Despite detailed planning and preparations with input and recommendations from expert construction and engineering companies a serious problem was identified during the final handover from CMI to MR. This came as a total surprise as there was no indication of any problem during the execution phase and, despite some weather delay, the work had progressed well until this point and a few weeks ahead of schedule.
What is the main problem?
A very tiny amount of water was found bubbling through the tile grouting at one point. A hollow sound was heard when taping the tiles with a metal rod in this area indicating delamination at some point below the tiles. Initially this was thought to be a small local problem but during repairs more and more areas were found with delamination.
When tiles were removed at the problem areas it was found that the delamination had occurred mainly at the waterproof layer below the tile adhesive. It was also found that the amount of epoxy adhesive which was applied was insufficient to provide consistent bonding in some areas.
How did this happen and/or what caused the problem?
The exact reason for the delamination is not known but it is believed that a number of factors may have played a role:
1. There was unusual heavy rain during the critical period that the waterproof layer was installed. The work was interrupted a few times and part of the work had to be done twice.
2. Prior to tile grouting the epoxy adhesive below the tiles may have allowed rain water to seep below the tiles affecting the bonding between tile adhesive and the tiles/waterproof layer.
3. Tiles were exposed to (direct) sunlight for a long period from tile installation until pool filled with water. Although some sort of sun protection was used this may not have been sufficient.
4. Potential compatibility issues using waterproof material from one vendor (Lanko) and adhesive material from another Vendor (Weber).There is no evidence of this and proof tests did not reveal any compatibility issue. However using two different vendors makes it more difficult to identify the exact problem.
5. The use of epoxy adhesive on top of cement based water proof layer is not a common pool lining system in Thailand. Prior to construction the approach was thought to be superior by CMI, the Project Engineer and the Project Manager but none of the parties had actual experience in in this particular applications. Proof tests confirmed strong bonding and did not reveal any problem with this approach.
6. Improper mixing of the epoxy components will result in a slower reaction to harden the epoxy or not harden at all (only very small 1 – 2 cm areas were found with soft epoxy after several days).
Use of Inferior products and/or poor workmanship?
1. Suggestions have been made that inferior/low quality products were used. This is absolutely false, only high quality products were used as specified in the tender from well-known (international) vendors (Weber and Lanko).
2. There is some evidence of poor workmanship (such as mentioned above) and part of the reason that CMI accepts partial responsibility. CMI feels that item 4 and 5 above are the primary reasons that there is delamination. It is very disappointing that despite contracting a reputable company like CMI and engaging a third party project manager/supervisor simple issues like insufficient amount of adhesive and/or improper mixing were not identified during construction. BMO and MC spend significant time and effort to locate a project manager to help ensure that the project was done properly. . Although the Project Management Company had been a project manager on other (large) construction projects they lacked some of the hands on experience and failed to compensate for that.
How to avoid same problem from happening again?
Because the exact cause is not fully understood the best approach is to address all possible scenarios:
1. Use waterproof product and adhesive from same vendor (Weber has been selected).
2. Use a cement based adhesive instead of epoxy. Cement based adhesive is easier to apply than epoxy and therefore reducing the potential boding issue of epoxy to waterproof layer and poor workmanship risks. We will still use epoxy based grouting as being superior product to come into direct contact with pool water.
3. Take advantage of the dry season from January till March.
4. Engage a more hands-on third party construction supervisor. This is currently ongoing, any suggestions / recommendations would be most welcome.
5. Shorten period between tile installation and filling the pool with better sun protection.
Who pays for the repair work?
1. CMI will do the repair work without any additional compensation from Millennium Residence. A contract amendment has been signed to that effect.
2. The contract does not allow for consequential cost to be reimbursed by CMI (e.g. cost of third party supervisor, electricity and water and chemicals, will have to be covered by MR). The same applies to compensate for inconvenience caused by pool closure. This is the normal practice in the construction industry. We may not have found a contractor to do the work or the cost would have been significant higher if we had insisted on reimbursement of consequential loss. It should be noted that MR cost is only a fraction of the CMI repair cost and total project cost will remain significantly under the pool and deck repair budget.
While the above arrangement may seem unfair to some people it should be noted that CMI accepts primary responsibility and will incur a significant financial loss on this project. There was a high potential for this issue to turn into litigation between MR and CMI and the JPM and Management Committee believe that the negotiated settlement was a better solution than a protracted dispute resolution process with CMI.
80 days for the repair work seems a long time?
Every effort will be made to complete the work as fast as possible and we expect to have it done in less than 80 days. Some activities will take considerable time, for example to fill the pool and treat the water will take almost a week.
Several pool lights not working?
Pool lights will be replaced and/or repaired. The reason for the light failure has been identified and will be corrected.
Pool closure due to green water in the pool?
This should not have happened and may have been avoided if BMO had responded quicker. The reason for the late response is that we wanted to consult contractors for newly installed equipment before taking any action. Additional water treatment (adding chorine, etc) was only started once it was confirmed that the newly installed water treatment system and the fixed filtration equipment functioned properly. In future water quality will be monitored more closely with faster action as necessary. This issue is not related to the tile delamination issue described above.
However some suggestions that are being made are not entirely correct:
– Poor quality products: The products and materials used during the repair are all high quality and commonly used in pools all around the world.
– This has never happened before: It is normal that pool water quality fluctuates due to a number of factors. This was also the case before the pool repairs and there has been at least one instance that pool had to be closed due to green water.
– Health risks: BMO will close the pool as soon as there is any indication of a potential health risk (hence the reason the pool was closed for 2 days). Lab test from water samples taken during the event confirm that there was no health risk (other than colour the water quality meets drinking water requirement, see attached).
– Rain and cleaning water runoff: Prior to the pool repair water was allowed to runoff from the wood deck into the pool. To address this problem the pool wall has been extended to above wood deck level.
Water treatment and filtration system?
The old water treatment system (Salt chlorination unit) had been out of service for quite some time. It was found that the salt chlorination unit lacked capacity for our large pool and that manual addition of chlorine was required. A new and more advanced system has now been installed to control both the PH and CL content in a more efficient and controllable manner. This (German manufactured) PH and CL PID controller is used in many Olympic swimming pools in Thailand and around the world.
Also the fixed pool filtration system is now being used again instead of mobile filtration units. The mobile filtration unit is still used for the children’s pool and occasionally for the main pool.
Overall the Water treatment and filtration system work fine but please allow some us some time to get totally familiar with the new system and maximize performance.
Shower usage and Personal hygiene?
Despite having pool showers with easy access and hot and cold running water the fast majority of pool users do not take a shower before entering the pool. Not only is this against the (clearly posted) house rules it will impact the water quality and shows an element of disrespect for follow pool users (in particular those who do shower before entering the pool). Many public swimming facilities strictly enforce the shower requirements.
Partial use of the sundeck (and children pool) during repairs?
This issue will be further discussed with CMI. The safety of residents is the primary concern to limit access to this area.
Provide alternative pool access?
JPM have an opinion that the swimming pool is the common area and jointly owned all co-owners. The JP is responsible to maintain its condition as well as possible. Therefore, if the swimming pool is found to be improperly functional and need to be repaired, then it is a JP, JPM and MC to take action including but not limited to a temporary closure for maintenance. The swimming pool is not belong to the JP and the CAM fees collected to maintain all common property and miscellaneous necessary expenses as governed by the regulation and By-Law. Therefore, the JP should not bear the responsibility to provide any substitute swimming pool nor pay any monetary compensation to the co-owner for this matter.
