Gutjahr drainage mats protects G7 venue Schloss Elmau

Gutjahr drainage mats protect G7 venue Schloss Elmau

A 20-hour fire and four million litres of extinguishing water: this destroyed large parts of Schloss Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in August 2005. However, the luxury hotel was rebuilt. Just in time for the G7 summit, it has been restored to its former glory – just like the new Schloss Elmau Retreat. Surface drainage mats from Gutjahr protect the balconies and terraces of both hotels.

Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and the other state and government leaders of the seven leading economic countries: when they stroll around Schloss Elmau on 7th and 8th June 2015, there will be no sign of the large fire, which was caused by a forgotten electric blanket. The ancestral home Schloss Elmau rose like Phoenix from the ashes. It opened its doors as the "Cultural Hideaway & Luxury Spa" in July 2007.

Modern hotel in old walls

Castle owner Dietmar Müller-Elmau invested about 40 million Euros in restoring the listed building. He developed the concept together with architect Christoph Sattler, a cousin of Müller-Elmau and grandson of the master building from 1914, and a team of other architects and interior designers. The basic idea: to create a modern wellness hotel within the old walls. The result is a modern luxury hotel in the top class, five star superior. It is one of the "World's Leading Hotels", and has won many awards.

An additional new building opened in March 2015: the Schloss Elmau Retreat, 150 metres to the west of the actual castle on a concealed hillside. The politicians at the G7 summit have a breathtaking view of the Wetterstein mountains from the balconies and terraces of the new building.

Modern hotel in old walls

Faster drainage

The water drainage capability has been improved by up to 150 times with a capillary passive drainage mat beneath the drainage mortar.

Complete rebuild

It all started with a horrendous catastrophe. However, castle owner Dietmar Müller-Elmau managed to see the positive side of things. He used the destruction for a complete rebuild of the "old" Schloss Elmau – and the implementation of his vision of a cosmopolitan plush hotel in accordance with the American model. For example, the small rooms became apartments and suites with large bathrooms. A 3,500 square metre bathhouse was created on the basis of plans from 1916 which were never realised. And active environmental protection was also used in the planning. The heating in the new castle comes from its own wood chip heating plant.

The general ambience is high quality, modern and international – and in close touch with nature and comfortable at the same time. This is due to the attitude of Müller-Elmau: "I love the art of mixing, even though it drives designers and architects, suppliers and tradespeople to despair". The qualified business economist, philosopher and theologian also put a great deal of value on selecting top quality and natural; materials, getting inspiration from his trips all over the world.

Natural stone for balconies and terraces

This also included the covering of balconies and terraces: 650 square metres of Brazilian quartzite was laid in this case – an exciting project for Abel Tiles from Otzing. The installers worked in Schloss Elmau for six months, with 45 workmen at peak periods. However, the extremely high quality demands of the client and the extremely tight deadlines from order placement to completion were a challenge for the installer, Franz Bartlsperger from Abel Tiles in Otzing.

Then there were the extreme weather conditions which prevail at an elevation of 1,000 metres: In the winter it is very cold and rains a lot, and the temperature fluctuate considerably. Since natural stone in particular reacts in a very sensitive way to this, precautions were required – so that the valuable covering would not have to be renovated again after a short time, e.g. because of unsightly efflorescence and moisture marks.

A surveyor recognized this challenge beforehand and stipulated that AquaDrain EK from Gutjahr must be used. The balcony specialist developed this anti-capillary surface drainage mat specially for fixed laying of natural stone on drainage mortar. And precisely this combination – drainage mortar plus surface drainage mat – is also recommended for outdoor coverings in the latest bulletin from the Deutsche Naturwerksteinverband (DNV). Because the drainage performance of drainage mortar alone is insufficient, as examinations by the Institut für textile Bau- und Umwelttechnik (tBU) show. Above all, the horizontal water removal is poor, which can lead to problems particularly when drain grates are being installed.

AquaDrain EK provides protection from damage. The capillary passive surface drainage mat supports the entire covering. Because of this, the drainage channels form a defined cavity of more than 90 percent, so that water can drain away quickly and effectively. At the same time, backwater on the waterproofing no longer flows back into the covering structure. Because of the back ventilation the entire structure dries more quickly. Another special feature of this innovative system is the mesh, which remains permanently water-permeable and is the only one with a tested long-term suitability certificate. This means that it does not clog because of the soluble lime in the drainage mortar.

Convenient transitions from inside to outside

The transition from the balconies and terraces into the interior were a critical issue in the renovation of Schloss Elmau. According to DIN 18195, part 5, waterproofing must be led 15 centimetres above the top edge of the covering. This is intended to prevent water from running behind the waterproofing and getting into the interior. However, "tripping hazards" such as this did not fit in with the architectural approach of the luxury hotel. For this reason, a Gutjahr solution was also used in this case: the transitions were able to be reduced to a comfortable 5 centimetres in accordance with the standards using special stainless steel drain grates. At the same time, they prevent the interior from becoming damp. They collect the water at the transition from outside to inside and lead it into the closed surface drainage system. The water removal capacity has to be appropriately high so that no accumulation occurs – drainage mortar alone could no longer keep up with the Gutjahr drainage system at this point at the latest. The drain grates are so flexible that their height can be easily adjusted and were able to be set to the correct length directly on the building site.

Damage-free for 8 years

The construction work for the second hotel; started six years after the opening of Schloss Elmau. The balconies and terraces of the main house were still in perfect condition at this time. The client therefore decided to also protect the outdoor areas of the new Schloss Elmau Retreat using Gutjahr drainage systems. No sooner said than done: the team from Abel Tiles laid the same Brazilian quartzite that was used for the main building on about 400 square metres of terrace area – also protected with AquaDrain EK. Installer Bartlsperger is extremely satisfied with the result, and the G 7 participants expect all of the outdoor areas to be perfect.

About Schloss Elmau

Schloss Elmau was built between 1914 and 1916, and had an eventful history behind it before the fire and the rebuild. Initially it was a holiday destination for guests of author, philosopher and theologian Dr. Johannes Müller. From 1941 Schloss Elmau was used as a front convalescent home for soldiers, after 1945 it was first a field hospital for the US army and later as a convalescent home for TB patients and Holocaust survivors. It did not become a hotel again until 1951. Numerous famous guests such as Loriot, Johannes Rau, Yehudi Menuhin and Benjamin Britten withdrew to here. The castle owner since 1997 has been Dietmar Müller-Elmau, the grandson of the founder. He converter Schloss Elmau into a cosmopolitan luxury hotel, and also built Schloss Elmau Retreat.