Plaza decks sit over garages, lobbies and podiums and carry a full assembly: membrane, protection, drainage, often insulation, and then the overburden. Once covered, the membrane is very expensive to reach, so details at drains, curbs, expansion joints and penetrations get extra layers, and the deck is usually flood tested before any overburden goes on.
Plaza deck leak over the lobby again, and of course it's under six feet of planter soil.
On plaza decks, drains and their clamping rings are inspected before the flood test, because most deck leaks start at a drain.
Also heard as
- podium deck
Related terms
Hot rubberized asphalt
A rubber-modified asphalt melted in a kettle and squeegeed onto decks as a thick membrane with no seams.
Flood test
Damming a membrane area and filling it with water for a day or more to prove it does not leak.
Drainage composite
A dimpled or ribbed plastic core with filter fabric that carries water down to drains instead of letting it sit on the membrane.
ELD
Electronic leak detection, using a small electric current to pinpoint breaches in a membrane.