Eric Armishaw Toilet Blocks
Commercial Waterproofing, Point Chevalier

Green by Nature

LOCATION

Point Chevalier, Auckland

SERVICE

Waterproofing

The Challenge

The toilet blocks had existing coatings on the block walls and concrete floor that were no longer providing effective protection against moisture. Public amenity buildings like this face constant exposure to washdown and damp conditions, and coating directly over the old, compromised finishes would not have addressed the underlying issue. The substrate needed to be exposed and properly treated before any new waterproofing could be relied upon.

Our Approach

BlastOff sandblasted all existing coatings from the block walls and concrete floor to strip the surfaces back to a clean, sound substrate. With the old finishes fully removed, a complete waterproofing system was applied across both the walls and the floor, giving the structure continuous protection rather than a treatment limited to isolated areas. Working across walls and floor together allowed the membrane to form one unbroken barrier at the junctions where moisture problems typically start.

The Outcome

The Eric Armishaw toilet blocks now have a continuous waterproofing system across their block walls and concrete floor, replacing coatings that were no longer performing. Green by Nature received a public facility with its below-surface moisture protection addressed as one complete scope, rather than a series of isolated repairs to the existing finishes.

Keeping a Public Toilet Block Dry Through Years of Daily Hose-Downs

Public toilet blocks take a beating that most buildings never see, and the Eric Armishaw facility in Point Chevalier, managed by Green by Nature, was no exception. Years of washdown cleaning, constant moisture and ground contact had worn through the existing coatings on the block walls and concrete floor, and simply recoating over that damage would have left the underlying problem untouched.

BlastOff sandblasted all of the old coatings back to a clean, sound substrate across both the walls and the floor, which meant every weak or contaminated patch was removed rather than painted over. With the surfaces properly exposed, a complete waterproofing system was applied across the walls and floor together, forming one continuous barrier rather than a treatment that stopped short at the corners and junctions where leaks usually start. That detail matters in a facility like this, where the floor-to-wall junction takes constant water from hosing and mopping. The result is a structure that now handles daily hose-out cleaning without the blistering, mould or coating breakdown the old finishes were showing.

Councils, sports clubs and facility managers responsible for similar amenity buildings should treat recurring coating failure as a sign the substrate itself needs attention, not just another repaint. A scoping visit should assess how far the existing coatings have broken down, whether the floor and wall junctions are contributing to the problem, and what preparation standard the substrate actually needs before commercial waterproofing goes on. It is also worth factoring in how the facility will keep operating during the works, since public toilet blocks rarely have the luxury of being closed for long.

Treating blasting, preparation and waterproofing as one connected scope, as was done here, tends to hold up far better under constant wet-area use than staged repairs applied over time.