Fresh Pond Place Condominium Location: Cambridge, MA
Project Overview:
Built in the early 1980s, Fresh Pond Place was Cambridge’s first planned condominium townhouse community. Landscaped courtyards and walkways connect the townhouses, which are located in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood across from the Fresh Pond Reservation.
The Challenge:
Remove the existing brick paver plaza and overburden, to expose the structural concrete slab for waterproofing. Replace the overburden and rebuild the brick paver plaza to match the original design. The depth of the overburden and features of the structural slab were unknown.
The Alpha Weatherproofing Solution:
- Took detailed photos and measurements of the existing brick plaza, so the rebuilt plaza would match
- Installed a seamless, cold-applied liquid waterproofing system
- Rebuilt the plaza area with new material to match the original design
The Successful Process:
- Removed the existing planting-bed vegetation and overburden
- Partially dismantled stairs to access the brick & concrete slab below
- Removed & disposed of existing brick pavers and bluestone treads
- Excavated & disposed of overburden, down to the structural concrete slab
- Waterproofed the concrete slab and beams with a liquid, cold-applied elastomeric waterproofing system covered by a drainage/protection board
- Installed five new plaza drains; piped them to the building’s drainage system
- Replaced the original soil overburden with crushed stone
- Placed a bed of stone dust over the crushed stone
- Installed new brick pavers in a bed of custom color mortar, with joints fully & tightly mortared
- Installed new bluestone pavers, and custom-color concrete thresholds where the plaza deck transitioned with walkways
- Rebuilt the stairs and repainted all the trim
