EQUUS ARCHIVES:
The Church of the Good Shepherd is the sole church in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. It was designed by Christchurch architect R.S.D Harman and opened in 1935. During the construction of the church, the builders were instructed that the site was left undisturbed, including the Matagouri bushes and rocks.
Originally the roof was wooden shingles but was replaced in 1957 with the slates that are currently there today.
In the early 1990s the mortar between the natural stone was breaking down due to the exposure of its location and water penetration was typical of the building’s interior. Lake Tekapo has one of the highest wind exposures in New Zealand and the wind funnels consistently down the lake to the lake front location.
One of Equus’ original Approved applicators, Brown Brothers Ltd, was contracted to do some maintenance on the building, the building was re-grouted and a coat of Equus’ Keim Lotexan was applied to the stonework. This was the perfect product for this application, as a high-performance water repellent designed specifically to protect mineral surfaces like the stone, brick, concrete, and mortar.
This controlled the moisture and mustiness of the church for over 17 years until the wind pressure took its toll again. In 2011 the Keim Lotexan application was repeated where it is still currently performing its best and keeping the Church of the Good Shepherd in tip-top shape!
Keim Lotexan:
Keim Lotexan is a colourless water repellant impregnation that reduces the water absorption of porous building materials. Suitable as a water repelling, protective treatment for mineral renders and coatings, fair-faced concrete, prefabricated concrete elements, exposed aggregate concrete, calcareous sandstone, and fibre-cement boards. Keim Lotexan provides protection from water, acid rain, and atmospheric pollution.
Manufactured in Germany by leading specialists for mineral building protection systems, Keim, the range of purely mineral-based paints provide solutions for building interiors and exteriors, to a range of mineral substrates.
