The Leaky Ark

You can see the labor involved in getting the cistern formed and made ready for concrete is extensive. Rebar emerging from the forms; folded or bent to 90° to become part of the roof of the cistern, which will also serve as the first floor of the Gallery and Great Room. There is a pass-through constructed in the center partition between the two tanks, this form will keep the cement out of that area when it is poured.

Later, when the floor is formed and poured, there will be installed two flush hatches for access to the inside of the cistern for cleaning, inspections, or fixing a leak. There will be one in the gallery floor to enter one vessel, and one in our great room floor to enter the second. I will do my best to conceal these somehow, under a rug, or in an out-of-the-way corner. The pass-through mentioned is only for the water

I have been joking with the workers that I didn't think the "plywood ark" will hold water for any appreciable amount of time, what about the seams in the wood? In actuallity our cistern will be waterproofed by a new product to the market called Xypex, an additive that can be mixed with the concrete prior to pouring, or applied later as a slurry mixture to the inside walls of the tank. Applied in either fashion, this product is actually drawn in to the concrete itself by the presence of water. It seeks out water in the curing concrete and reacts to the encounter by crystallization, thus diminishing the size of the pores to such a degree that water molecules will not fit through. Not only does this product seal water "inside" a structure, it can also migrate through the capillaries of the concrete, against hydrostatic pressure from the outside! To find out more, go to their website: Xypex Concrete Additive.

F.Y.I.: This website address, as well as other helpful sites, also appear on our "links section" in the right sidebar.