報章專訪 - 蘋果日報

Newspaper interview: 15 Sep 2004 (Source: Apple Daily)

Developed in Japan Waterproofing and Heat Insulation Easy Maintenance

Ultimate Solution for Roof Leakage Makes Its Debut in Hong Kong

Reporter: Choi Long Ching

It is common for roof leakage to occur in old buildings with disrepair. However, even new deluxe houses worth a few million dollars have to face the same problems. An engineer told us that Hong Kong’s traditional roof waterproofing works involved the application of asphalt on the uneven surface at the bottom of the roof, making the waterproofing layer easily damaged and hard to repair. As such, he introduces the latest “fiberglass panel system” from Japan for installation on rooftops. The system not only performs well in waterproofing and heat insulation, but also achieves easy installation and maintenance. Project costs can thus be reduced by at least 30%.

Mrs Yung of Royal Palms, Yuen Long, owns two 3-story houses. A few years ago, she moved into one of the houses and found that there were roof leakage problems. Then, she moved to the other house but still faced the same problems at her bedroom. It was so serious that water buckets were used to collect water from the roof. She had tried many different methods but all in vain. Recently, she learned that certain house owners had hired engineering staff from Japan to install "fiberglass panel system" on their roofs and roof leakage problems were then solved. "I learned recently that a Hong Kong agent was introducing such system, so I try it right away."

Yesterday, engineers from Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan gathered on Mrs Yung’s rooftop. Among them, Junichi Hasegawa, Chief Engineer of Sanko Techno Co. Ltd., has come from Japan to supervise the project. He told us that this "fiberglass panel system” for waterproofing and heat insulation was developed in 1999. It is the first time for exporting the system out of Japan, and Hong Kong is the first stop.

10 years of waterproofing by fiberglass

Hasegawa said that the system had the advantage of guaranteeing its waterproofing effect for more than 10 years simply by installing the fiberglass panels on the roof surface. The honeycomb structure insulation foam at the lower part of each panel allows air to circulate and facilitates heat insulation. The temperature difference between the roof surface and the indoor temperature below the roof can be as high as 30oC. "Since the weather of Hong Kong is rainy and hot, this system is suitable for Hong Kong."

This waterproofing and heat insulation roofing system is introduced by Great China Trading Co. Ltd. and installed by Synergy Engineering Solutions Ltd. Cheung Ka Fai, engineer and Project Director of Synergy, told us that he had supervised many building projects and found that roof leakage problems were very common because the waterproofing layer was at the bottom of the roof. “The waterproofing layer at the bottom is damaged easily and hard to maintain. My belief is that the waterproofing layer should be placed on the roof surface.”

He also revealed that he had been constantly looking for a roof waterproofing system from foreign countries. As soon as he learned that Sanko of Japan had a new roof waterproofing technology which was “really for roof surface”, he applied for the system to be exported to Hong Kong. "This new system involves the installation of pre-fabricated panels on top of the roof. It is direct and simple, and is different from the traditional method of chiseling all over the roof. The traditional method is costly and disturbing to occupants, and the worst case is that leakage problems appear again in a few years’ time.”

Picture caption: Cheung Ka Fai (right), Project Director of Synergy, introduces the roof waterproofing system. The grey upper layer is waterproofing fiberglass, and the white layer is honeycomb structure insulation foam.

Comparison between Japanese and Hong Kong Roof Waterproofing Methods