Historic Farmers Department Store Grand Tearoom

Located in the Heritage Hotel in Auckland, the space has been transformed into a New York-style loft penthouse. Featured in a recent episode of Grand Designs NZ, the design incorporated heritage features with modern urban industrial design, resulting in a stunning renovation of the 539m² heritage-listed space.

The bathrooms, with their amazing views across the Hauraki Gulf, used ARDEX WPM 750 Undertile Sheet Membrane for the undertile waterproofing. Made in Christchurch New Zealand, WPM 750 is the only internal wet area sheet membrane available in the NZ market that is weldable. The WPM 750 membrane speeds up project completion times. Unlike liquid waterproofing membranes, ARDEX WPM 750 gives a thin and consistent 0.5mm waterproofing gauge with no need to wait for liquids to dry. Solvent-free adhesive is first applied, followed by the membrane — rather like hanging wallpaper — and tiling can commence just one hour after the membrane is installed. A fleece on both sides of the fabric helps with tile application, while still excelling in durability and waterproofing capabilities. The laps of the membrane can be heat-welded using a Leister Hot Air Gun to ensure a standard thickness, limited application error and that all laps are securely joined, creating a fail-safe waterproofed area. WPM 750 also comes with a 15-year material guarantee. ARDEX WPM 1000 WeldTec membrane was also used for the external balcony areas.

On-site, the installer was able to utilise technical support from ARDEX who came to site to confirm the intended system application and assist with detailing to ensure the system was 100% waterproof. The systems included primers, adhesives and sealants all supplied by ARDEX to provide a full system warranty with all products compatible with each other from one supplier. The ARDEX recommended applicator, Best Skills Limited, used their knowledge and experience with ARDEX systems to confidently meet the tight time frame of the project.

For fail-safe waterproofing and fast-tracked project timing, the ARDEX WPM range offers superior benefits for all wet area projects.