Basement Waterproofing
This video is about the internal basement waterproofing of the block wall in a car park
Basement waterproofing has been around since basements have been constructed. Below ground level and sometimes even below the water table. The basement waterproofing design features are critical. They are therefore often subject to groundwater (hydrostatic) pressure. Even when a building is exposed just to climatic rainfall the walls of the substructure experience varying levels of hydrostatic pressure. If there is a failure in waterproofing membrane what happens? Hydrostatic pressure caused by this water, will result in the water penetrating the waterproofing membrane and eventually into your basement structure.
Basement Waterproofing for New Concrete based Construction –
The waterproofing is usually on the outside of the building structure and sometimes referred to as External Waterproofing. This is on the water side of the structure and is designed to stop water penetration of the structure
In New construction access to the walls is usually reasonably easy as foundations, footings are still exposed. Basement waterproofing on the waterside will always give you the best results.
Cementitious Basement Waterproofing
Cementitious products are among the easiest, if not the easiest, waterproofing materials to use. All that is needed is for your wall to be clean, efflorescence free, and dampened.
The Drizoro Products come to you as a premixed powder, add the prescribed amount of water (follow, READ instructions on bag, watch how to video links, contact us) and apply using stiff brush or MaxBrush, long-handled broom/brush They’re readily available from our OnlineWaterproofingShop easier.
Advantages of the Drizoro cementitious coatings and membrane systems:-
is that any small imperfections in the applications will not lead to long-term deterioration and delamination. This in turn as often results in membrane failure. Especially with many other waterproofing membrane systems. Leading to the total collapse of the waterproof membrane and resultant water penetration into the building.
Small imperfections in most cases, using Drizoro waterproofing products will self heal, and as the adhesion of Drizoro cementitious products works by becoming part of the crystalline matrix of the cement wall the membrane coating will not become delaminated with the resultant collapse or failure of other systems
We recommend that, to prevent damage to wall when backfilling, you use protection board
Basement Waterproofing – Remedial Works
In remedial basement waterproofing walls, floors, footings etc are usually buried making basement waterproofing repairs usually much more expensive. The main reason is that the area, which requires rectification and restoration may not be able to readily identified, as the external failure of the below ground waterproofing systems may not be exactly where the wet problem is showing on the internal wall of your basement. The next important reason is that to reach any point of failure will require excavation at the very least and it may not be a practical solution or even impossible to reach area required.
Internal Cementitious Basement Waterproofing –
Water has penetrated the basement. Walls, floor and is entering your room, car park. This causes damage to the building structure. And needs to be stopped. This avoids major works. The internal basement waterproofing work can commence immediately. Only requirement is a clean damp wall. When a wall below the water table and subject to continuous hydrostatic water pressure. It will necessary to drain from face of the walls to be able to waterproof it. Water running through the wall will wash the Drizoro membrane off.
Select the Maxseal product that is most suitable & and apply it to the concrete, block, masonry surface. Then use Drizoro Maxplug to seal drainage holes and coat them with Drizoro Maxseal.
Cementitious Internal waterproofing increases the longevity of the building structure as it stops water flow through the wall, floor, podium reducing erosion of the concrete, chemical destruction of the structural strength of the concrete, resultant creation of acidic conditions in the concrete which in turn will cause rusting of all steel reinforcement (expands up to eight times its original size) and eventual destruction of your wall.
Specification
Waterproofing Basements, Retaining Walls and Tunnels to prevent ingress of water due to static pressure.
Maxplug | Maxrest | Maxrite®700 | Maxseal Foundation | Maxseal Flex | Maxjoint Elastic
Testimonial from builder & Supplier
Michael Pollock from Privilege Homes is in the middle of building a custom 93 square, high-end residence in Mt Eliza. A major challenge for Michael was related to the waterproofing of a large 15m x 6m wine cellar that will hold 5,000 bottles and an adjoining 103,000 litre swimming pool.
Not only is the property sloping but there is also a large perspex window in-between the cellar and the pool. As you can imagine, finding a waterproofing solution for both these areas was a high priority.
Michael has been a customer of Bowens for many years and his account manager is Michael King from the Hastings branch. When the scale and complexity of the waterproofing requirements became evident. Andrew Healey, a Product Innovations Specialist at Bowens was called upon to come and visit the site.
As Andrew explains: “Michael knew that he needed waterproofing. He was looking at a few solutions but when we explained how easy it was to apply Drizoro. The fact that it could go onto a wet wall, that really ticked a lot of boxes for him.”
Michael agrees, saying that is was huge plus to be able to apply Drizoro to green concrete and not have to worry about full curing. This was especially the case as he had started the initial waterproofing process in the middle of winter. “We can apply Drizoro the day after concreting which speeds up the whole construction process,” says Michael.
Bowens invited Bruce Leslie, the Australian distributor of Drizoro from Scientific Waterproofing Products, to visit the project and advise on the correct solutions.
As Bruce explains: “We are dealing with many different surfaces including concrete block, concrete shotcrete and wood. Pipe protrusions coming into the pool were of particular concern as there would be vibration from pumps and water hammer which could cause issues.”
Maxjoint-Elastic Express: applied to the pipe protrusions. When the product sets. Not only is it waterproof but it is highly flexible which is a huge benefit in this application.
“Whilst we put Maxjoint-Elastic around the pipe we have a substrate that is very porous. We decided to use Drizoro Maxseal Flex on the concrete to ensure we have waterproofing continuity from the pipe all the way to the concrete”, says Bruce.
Drizoro Maxseal Flex used in a wide range of applications.
For example. Used for waterproofing retaining walls, basement car parks, rainwater tanks, rooftop concrete balconies, fish ponds and planter boxes.
As part of the consultancy service, Bruce trained one of Michael’s builders, Jeremy Bire who was responsible for the application of Drizoro. Whilst it is a straightforward process to apply Drizoro, having the training available gave Jeremy the confidence to proceed on his own.
Jeremy explains that: “Getting trained meant I had the right ratios of the mixing to make sure that it went on properly. With the guarantee of the product being in the installation being done correctly, it was very important to get that right”.
Andrew Healey is available for site visits. He will step builders through the entire process so that they can be 100% sure they are using the right products for the job. For Michael, this training meant he could be sure of the correct methodologies being applied so there would not be any issues in the future.
Michael says; “I like the fact that Drizoro is a cement-based product that sticks to cement. A lot of waterproofing products are acrylic based which don’t like it over time. I think it will be a great result at the end of the day.”
Drizoro Maxseal Flex is very versatile because it provides a negative pressure waterproofing solution. In areas that are difficult to access such as the back of a wall, you can still waterproof the wall by applying it to the front. Jeremy was keen to use Max Seal Flex on water tanks, which are a good example of this scenario.
Via Bowens Builders Choice
Drizoro products properly applied prevent basement water penetrations from causing further damage to your building structure. Where there is moisture or mould. Use Drizoro to prevent rising damp. On walls or floor.
Important Note Regarding Basement Waterproofing – Cutting Holes in Below Grade Slabs for Sump Pumps:
Whilst the OnlineWaterproofingShop Team believes the keeping water out and away from a structure is the ideal or best solution it is not always possible. The presence of a sump pump in a basement will create a weak point for water entry and allow the presence of a dampness for mold to grow.
The idea behind fitting a sump pump is born out of ignorance. The “you can’t stop it, pump it out” mentality is steeped in danger!
Firstly you need to break into a reinforced concrete base that has been specifically designed to take the loading of the lift mechanism. The actual lift shaft and possibly other areas of the building. This raft slab WILL NOT have been designed for someone to come along and cut a hole into the concrete. This will invariably involve exposing the steel reinforcing or worse cutting through it.
Far better to lock out the water from the structure from the positive or water side than just Relieving Hydrostatic Pressure. However, if this is not possible, then the negative side waterproofing is still a better solution.
OnlineWaterproofingShop Team
When your membrane fails on the water side and it isn’t possible to stop water. Drizoro Waterproof Membranes will keep the water against the hydrostatic pressure. Then watch how a dry wall is achieved with Drizoro Products in the video above