University of Pretoria
Project context
The University of Pretoria is one of South Africa's largest residential universities, with a campus estate spanning buildings of widely differing age, construction type and condition — from heritage structures to modern research facilities.
Why this building is difficult to waterproof
Campus estates are managed environments with constraints that commercial sites rarely impose. Work has to be sequenced around academic terms, examinations and continuously occupied residences, which compresses the available programme into defined windows. The variety of building stock means no single specification serves the whole estate: a heritage façade, a 1970s concrete lecture block and a new laboratory each demand different systems and different substrate preparation. Older concrete frequently requires genuine repair — carbonation and reinforcement corrosion from years of ingress — before any waterproofing can be warranted. Safety management around large numbers of students is a permanent constraint on access and hot works.
What TDS brings to projects like this
- ◆Approved applicator status for Derbigum, ABE, Prostruct, Darachem, Duo, Poly-Seal and Sika systems — a prerequisite for enforceable manufacturer-backed warranties.
- ◆Turnkey delivery covering CAD design and specification, supply, installation and quality control under a single contract.
- ◆Professional indemnity cover on design, and a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee on completed works.
- ◆Experience sequencing works around occupied and operational buildings, including live commercial and institutional environments.
- ◆Membership of the Master Builders Association and the Waterproofing Federation of South Africa.
Have a building with similar demands?
Talk to our specialists about specification, guarantees and delivery.