The Universidad de San Carlos (USAC) in Guatemala was founded January 31, 1676 by Royal order of Carlos II. It is the largest and oldest university in Guatemala, and the fourth founded in the Americas.. It had previously been known as the Escuela de Santo Tomás (School of Saint Thomas), founded in 1562 by the priest Francisco Marroquín. The University finally gained international acceptance by Official Decree from Pope Innocent XI, on June 18, 1687.

Recently, the university undertook the construction of a new three story parking garage, for which the roof would be used as a walking plaza. As cars would be parked underneath, the plaza had to be 100% watertight to prevent water damage to the vehicles.

Vides Construction undertook the project, and while they were looking for a concrete waterproofing solution, they were approached by Kryton’s distributor Duratop. Raymond, Vice President of Duratop introduced Vides Construction GM, Robert Vides, to the Kryton waterproofing system. They explained how time and man power could be saved by adding Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM) concrete waterproofing admixture directly to the concrete mix itself, and how the structure would only get more waterproof over time.

Mr. Vides was hesitant to try a new product at first, but was convinced after learning about how it could help his project succeed long-term. After placing the concrete, the Vides team flooded the plaza for two weeks to test the waterproofing capabilities. After an inspection by the project owners, they were happy to find that the product worked as promised, and the garage beneath was dry.

Below are testimonials by Robert Vides and by the USAC representative who supervised the project, Herbert Miranda. Both are pleased with the results after trying Kryton’s KIM, and it was the right choice for their project.