Perth Children’s Hospital

APPLICATOR: Vercon
BUILDER: John Holland
ARCHITECT(S): The Architects Alliance

Perth Children’s Hospital, located in Nedlands, is Western Australia’s new specialist paediatric hospital and trauma centre which provides treatment for serious medical cases, in-patient, out-patient and day-stay care. Having replaced the now-closed Princess Margaret Hospital, the 298-bed state-of-the-art hospital incorporates 270-degree panoramic views and includes outdoor spaces and private courtyards.

Unique Elements
Being a Government health project, not only was quality of the finished product crucial, speed and turnaround was another important factor in the selection of products as 30,000 square metres of tiling and waterproofing needed to be completed on a tight deadline.

Heavy stone (20mm thick) was specified by the architects for the internal lobby, so a strong tile adhesive that could withstand larger, heavier tiles was required. The builders also needed to waterproof internal wet areas, again, with a fast turnaround in mind.

Solution
An ARDEX specification was chosen as it provided a solution that could help contractors meet the tight deadline as well adhesives that could fix the heavier tiles specified for the internal lobby.

For the larger tiles, ARDEX specified ARDEX X 18 wall and floor tile adhesive. ARDEX X 18 contains specially developed fibres that add strength to the tiled area and is non-slump, making this ideal for heavy tiles on both floors and walls.

As the internal wet areas required a fast turnaround, ARDEX specified ARDEX WPM 155 Rapid water-based waterproofing membrane in conjunction with ARDEX STB Tape (an uncured butyl tape with a fleece layer) for rapid installation. ARDEX WPM 155 Rapid has been developed for high performance under-tile waterproofing and has excellent adhesion with ARDEX Tile Adhesives.

The ARDEX STB Tape prevents an otherwise thicker application of ARDEX WPM 155 Rapid in corners and wall-floor-junctions, reducing drying time compared two liquid coats in these areas which allows for tiling work to commence a lot quicker.

As this was a Government health project, a comprehensive ARDEX warranty was also provided for peace of mind.