Nestled atop a man-made island in the middle of the ‘Pichhola’ lake in all its pristine glory, the Taj Lake Palace emulates the magnificence and royalty of Udaipur – the city of lakes.

Part of the experience of this floating 18th century historic palace is a beautiful pool, which through years of use and structural issues, fell in disrepair. Leakage problems rendered it unusable and necessitated a complete renovation. But it was a demanding job, because unlike an ordinary pool, it faced pressures from the lake water caving in. Given that the level of lake water was higher than the level (depth) of the pool, the pressure on the outside of the pool walls was tremendous.

The heavy rains that showered over the palace and the pool around the time of renovation, along with transportation issues further meant that the renovation could be far from a smooth sail. Since such projects come with a tight timeline, only products that could fully stand up to the challenge would work.

This is where MYK LATICRETE made its entry. Having worked on the swimming pool in Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, and acing it, the management had sheer confidence in the hardiness of MYK LATICRETE’s products to follow through on such demanding applications and withstand complications.

The installation products that were used for the task at hand were as follows:

• For sturdy water proofing, the pool surface was prepped with LATICRETE^® 9237 liquid rubber waterproof which formed a membrane when it was applied to the walls and floor on cement sand screed. In order to safeguard from water leakage, the fabrication was done on the coves and corners. A versatile product with an excellent track record, the LATICRETE^® 9237 can be used under both thick and thin bed installations of a whole range of finishes.
• LATICRETE^® 3642 Latex admix was mixed with cement and sand to form a 5-6mm thick levelling bed over the waterproofing membrane for installation of the marble and stone. It imparted enhanced flexibility and compressive strength, improved adhesion, and facilitated resistance to seismic and thermal shock.
• To further secure from Lake Water seepage into the swimming pool, the highly efficient Makrana pure white marble and Jaisalmer stone of varying sizes from 0.15m x 0.15m to 0.38m x0.38m were to be fixed on the vertical walls, and floor, deck area of the pool. Stones of size 6.3m x 11.8m stones were to be installed in the 4 ft deep pool. For these applications, the LATICRETE^® 111 Latex Fortified Thin-set Adhesive combined with LATICRETE^® 73 Crete Admix was used. Seeing as it is shock and impact resistance and has a flexible high strength formula, it made for strong bonding.

The MYK LATICRETE team ensured timely completion of the project with utmost deftness. MYK LATICRETE once again proved its mettle in meeting the demands of the most testing applications with its repertoire of products, flanked by superior performance and versatility.