SARP specified, supplied and installed the complete below-grade waterproofing envelope at Durrës Yachts Marina — the full Mapeproof AL AP System beneath the foundations and Mapeproof AL 1200 AP to the underground walls.
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Foundation waterproofing — Durrës Yachts Marina, client Ales Construction -
Foundation waterproofing — Durrës Yachts Marina, client Salillari shpk -
Underground wall waterproofing — Durrës Yachts Marina, client Arbri Construction -
Underground wall waterproofing — Durrës Yachts Marina, client Griba shpk
Overview
What was built
Durrës Yachts Marina required a continuous waterproofing barrier below ground level, covering both the foundation structure and the underground perimeter walls.
SARP delivered that envelope as a single bonded system: the full Mapeproof AL AP System beneath the foundations, and Mapeproof AL 1200 AP on the underground walls. Both are HDPE membranes that bond monolithically to the concrete, so the waterproofing layer and the structure behave as one rather than as two separate layers in contact.
The work covered five buildings within the marina development, each for a different client — Progeen shpk, Ales Construction, Salillari shpk, Arbri Construction and Griba shpk. All five received the same specification: the Mapeproof AL AP System beneath the foundations and Mapeproof AL 1200 AP on the underground walls. The photographs on this page show different stages of that one process across the five buildings.
The waterproofed structure extends 3.5 m below ground level. SARP’s works ran to three months on site: one month for the foundations, followed by two months for the underground walls.
The challenge
Conditions on site
Below-grade waterproofing usually fails at the interface rather than in the membrane itself. Where a membrane is only laid against concrete instead of bonded to it, water reaching any breach can travel laterally in the gap between the two and surface a long way from where it entered — which makes a leak very hard to trace, and harder still to repair once the structure is backfilled and in service.
Working below ground also rules out hot-applied methods on a live site, and it demands detailing that stays continuous across construction joints, service penetrations and the junction between slab and wall.
On this site the groundwater level was the main constraint, and it bore directly on the foundation phase. With the structure sitting 3.5 m below ground, the foundation membrane had to go in and stay sound against water present in the excavation, before the slab was poured over it.
A pre-applied, fully bonded membrane answers exactly that situation: it is laid into the excavation ahead of the pour and bonds to the concrete as it cures, leaving no gap between structure and membrane for water to track along once the building is in service.
System applied
How it was done
Foundations — full Mapeproof AL AP System. Mapeproof AL AP is a pre-applied, fully bonded, self-adhering HDPE membrane. It is laid before the pour, so the fresh concrete cast against it forms a tough, permanent bond directly to the adhesive face.
Underground walls — Mapeproof AL 1200 AP. An HDPE self-adhesive membrane for waterproofing underground structures after the concrete has been poured, coated with an adhesive layer that forms a monolithic bond with the concrete substrate.
Because both membranes are fully bonded rather than loose-laid, the system stops lateral water migration between the structure and the membrane. Both are cold-applied — no heat and no naked flames on site.
to be supplied — detailing at construction joints, penetrations and the slab-to-wall junction, and the installation sequence.
Our role
What SARP delivered
SARP covered the full scope on this project — specification, supply and installation:
Specifier. Selecting the system for the actual below-grade conditions rather than applying a generic build-up.
Supplier. Providing the Mapeproof products as authorised Mapei distributor in Albania.
Installer. Carrying out the application on site.
Technical support throughout construction. As questions and unforeseen conditions came up during the build, SARP advised the client on how to resolve them, drawing on the team’s field experience with below-grade systems. A waterproofing system is only ever as good as the detailing decisions taken while the structure is going up.
Project data
Job-site record
- Location
- Durrës, Albania
- Project type
- Below-grade waterproofing — foundations and underground walls
- Depth below ground
- 3.5 m
- Waterproofing system
- Mapeproof AL AP System (foundations); Mapeproof AL 1200 AP (underground walls)
- SARP role
- Specification, supply, installation and on-site technical support
- Buildings
- 5, each for a different client
- Clients
- Progeen shpk · Ales Construction · Salillari shpk · Arbri Construction · Griba shpk
- Mapei distributor
- SARP sh.p.k.
- Construction period
- to be supplied
- SARP intervention
- Three months on site — 1 month (foundations), 2 months (underground walls)
- Designers
- to be supplied
- Works supervision
- to be supplied
- Waterproofed area
- to be supplied
- Photos
- to be supplied
Products used
Mapei systems supplied and installed by SARP
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Mapeproof AL AP
Pre-applied, fully bonded, self-adhering HDPE waterproofing membrane for protecting underground structures against water. Laid beneath the foundations before the pour, so the concrete bonds directly to its adhesive face.
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Mapeproof AL 1200 AP
HDPE self-adhesive membrane for waterproofing underground structures after the concrete has been poured. Applied to the underground walls, forming a monolithic bond with the concrete substrate.
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further product
to be supplied — tapes, primers, sealants or ancillary items used on this site.
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further product
to be supplied — tapes, primers, sealants or ancillary items used on this site.