pools was therefore critical to the project team responsible for the design and construction. In evaluating the relative benefits of available waterproofing additives, PUDLO stood out for the engineers, WSP Group. While many of the products claim similar properties and performance, PUDLO was unique in offering a 20 year warranty of the finished structure. With so much riding on the water-tightness of the pool and basement wall design – water quality, health and safety, public service, council revenues and the reputation of all involved – this warranty proved decisive.

Guarantee

Matthew Newton, senior engineer for WSP, said: “PUDLO provided a guarantee that if there were any leaks using their product, they would rectify them. They were the only company offering this assurance of performance. It provided a big comfort factor for the whole of the design team.”

PUDLO was used to waterproof the concrete design for all the water-retaining and below-ground structures, including the two pools, balancing tanks and basement plant room. As well as enjoying the reassurance of the warranty, the project team was also impressed by the level of technical support, supervision and commitment to quality provided by PUDLO’s site inspectors.

Matthew Newton commented: “We were given a complete service, on and off site. PUDLO provided input on the concrete design, including suggestions for the detail for the waterproofing joints which we took on board. They also gave technical support to the contractor, guiding them on workmanship and achieving the design detail required in using the product.”

Attention to Detail

PUDLO’s attention to detail was appreciated in other areas, including the user-friendly product packaging. The additive comes in sealed, premeasured packs, making it easy to add the right dose to the quantity of readymix being prepared. As well as lining and filling pores, PUDLO alters the micro-structure of concrete to provide significantly increased factors of waterproofing, drying shrinkage and strength gain. Among other benefits, it improves chloride resistance by 100%, reduces the rate of carbonation by a factor of 4, increases strength by a minimum of 20%, reduces water absorption, permeability, drying shrinkage and cracking, and improves dimensional stability and durability.