By Matthew Sands
Ontario Pool Coatings Inc. is based out of London, Ontario, and services all southern parts of the province—from the Greater Toronto Area to Windsor. For the last seven years, the team has become the go-to experts for renovation projects using epoxy resin, epoxy paint, thermoplastic coatings, and complete concrete renovations on both commercial and residential pools.
This year, Darren Borland, president of the company, added polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membranes to its range of services; he decided some projects are best renovated with a membrane. In the company’s first year of offering this product, it has completed two commercial jobs and one residential pool using this waterproofing system. In these three projects, PVC membrane was the ideal choice and Borland provides insight as to why.
Elevated condominium pool
The condominium board of a complex had been calling around for a solution to its leaking pool for some time. Located on the banks of the St. Clair River, this condominium pool sits directly above a parking structure, where a leak visibly presented itself. This issue required a long-term waterproofing repair, and a PVC membrane would provide the optimum solution for the problem at hand.
When Borland and his team inspected the pool, they were confronted with a 6.1 x 18.3 m (20 x 60 ft) concrete pool with a traditional, 30 mil (0.0300 in.) vinyl liner. The liner was not well-suited for this commercial application because of the higher bather loads and increased sanitization levels in the water, causing the liner to fail. Although the PVC membrane is not the least expensive option, in the case of this condominium board, it was looking for a long-term solution and were tired of dealing with the maintenance and leaks in this pool.
The installation process is fairly straightforward. Before installing the PVC membrane, crews prepare the surface, which can also include repairs. Most pools require a day or less for preparation, but if a pool is in particularly bad shape, a service professional may need up to a week to patch the pool, fix returns, cracks, and other issues.
