The Benfield Centre for Sporting Excellence, Newcastle, boasts one of the largest indoor gymnastics facilities in Europe, at an impressive 2,336 sq. m. The dual use sports facility, which is also home to a six court sports hall, opened in 2001 and was designed to be of a size and flexibility to accommodate simultaneous working groups of gymnasts. With over 25 dedicated coaches, including the expertise of Olympian gymnasts Craig Heap and Paula Thomas, the centre is the number one place in the Northeast for gymnastics. Consisting of a large, industrial steel framed structure, the building has a history of flooding and the gymnastic pits in particular were causing long term problems for management, having been affected by water ingress on three separate occasions. Originally waterproofed with a bonded sheet membrane or type A waterproofing system as defined in BS8102, this system shortly after the gym opened. There were two subsequent attempts at remedial work using cementitious products that both failed.

Due to the risks and effects of rising, penetrating and capillary held dampness on the walls and the floors of the pits, a system of remedial damp and waterproofing needed to be installed. Consideration was given to the type of system that may be applied to overcome the problems of water ingress and dampness. A cavity drain membrane system was selected and Protectahome designed and installed a Drained Protection Waterproofing System. The application of this type of waterproofing allows the ground water to depressurise behind the membrane, preventing additional stresses building up. The gym remained open for the duration of works, all of which were completed in a timely manner and within budget, and benefited from a Protectahome long term guarantee.