How can Premcrete support me as my project goes live, and what does the warranty really imply?

At the outset of our engagement in Waterproofing or Gas Protection Design, we will issue our Design Engagement Proposal to the client / groundworker outlining the scope of our Design. Where Design Fees relate to the project, the Groundworker should approve the one-off nominal design fee prior to commencement of detailed design.

By engaging in the design fee, Premcrete are responsible to deliver upon all aspects of design stated within the engagement proposal within the agreed timescales.

Pre-Construction Phase

• Premcrete will engage with all responsible personnel within the design team to develop an acceptable and compliant design strategy.
• Prior to issuing drawings as Construction Issue, Premcrete will hold a meeting with the groundworker’s project manager, project engineer and any other personnel engaged in the substructure. The purpose of this meeting is to:
  • Finalise all details in line with the Groundworker’s construction sequence
  • Establish who will be responsible for the groundworker’s onsite.

Quality Control reporting

• Provide training on the use of Premtrac Quality Control Portal and ensure all relevant personnel are added to the project to receive notifications
• Establish clear hold points in respect of QC report completion (ie. Issued prior to reinforcing installation, or 1 day prior to Concrete Pour)
• Establish Premcrete communication channels with the groundworker and ensure the project team are aware of the Premcrete expectations in respect of QC reporting and notice given for site inspections.
• Ensure that the project manager is aware he must notify Premcrete of all new phases of work or different product installation requiring new site training, 1 week in advance.
• Upon agreement of all processes, Premcrete will update all drawings for Construction Issue and email to the groundworker with a waterproofing protocol email outlining clear reference points the groundworker should be aware of from the commencement of the project.

Construction Phase

• Premcrete require groundworker’s to call off their first delivery of products in sufficient advance of the site training taking place onsite (typically 2-3 days prior).
• Site training should be carried out with a ‘focussed’ groundworker’s installation team (maximum of 4 personnel) on the basis of; the fewer installers, the higher the standard of installation.
• Site training should include the groundworker’s project manager, project engineer and any other personnel engaged in the substructure.
• All trained personnel will be uploaded to Premtrac with photo identification clearly stating the systems training has been provided for. (certificates are available for download).
• Premcrete site presence will be as regular as required to ensure the quality of installation is maintained and will typically become less frequent as the project progresses and we gain confidence in the quality of installation. Ongoing monitoring of the installation will be managed with Premcrete Quality Control Manager maintaining weekly communication with project managers.
• Upon completion of each Premcrete site inspection, Premtrac QC reports will be issued and the Inspector will clearly state the following details of the site inspection within the notes section of the report along with all associated checkpoints and photos:
  • Confirm who was present on the site inspection
  • Confirm if installation of waterproofing was happening whilst present onsite
  • State the zones viewed and comment regarding the quality of installation
  • Provide feedback of previous concrete pour quality
  • State if any issues were raised and the resolution (if not deemed as NCR)
• Should Premcrete deem a groundworker’s QC Report as unacceptable or observe defects onsite, an NCR will be raised through Premtrac including photos and notes of the defect and the remedial work required. In order to close the NCR the Groundworker is required to upload photos of the remedied workmanship in order for Premcrete to close the outstanding NCR.
• NCR Reports will be sent to all groundworker’s personnel linked to the Premtrac project.
• Outstanding NCRs will be discussed with the groundworker on a weekly or daily basis where urgent remediation is required until resolved.
• In some situations full remediation may not be possible due to groundworker’s time constraints or decisions onsite, therefore Premcrete will instruct the works to proceed, however the groundworker will be made aware that remedial work at a later stage will be required and the costs may not be covered under the warranty.
• Where a groundworker is not completing QC Reports as required, Premcrete will notify the groundworker’s senior management to address the issue.

Quality Control & Warranty Issue

Premcrete quality control team are responsible to manage the quality of the installation from outset to completion and raise any issues at the time of occurrence. Issues will either be remediated or agreed with the contractor as a zone to be monitored – Such issues will include attention to concrete compaction. Premcrete are responsible to assist Groundworkers to achieve the required concrete quality, and it is not acceptable for Premcrete to overlook compaction issues or indeed any other waterproofing issue and consequently use this to remove warranty responsibility.

If an issue is not raised at the time, or indeed no issues are present, and yet water ingresses into the basement beyond that which is acceptable to the design – Premcrete will cover associated remedial works under our warranty. Should any hidden defects become manifest (for example excessive volumes of injection resin consumed, indicating voids within the concrete) then Premcrete would look to the groundworkers to support with this cost element.

Premcrete will carry out a final inspection of the substructure once the building is water and weather tight, with a view to issuing a 25 Year Warranty.Any defects at this stage will be discussed with all relevant groundworks personnel and remediated once the responsibilities are agreed.