301 Florida Ave is a new affordable housing, mixed-use structure located on the site of a former parking lot in Washington DC. According to the architect, Michael Graves Architecture and Design, the project will serve as a gateway to downtown from the Union Market area. It will hold 127 units and amenities including a gym, computer lab, lounge, and a toddler room. The building’s profile is reminiscent of the Flatiron building in New York City, and others like it, and its location is very pedestrian-friendly.
One corner of the site was originally home to another building, but at the time of construction, mostly rubble was present. It was not situated in a high water table, but the presence of groundwater was detected according to the geotechnical report. Additionally, the Phase II ESA concluded that the soils may have contaminants present, which meant that a vapor barrier would be required as well as waterproofing. Danny Santos of Potomac Waterproofing, the EPRO installer, worked with PreTak, PrimeTak and Geo-Seal 60, which were specified and determined to be ideal for these conditions:
“PreTak installation was as simple as we expected it to be with no issues whatsoever,” says Santos. “The area was all prepped before we started to install, so it only took us about two days from start to finish. It was also great to see that the other sub-contractors took our work into consideration, and they did a great job with maintaining the performance of the material.”
Approximately 3,600 square feet of PreTak was installed, 2,200 square feet of PrimeTak, and the site will be completed with 9,000 square feet of Geo-Seal 60.
PreTak is a pre-applied high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet waterproofing membrane combined with a pressure sensitive adhesive that fully adheres to cast in place concrete and shotcrete to prevent lateral water migration in both blindside shoring and underslab applications. Installation is productive and reliable with up to 8 ft wide rolls to minimize seams.
Santos appreciates working with PreTak for its ease of installation and its versatility. He hopes to add it to more specs going forward and increase its implementation in the DC area.
“We are working with PreTak wherever possible now. Starting with a smaller project like this meant that it was easier to implement, and here, it was on EPRO specs,” he explains. “And when product like this is newer to market we want to show that it is successful before installing on a more complex, much larger project.”
As always, EPRO provided strong support during this project. The team were on site, but also gave Potomac waterproofing all the tools they needed to successfully install. And this encompassed information both on and off the site as well as constant communication and direction.
“EPRO did their part on selling us the product and offered up a ton of guidance in comparison to other products, mainly with the availability of details and general information provided,” says Santos. “It was perfect, and it helps bring peace of mind to everyone involved because there is lots of paperwork to back us up. In addition, the availability of training videos on PreTak and other products is great – we can see it on paper, but watching a video gives us a different perspective and really helps on site.”
The next phase involves Geo-Seal 60 installation to mitigate any residual vapors. The project is aiming for completion in 2025.