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Spread out over 35 acres, La Aurora Zoo is known as one of the largest gardens in Guatemala City, and for good reason too. After all, it’s not just the amount of land it has that makes it large. It’s also the number of animals and species it contains. Currently, La Aurora Zoo holds more than 2,500 animals, which belong to 287 threatened and endangered species.
While it’s certainly an impressive sight to see for tourists and locals alike, it’s not done simply for entertainment value. Instead, La Aurora Zoo’s primary objective is to promote the preservation and conservation of both native and exotic animal species. So those who visit the place will find that much of the entertainment to be found there is educational in nature, giving guests a chance to enjoy the space while getting to better understand the surrounding animals.
To support this work, the zoo relied on entertaining visitors in the center known as La Colmena or the Hive. Residing within the heart of the zoo, the Hive consists of single-level round concrete rooms that are connected in a way that looks similar to the cells of a honeycomb. It was typically a reliable space for entertainment, but in the 2010s, the concrete of the center had started to wear down, developing cracks, which leaked heavily during torrential rainstorms.
If left alone, that would have eventually compromised the structural integrity of the center. Realizing this, the owners of La Aurora Zoo went directly to Duratop for help.
Once informed of the situation, Duratop knew exactly what would help the zoo seal the leaks permanently: Kryton’s Krystol® technology. When added to concrete, this technology introduces chemicals that will react to the presence of water, forming needle-shaped crystals that interlock with one another. These then fill up the micro-cracks and capillary pores in the concrete, eliminating any pathways for water to pass through. It’s a process that lasts for the life of the concrete as the technology will continuously react to water upon contact and grow more and more watertight over the years instead of breaking down like other waterproofing and leak repair products usually do.
In short, it would be the best way to permanently repair the leaks at the Hive and prevent any future water ingress concerns for the center.
Confident about this solution, Duratop introduced Krystol technology to the concrete through two different Kryton products: Krystol T1 and Krystol Bari-Cote. But before doing so, they applied Kryton’s Krystol Plug, which is a rapid-setting hydraulic cement product. This would immediately halt the flow of water through the cracks in the concrete. That made it easier for the Duratop team to apply both Krystol T1 and Krystol Bari-Cote, giving the concrete permanent leak repairs and waterproofing protection.
The application proved to be very successful, eliminating the leaks entirely and ensuring the facilities remained dry for any who entered the premises.
Krystol T1 is a surface applied crystalline slurry treatment that transforms new or existing concrete into a permanent waterproofing barrier.
Krystol Bari-Cote is a high-strength crystalline concrete waterproofing top coat used to resurface and repair concrete or masonry.
As part of the Krystol Leak Repair System, Krystol Plug is a rapid-setting hydraulic cement product that when mixed with water is used to stop flowing water and repair leaking cracks, holes and joints in concrete.
