WATERPROOFING CONCRETE OPTIONS FOR FOUNDATIONS

A base crisis is perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a residential house, apart from it burning down. The foundation is basically the cornerstone of the house; it is what holds the frame in place by moving dead and live loads into the earth.

The vast majority of foundation issues are caused by water. Soil underneath a base that is damp can swell or lose strength.

That’s not even the most important excuse to keep your foundation dry. There’s also the issue of cold, wet basements and crawl spaces, which can cultivate mould and make below-ground interior spaces unhealthy in general. The issue is that ordinary concrete is not watertight. Although uncracked concrete (and what concrete is uncracked?) can usually keep liquid water out, water vapour will easily pass through. A good system allows water to be pumped away from concrete foundations and stopped from flowing into the concrete.

Foundation Waterproofing Information

FOUNDATION DAMPPROOFING

The words dampproofing and waterproofing are not interchangeable. Dampproofing is meant to keep soil moisture out, while waterproofing is designed to keep all moisture and liquid water out.

For several years, buildings have been dampproofed, a method that was once incorrectly referred to as waterproofing. Section R406 of the International Residential Code (IRC) defines the requirements that necessitate dampproofing or waterproofing. Any concrete or masonry base walls “which hold soil and enclose interior spaces and floors below grade shall be dampproofed from the top of the foetus to the top of the foetus to the top of the foetus to the top of the foetus to the top of the foetus to  the finished grade.”

The IRC then lists the materials that are allowed, including bituminous coating and acrylic-modified cement. The IRC only requires waterproofing “in places where an elevated water level or other extreme soil-water levels are likely to occur,” acco

Depending on the geographic position, terrain, topography, soil/water level levels, and foundation depth, achieving our goal of draining all water and maintaining a dry interior area below grade can be relatively easy or reasonably involved. Any structure built to hold water out has three components. From the ground up, they are:rding to the IRC.

• Drains to move water away from the bottom of the foundation
• Wall treatment to prevent moisture from moving through the wall and to route water down to the drains
• Ground surface treatment adjacent to the building to direct surface water away

Note that while this will be all underground before the construction is completed, doing things right the first time is important, as going back to repair it will be costly. A leaking base in a home will ruin the finishes and furnishings, as well as the construction itself. Water in a commercial building will destroy costly machinery and trigger significant delays in operations. All of which adds up to

HOW TO WATERPROOF A FOUNDATION

Scheduling and Planning For Concrete Waterproofing

Allow plenty of time to float for waterproofing. Recognize that decent waterproofers will be in high demand during the busy season if you’re using a waterproofing subcontractor. Waterproofing work will also be delayed by rain.

Waterproofing should be planned ahead of time. The finish grade line on the base walls would most likely be seen on the design elevations, but these lines should be checked with the architect if necessary. Above grade, you don’t want black, gooey waterproofing to reveal. Keep an eye out for shifts in grade level. If a line of waterproofing runs diagonally from one stage to the next, it won’t work.