Up On The Roof – ‘Wet Pour’

Well we picked a fine week to commence the ‘wet pour’ works on the play deck roof, it was freezing, a layer of snow covered the surface and the wind chill made it feel even colder.

No ‘wet pour’ could be installed in these conditions, but we were able to get all of the rubber crumb and EPDM on to the roof.

This was my first ‘lift plan’, risk assessment and method statement for working with a crane and it was drafted by the crane company and approved by the main contractor and everything went to plan. So the knowledge from the SMSTS course was put to good use.

Wet pour materials

‘Wet Pour’ materials being lifted on to the play deck roof

We just need to wait now for the weather to turn warmer and we can get started on installing nearly 2,000m2 of EPDM surfacing to the play deck roof.

So far we have only installed a small amount of ‘Wet Pour’ EPDM surfacing to a courtyard area, but it does look pretty good.

Wet Pour EPDM Surfacing

Wet pour rubber crumb EPDM surfacing to play area

‘Wet Pour’ Specialist Surfacing

My latest challenge is the management of a six figure project  for a client whose area of specialisation is in the supply and installation of high impact safety surfacing known in the industry as ‘wet pour’.

It is an opportunity for me to merge my old civil engineering knowledge with my more recent resin flooring knowledge and use it to good effect in managing this complex surfacing project.

Wet pour is designed specifically for use in play areas and playgrounds and it is an innovative play surface with a multi-layer system. The wet pour base layer consists of granular SBR recycled rubber, which sits on top of a sub-base. (This could be a ‘Type 1’ sub base, or a tarmac surface, but on this project the SBR layer is 25mm thick and on a roof deck.

The wet pour top layer consists of 15mm deep, high grade, EPDM rubber granules, which are manufactured in a wide range of colour options.

This is the typical mix required for school playgrounds, play areas, pool surrounds, walkways, patios and other similar applications.

A special solvent-free polyurethane resin binder is used for both the SBR and EPDM granular layers.

The play area surface is porous and designs and patterns can be incorporated into the overall surface design without affecting the product integrity. On this project there are some very elaborate shapes and designs.

I am really looking forward to seeing the product being installed and judging by the Architect’s plans the finished surface is going to look really impressive. I will definitely be posting some photos.