Basement Waterproofing

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
Basement waterproofing-on-wall-new-construction-exterior-waterproofing, basement water

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 maynot be a practical  solution or even impossible to reach area required.

Basement Waterproofing-internal-ingress-seepage-rising damp

Internal  Cementitious Basement Waterproofing – water has penetrated the wall, floor and is entering your room, car park causing damage to building structure and needs to be stopped. Avoids major works – all that is needed to commence the internal basement waterproofing is a clean damp wall. Should the wall be below the water table and subject to continuous hydrostatic water pressure then it will be necessary to allow all water to be drained from face of the areas to be waterproofed.

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.

Specification Seal Against Hydrostatic Pressure

Method

  1. Prepare area to be treated by removing any loose materials ensuring a clean and sound surface. If rendered remove all render, be sure to have a clean, sharp joint between wall and slab.
  2. When areas are subject to ground water pressure it may be necessary to drill holes in the wall. This allows ground water to drain. Leaving the face wall to be treated only damp. That means water is not flowing through the wall.
  3. Should any of the cracks be leaking open the crack minimum 10mm by 20mm deep, clean and apply a single of  MAXSEAL FOUNDATION (not gushing) leave overnite and much of the crack will not be leaking
  4. Fill cracks using MAXREST WHERE NOT LEAKING and MAXPLUG where leaking.
  5. Then, to moving cracks or joints, apply onto a damp surface 150mm vertically from joint using MAXSEAL FLEX and return to slab 150mm incorporating MAXMESH into the initial coat (this method to be used for all cold, construction and dummy joints).
  6. If flowing water use MAXPLUG to halt the water flow (use as per technical bulletin)
  7. If pinholes of water are visible after 14 hours after the first coat, drill and plug area with MAXPLUG until area is dry.
  8. Apply second coat of MAXSEAL FLEX
  9. Apply MAXSEAL/MAXSEAL FOUNDATION onto the remaining area of the wall overlapping MAXSEAL FLEX crack repair by 50mm.
  10. If further leakages are notable repeat method point 7.
  11. Apply final coat of MAXSEAL/MAXSEAL FOUNDATION to damp surface
  12. Minimum of 14 hours before rendering, 7 days before painting or no damp looking areas on the wall.
  13. If the surface area has a low porosity value MAXSEAL FLEX should be used in place of MAXSEAL/MAXSEAL FOUNDATION.
  14. When excessive amounts of salt are present on the structure. Do not use Maxseal /Maxseal Foundation in these areas until it is removed.
    Please refer to efflorescence specifications. treating-efflorescence-salts-for-adhesion.pdf

basement waterproofing, basement water

 

Basement Waterproofing Products

MAXJOINT® Elastic expansion joint sealantMaxjoint Elastic Pails

$71.50$303.18

 

hydraulic cement instantly stops running water

Maxplug

$26.57$285.23

 

drizoro maxrest concrete spalling repairs, quick setting, non-shrink, non-slump mortar, used restoring concrete and masonry to its original form. Used for repairing areas affected by concrete cancer and spallingMaxrest

$50.93$150.25

 

 

A flexible waterproof coating for concrete, masonry, blocks, pre-fab panels and brick. It is a two component product, one part a cement powder, the other a latex liquid. Used for swimming pools, decks, planter boxes and areas subject to movement.

Maxseal Flex White & Grey

$108.23$394.99

 

 

Drizoro Maxmesh rolls 50mm and 200mmDrizoro Maxmesh

$3.50$83.50

drizoro MaxBrush_apply_cementitious_coatingDrizoro MaxBrush

$17.85$21.50

How Drizoro products have been used to waterproof a wine cellar

Maxplug | Maxrest | Maxrite®700 | MaxSeal Foundation | Maxseal Flex White or Grey | Maxjoint Elastic | Arma Blue Protection

How Drizoro products have been used to waterproof a wine cellar.

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, a flexible waterproof membrane, was applied to the pipes. 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 can be used in a wide range of applications. For example, it can be 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 on the walls they can be used to prevent rising damp.

Basement Waterproofing - Wikipedia
Basement waterproofing – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basement_waterproofing Basement. Waterproofing involves techniques and materials used to prevent water from penetrating the basement of a house or a building. Waterproofing a basement that is below ground level can require the application of sealant material. The installation of drains and sump pumps, and more

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basement_waterproofing

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

 

 

 

 

 

 


Use this information in conjunction with the appropriate technical data bulletins. © DRIZORO S.A. All rights reserved. © Scientific Waterproofing Products Pty Ltd. ABN: 155 659 948 All rights reserved. Address: 3 Watson Road. Padstow. NSW 2211. AUSTRALIA.  Tel: +61 2 9771 0011 Fax: +61 2 9771 0111
Email:- info@scientificwaterproofingproducts.com.au National Hotline: 1300 303 301 National Fax: 1300 369 932 DRIZORO Construction Products:

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