3/13/2015 CPD12015:Bestpracticeforbuildingwaterproofconcretebasements|MagazineFeatures|Building

CPD12015:Bestpracticeforbuildingwaterproof
concretebasements
20January2015

Toensurenewbasementsarewaterproof,itisessentialthatasuitablemethodologyisfollowedonsite.This
module,sponsoredbyWaterproofConcretewithSiteSupervision,explainshowdesignerscanspecifygood
workmanship

Howtotakethismodule
UBMsCPDdistancelearningprogrammeisopentoanyoneseekingtodeveloptheir
knowledgeandskills.Eachmodulealsooffersmembersofprofessionalinstitutionsan
opportunitytoearnbetween30and90minutesofcreditstowardstheirannualCPD
requirement.

ThisarticleisaccreditedbytheCPDCertificationService.ToearnCPDcredits,readthe
articleandthenclickthelinkbelowtocompleteyourdetailsandanswerthequestions.You
willreceiveyourresultsinstantly,andifallthequestionsarecorrectlyanswered,youwillbeabletodownload
yourCPDcertificatestraightaway.

CPDCREDITS:60MINUTES
DEADLINE:7MARCH2015

ThisCPDis
sponsoredby
Waterproof
Concretewith
SiteSupervision

INTRODUCTION
Creatingextraspaceatbasementlevelisanincreasinglypopularoptionfornewbuildhomes.However,basement
leaksareextremelycommonandverydifficulttofix.Thisisnotusuallyduetopoordesign.Toovercomeexpected
leaks,designersoftentakeabeltandbracesapproach,specifyingexternalmembranes,claycoveringsand
rendersfortheoutsideofthenewbasement,aswellasinternaldrainagebehindastudwallontheinterior.

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Unfortunately,throughnofaultofthedesignorthesystemsthemselves,thiscanbecounterproductive.Forastart,
evenifthebasementdoesntleak,thisapproachwillhavesubstantiallyreducedthebasementspaceavailablefor
theclient.Moreover,poorworkmanshipbyanyofthesubcontractors,leadingtoaminorsnaginoneofthesystems,
canbeenoughtounderminethebasementswaterproofing.Ifsuchasituationarises,thenumberofdifferent
productsusedcanmakeitdifficulttoidentifytheproblem,theinstallerresponsibleand,therefore,whoshouldpay
fortherepairs.

Forthisreason,itcanbeselfdefeatingtojustaddwaterproofingfeaturestothedesign.Alesscomplicated
approachistoensurethattheprimarystructuralmaterialisnotjustleakfree,butcompletelywaterproof.Thisplaces
responsibilityclearlywithoneproductandonesubcontractor.

ThisCPDintroducesamethodologydesignedtoensurethatconcretebasementsremainwaterproofwithoutthe
needfortapes,strips,membranes,render,clay,sumporpump.Underthisapproach,thesubcontractormustbuild
withthesteelandconcreteexactlyasspecifiedbutisotherwiseresponsiblefordealingwithallleaksthesecan
onlyhaveresultedfromincorrectapplicationofthematerials.Allconcretingworkshouldbemonitoredbytheclients
representativeonsite,whowillnoteanyfailuretocarryitoutinaccordancewiththerulessetoutbelow.

Severalsuppliersincluderepresentationtosomeextentwiththeirproduct,andWaterproofConcretewithSite
Supervisionoffersrepresentationthroughoutatnoextracost.Inanumberoftrialswithbothinexperiencedand
experiencedgangs,thisapproachhasbeenconsistentlysuccessful.Eventhoughtheconcretingneedstobecarried
outalittlemoreslowlyandwillcostslightlymore,moneyandtimewillbesavedoverall.

Thiswaterproofconcretefloorslabhasbeenpokeredandlevelled,thenpowerfloatedtoscreedrailswiththe
vibratingtampandfinishedwithanEasifloat
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Roleofthearchitect/specifier

Thespecificationoftheconcretemixisvitaltothesuccessofawaterproofbasementproject.Theconcreteshould
haveatestcertificatetoBSEN123908:2009,provingthattheconcretedeliveredtoandusedintheprojectis
completelyimpermeable.ThebasemixshouldbeaminimumP350,CEM1andoversandedforpumping.

ItshouldalsoincludeapowerfulPCEplasticiser.Thisisbecauseitisimportantthattheconcretehasalowwater
cementratio(WCR)inordertocloseoffthenetworkofcapillaries.Waterisneededtocompletehydrationthe
chemicalreactionthatcausesconcretetohardenbutthepowerfulplasticiserprovidestheconsistencyrequiredfor
theconcretetobeplacedandcompactedeasilywithlesswater.ThemaximumWCRshouldbe0.45inother
words,forevery1kgofcementused,nomorethan0.45lofwatershouldbeused.Forfurtherdetails,referto
BuildingCPD26from2014,Waterproofconcrete.

Nofurtheradditivesshouldbeaddedtothebasemix.

Inadditiontospecifyingthecorrectconcrete,thearchitectplaysanimportantroleinpreventingwateringressbeside
oroverthewaterproofconcrete.Athinnersectionintheconcrete,hiddenbytheexternalfinish,beneaththresholds,
aroundbasementwindowsandabovetheretainingelementofthebasementwallisacommon,highlyeffective
solution.

Thisbasementhasbeendesignedwithcurvedwallsandanupstand.Thecentralupstandextendsaboveground
leveltopreventahorizontalingressofwaterfrombelowgroundleveloutside.Theoutsideledgewillbeblockwork
andrenderwhiletheinsideledgeistosupportabeamandblockfloor

Verticalcrackinginawall
wheretheendsare
restrainedandthereis
insufficientdistributionsteel.
Thestructuralengineeris
responsiblefordesigning
steelreinforcementtocontrol
cracking,althoughthereare
noformulaeforcrackwidth
calculationinEurocode2

Roleofthestructuralengineer

Thestructuralengineerhastoensurethatthesteelreinforcementisdesignedappropriatelytocontrolcrackingan
essentialfactorinwaterproofconcrete.BSEN19923:2006/Eurocode2doesnotcontainformulaeforcrackwidth
calculation,statinginsteadthattheengineershouldrelyontests.StrongCEM1concretegetshotterandgains
strengthmorequicklythanCEM2mixeswithflyash(whicharedifficulttowaterproof).

Usefulsourcesforcrackwidthcalculationare:

CIRIAC660:Earlyagethermalcrackcontrolinconcrete,2007
Concretebasements:Guidanceonthedesignandconstructionofinsituconcretebasementstructurestothe
Eurocodes,theConcreteCentre,2012

Onesupplieroftheplasticiserthatwaterproofsconcretehaspublisheditsfindingsonline,at
www.waterproofconcrete.co.uk/structural%20engineer.html.Anothersupplieradvisestheuseofagreaternumberof
barsratherthanthickerbars:

Ina200mmthickwall,A393reinforcingmeshand12mmstarterbarson200mmcentresinbothfacesshould
provesufficient.Butina300mmthickwall,thiswillnotalwayspreventwiderverticalcracks.Useextra
10mmdistributionbarsmidwaybetweenthehorizontalweldedA393reinforcingmeshbarsthatis,at

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100mmcentres.
Atcornerstheseextrabarsneedonlycrossby10mmandstraightlengthslapbyonly50mm.
Slabstendtocrackfarlessthanwalls,probablybecausetheyloseheatmoreeasilythanconcreteheldin
formwork.A393reinforcingmeshinthetopandbottomofa200300mslabshouldbesufficient.
Atslabwalljoints,twofacesof12mmstarterbarsarenotalwayssufficienttocompletelycontrolcracking.
Asaminimum,16mmbarsshouldbeusedontheoutsidefaceand12mmbarsontheinnerface,allon
200mmcentres.
Someengineersliketousecappingbarsallalongthetopofawall,andsometimesevenacentraldistribution
bar.However,concretecannotbepouredthroughatubetothebottomorproperlycompactedwithavibrating
pokerwiththisamountofobstruction.Instead,thesesamebarsareparticularlyusefularrangedthroughout
thewallsteelon1200mmverticalandhorizontalcentres.Aswillbediscussedlater,wallsaremoreleakfree
whenpouredintwohalflifts.ThereforetheseUbarsshouldbeinthefirstpouraswellasthesecond,keeping
thewallsteelproperlyspacedapartthroughout.

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Ubarsareparticularlyeffectivewhenarrangedthroughoutthewallsteelon
1200mmverticalandhorizontalcentres

Roleofthesubcontractor

Usingthewaterproofconcreteandreinforcementspecified,thesubcontractorbuilds
thereinforcedconcretestructure.However,thisalltoooftenresultsinleaksthrough
voids,dirtandcrackswhichthenrequireadditionalwaterproofingproducts.
However,ifthefollowingrulesarefollowed,thisshouldpreventtheformationof
voids,dirtandcracks,sothatthespecifiersfirstchoiceofwaterproofconcreteisall
thatisneededtopreventanyingressofwater.

Supervision

Trainingandmonitoringoftheconcretingteamisvital.Severalconcreteadditive
suppliersincludemonitoringintheirpricing(toagreaterorlesserextent).The
presenceofacompetentpersonwhoisabletonotewheretoomuchconcreteis
pouredinonego,wherethepokerismissedandsoon,reducestheoccurrenceof
thesemistakes.Standardswillrisefurtherifthespecifierrequestsareportafter
everypour.

Kickers

Concretekickersshouldneverbeused,astheyareallbutimpossibletoformwith
waterproofconcrete.Iftheyareformedatthesametimeastheslab,thenthekicker
concretesinksintotheslabduringcompaction.Iftheyareformedwithwaterproof
concretemuchlater,theconcreteistooshallowtocompactproperlywithoutlosing
theconcreteasaspray.Thatiswhykickersaregenerallymadewiththewrong
concreteandarenotcompactedwellenoughtopreventleaks.Furtherdetailsand
techniquesforavoidingkickerscanbefoundat
http://waterproofconcrete.co.uk/kickers.html.

Joints

Jointsmustbethoroughlyscabbledthemechanicalorchemicalprocesswherebya
thinlayerisremovedfromthesurface.Theyshouldthenbecleanedandkeptclean
untiltheyarecoveredwithsoundwaterproofconcrete.

Tapesandstripsinjointscanbecounterproductive,asworkerssometimesrelaxtheireffortstosucceedwiththe
concretealone.However,thereareoccasionswhenatapeorstripisawiseaddition,suchaswhencastingawall
againsttheexcavation,whereabsolutecleanlinessisimpossible.

Formwork

Concretereleasedfromapumporskipatthetopofastandardwalllosesgrouttosteelandformworkcrashes
againsttheslabandsegregatesandisoftentoofardownforthepokertoreachproperly.Forthesethreereasons,
thebottomsofwallsveryoftenleak.Toobtaingoodconcretethroughoutawall:

Theverticalformsmustbenohigherthan1.8mforeachpour.Avibratingpokershouldbeusedtocompact
theconcrete,butthismustbeliftednomorethan1.7mfromthebottombeforeitcanbemovedalongsothat
evenifitcurlsitstillreachesthebase,andtheworkerliftingthisheavyitemcandosoforlongerbefore
fatiguereduceshiseffectiveness
Thespacebetweentheverticalfacesofsteelshouldbeaminimumof120mmthroughoutif20mmaggregate
isused,oraminimumof80mmif10mmaggregateisused.Thisistobesurethataconcretingtremiepipe
canbeinsertedbetweenthesteeltowithin1,250mmofthebottombeforeconcreteisreleased
Formworktierodsshouldbethreadedfibrereinforcedplastic,oranothermaterialthatcanbecastinto

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providealifetimewaterproofsealwithoutneedofrepairbecauserepairsgetmissed.

Concretepour

Theconcretemustbepouredintotheformatfrequentintervals
Itmustneverbefilledmorethan500mmdeep,aftercompaction,inasinglepass
Concretemustneverbeallowedtofreefallmorethan1,250mm.Thismeansthatatremiepipewillhavetobe
loweredintothewallsbeforedischargingthemix
Thepokershouldneverbeheldstill.Itisputintotheconcreteandwithdrawnslowly,thenmovedalong
200mm
Beforetheformworkisreleased,theconcretemusthavecooledtoanambienttemperature
Allformworkshouldberemovedsothatalloftheconcretecanbeinspected
Waterproofconcreteisfarfromselflevellingandbeginstostiffenquitequickly
Usuallyanacceptablefinishisachievedthroughpokeringalone.Ifasmootherfinishisrequired,apowerfloat
finishshouldbespecified.

Addingtheadditivetotheconcrete

Ifthisiscarriedoutatthebatchingplant,thetruckdrivermaynotknowexactlyhowmuchconcreteisgoingintohis
lorryforinstance,ifheisgoingtodeliverthelastpartload.Thereforeitshouldbecarriedoutonsitebyamore
competentperson,suchasasuppliersmonitor.Moreover,iftheconcreteiswrongforanyreason,themonitoron
sitecanchecktheticketandtakealookatthemixbeforetheadditivegoesinafterwhichpointtheloadmustbe
acceptedandpaidfor.Themonitorspresencebesidethetruckwhenitarrivesalsopreventsunauthorisedwater
beingadded,whichisalltoocommononsite.

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Backfilling

Thewaterproofconcretemustnotbecoveredinanymaterialthatwillholdanyamountofwateruntiltheconcrete
hasautogenouslyhealed.Thisappliesmainlytobackfill.

Howtotakethismodule
UBMsCPDdistancelearningprogrammeisopentoanyoneseekingtodeveloptheir
knowledgeandskills.Eachmodulealsooffersmembersofprofessionalinstitutionsan
opportunitytoearnbetween30and90minutesofcreditstowardstheirannualCPD
requirement.

ThisarticleisaccreditedbytheCPDCertificationService.ToearnCPDcredits,readthe
articleandthenclickthelinkbelowtocompleteyourdetailsandanswerthequestions.You
willreceiveyourresultsinstantly,andifallthequestionsarecorrectlyanswered,youwillbeabletodownload
yourCPDcertificatestraightaway.

CPDCREDITS:60MINUTES
DEADLINE:7MARCH2015

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Readers'comments(2)
ChrisHARRIS|19Feb152:32pm

AgainaphotowithverypoorHealthandSafetyappearsonyourwebsite.

JamesHockey|4Mar159:28am

"....aswellasinternaldrainagebehindastudwallontheinterior.

Unfortunately,throughnofaultofthedesignorthesystemsthemselves,thiscanbecounterproductive.Fora
start,evenifthebasementdoesntleak,thisapproachwillhavesubstantiallyreducedthebasementspace
availablefortheclient.Moreover,poorworkmanshipbyanyofthesubcontractors,leadingtoaminorsnagin
oneofthesystems,canbeenoughtounderminethebasementswaterproofing.Ifsuchasituationarises,the
numberofdifferentproductsusedcanmakeitdifficulttoidentifytheproblem,theinstallerresponsibleand,
therefore,whoshouldpayfortherepairs".

Thisisinpartmisleading,aninternalcavitydrainagemembranetakesup8mmofspace,andgenerallythe
keytosuccessinwaterproofingistohaveasinglepointofresponsibilityforthewaterproofing,withoneparty
thatdesigns,installs,guaranteesandinsuresthework,managingthewholeprocess.

Waterproofconcretesystemsareallwellandgoodbutsuppliersofthismethoddonottakedesign
responsibility,andtypicallyguaranteesdonotcoverthecostsofinvestigationstolocatethepointofany
penetration,internalstripout,ormakinggoodafterwards,whichisthemostexpensivepart.

Withresidentialthestructureisgenerallyhiddenbyinsulation(withpolytheneDPMoverinfloors)/screed,dry
liningorinnerblockleaves(badideagenerally),andinsomecasesthewateronlyshowsonmidfloorinternal
blockwallswhichbearontotheraftandthereforeintowetfloorinsulationspacemeaningthatitisdifficultto
readilylocatethepointofpenetration.AtthispointIhaveseenclientsessentiallytold'youshowuswhereit
isleakingandwe'llfixit'andtheythenhavetostartspendingoninvestigations.

Thisisworstcaseandtheyarenotalllikethis,butallformsofsystemsufferissuenomatterwhatanyone
suppliertellsyou,andallsystemshaveadvantages/disadvantages.Inmyopinionitreallycomesdowntothe
peopleinvolvedindesignthroughtoinstallationandbeyond.

Asfarasmysources..I'vebeenremedyingproblembasements,includingonbehalfofNHBC/Zurich/Premier
Guaranteesforthelastdecade.

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