The single-family home of the Pohl family in Krefeld has been standing for almost 100 years. The basic structure of the house is good, however, they knew when purchasing the home 13 years ago, that the cellar had problems due to moisture seeping in. The entire extent of these moisture problems did not become evident until the new owners removed wood panelling from interior walls of the cellar. The exposed walls were extremely moist and suffered from salt contamination.

When it rained heavily, water regularly seeped through the walls and collected into puddles at the edge of the floor and the wall. The situation got much worse due to a sewage pipe of a neighbour which began to leak, resulting in up to 20 l/hr. leaking into the cellar.

Sealing the cellar wall with an external wall was not viable due to the property's position with regard to the neighbour's property and the adjoining major street. For one thing, approaching the problem this way was no guarantee that the problem would actually be solved. The Pohl couple conducted an internet search and ran across the PCI solution. Leo Krüppel and Stefan Marx, two regional PCI employees came up with a reliable and cost-efficient solution. This was carried out.

The interior wall work was implemented using the PCI Saniment System with the PCI Saniment DP waterproof plaster, PCI Saniment DS mineral waterproof coating, PCI Saniment HA machine-applied plaster, PCI Saniment Super water repellent pore-sealing plaster and the PCI Saniment FP finishing coat. The renovation work was done by the Pohl family themselves.

Mr. Stefan Marx provided on-site support with the PCI application method for coating the cellar floor. PCI Gisogrund 404, a fast-acting primer was applied twice to the cleansed floor. With a layer thickness of approx. 5 mm, the PCI Zemtec 230 floor-levelling screed (blended with silica sand) was layered upon it to ensure the cellar floor withstands abrasion and is durable. Scattering PCI Farbchips (coloured chips) offered a colourfully attractive floor design. To ensure the floor provides sufficient anti-slip traction, the PCI employees used the PCI Finopur 2K-PUR sealing with guaranteed anti-slip properties.

The Pohl family is indeed pleased with the work completed. The Pohl couple was also delighted by the support provided by the PCI employees. The cellar room is now serving as a hobby room and is used in widely varied ways.

In the near future the Pohl family is planning to begin renovating the other two cellar rooms using the proven PCI products.