Designing Watertight Basements: Protection Grades and System Selection

How to choose and combine below-ground waterproofing systems so a basement meets its required grade of protection.

Learning objectives

1. Explain the grades of waterproofing protection and the three types of protection (barrier, structurally integral and drained) used in below-ground design. HSW
2. Compare barrier systems: waterproofing mortars, bituminous coatings, liquid-applied, torch-applied, self-adhered, polymeric and fully bonded membranes.
3. Select joint waterproofing details, including swelling seals, PVC waterstops, injection hoses and joint sealing tapes. HSW
4. Identify the critical design and installation factors that decide whether a basement stays watertight. HSW

Modules0 of 5 done

1

Why basements leakWater in the ground, and what a basement has to keep out · 9 min

Open

2

Grades and types of protectionHow dry the space must be, and how the structure will achieve it · 13 min

Open

3

Barrier systemsCoatings, sheet membranes and how they compare · 13 min

Open

4

Sealing the jointsEvery joint is a weak point, whatever the barrier system · 10 min

Open

5

Getting the details rightWhere leaks start, and how to stop them at design stage · 10 min

Open

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Assessment10 questions · pass mark 80% · 2 attempts