It is inevitable that with such a big construction project, with multiple vendors / sub contractors, there is bound to be hiccups along the way. One big hiccup caused by sub par work of the contractor, has inevitably necessitated the below, detailed re-working.
It is with the Mehez Dua and Nazar Mubarak of Aqa Moula (tus) and the presence of Shehzada Malekul Ashtar BhaiSaheb (DM), that we continue to Navigate and overcome the realities of this enormous project.
With warm and sunny weather after Ashara Mubaraka, maintenance and ongoing work has been resumed of the Masjid – specifically focusing on the exterior of the Masjid.
During rains, A thorough walk through was completed by a third party Vendor. Remedies were put in place and the following areas were tested and identified as areas experiencing water penetration issues during rains:
Issues / Observations and remedies
- The ground floor façade conditions were water tested using a B25 spray nozzle on the East, North, and West Elevation and observed water penetrating the interior of the Masjid at the base of the wall within minutes of the test.
- Vendor observed water migrating into the building interior from under the through-wall flashing at the base of the wall and coming into the building from under the thresholds of the doorway.
- A thermal imaging review of the interior of the building was conducted to help locate any moisture in the walls. Moisture was detected at the base of the wall at the leak areas.
ROOF
- Although the main roof was not part of the scope of work, we had a complete cursory review of the main roof done above any leak areas to see if it was a possible contributing factor.
- It was observed that a railing was attached to the back of the parapet wall. The fasteners penetrated through the roof membrane, a possible source of water penetration into the building interior observed on level 2.
- Remedy: Have the building roofer seal the railing and the fasteners with a compatible sealant with the roofing membrane.
LEVEL 2 BALCONIES – this is at the core of the water leakage issues.
- The level 2 balconies, located on the West Elevation and the Southeast corner, are of the same construction.
- Balcony decking waterproofing was observed not in place while tile was being removed. It appeared that no deck waterproofing was installed.
- Existing drains were observed to have insufficient waterproofing from the decking to the drain. Drains in the decking were not per industry standards.
- The access doorways to the balcony were not waterproofed and missing a threshold.
- The exterior walls of the balconies are constructed of brick and stucco. Both wall systems were observed with no wall drainage system at the base of the wall. Any water that would get into the brick or stucco would be trapped in the wall and get into the building.
- Remedy: The balcony decking was properly sloped to the drains and a high- performance waterproofing installed on the deck and tied into the wall systems.
The balcony drains were replaced with a drain per industry standards which would have a compression or bonding flange to waterproof the deck to the drain.
The access doorways with a threshold were installed and properly waterproofed at the base of the door.
STUCCO AND BRICK EXTERIOR WALL SYSTEMS
- The stucco, brick, and stone walls do not have the proper drainage and weep systems installed per industry standards to allow any water trapped in the wall as a way to evacuate.
- The base of the wall was not constructed per the detail missing sealants, allowing water under the base flashing, into the building.
- The wall is built in-plane and on the same level as the interior floor concrete slab. The wall should be stepped down on the curb below the interior floor line. The through-wall flashing should be lower than the floor line, and water would exit the wall cavity. Water now is migrating under the through-wall flashing and into the building.
- There are no sealants installed at expansion joints and dissimilar materials on the building, including the parapet cap exterior horizontal joint and wall penetration.
- There are tankless water heaters located in the façade on the exterior of the building. These heaters are not waterproof and are a direct entry for water getting into the building.
- Remedy: Seal all dissimilar materials, expansion joints, and water heaters with a high-performance silicone sealant. Apply a high-performance elastomeric waterproofing coating on the stucco system stone and brick systems.
Work Completed as per recommendations
- Existing drains have been Installed and waterproofed.
- Stainless-steel through-wall flashing has been installed, applied primer, and the first layer of the BASF Masterseal M200 Basecoat at East & West Balcony.
- Vendor has applied the BASF TC 225 Topcoat with sand to rejection
- Vendor has flood tested the East & West balconies for 24 hours, and both balconies passed the test with no water penetration observed in the building interior.
