10.2. Waterproofing coatings

Waterproofing coatings   are strictly local and traditional device for protecting basements of buildings from groundwater. They have been used for centuries. Traces of coating with natural resins are found on the foundations of buildings built 200 years or more ago. With it, our ancestors outside protected underground structures from destruction under the action of groundwater.

Repair of such waterproofing is ineffective. With a constant moistening of surfaces, and especially the influx of water, new layers of insulation do not adhere well to old coatings. The adjacency of a horizontal carpet to a vertical one is difficult to solve, since the foundation divides them. Therefore, new insulation is usually performed from the basement side.

If a stable groundwater table is located below the basement floors, then the insulation, which is designed to protect against overhead, is made lightweight. The mastic of the so-called painting insulation is applied twice to the surface (Fig. 10.12 a).

Fig. 10.12. - Waterproofing basement walls

Sometimes they use plastering cement mortars with hydrophobic additives. For removal from surface water walls, blind spots with a slope from the building are increased.

Paint and plaster insulating coatings are unreliable, therefore, if the groundwater level is above the basement, multi-layer insulating carpets are used. They stick on the walls and the base of the floor.

In order to avoid separation by hydrostatic pressure, they are pressed from above by a protective structure made of concrete (as shown in Fig.10.12 b). Its thickness is taken depending on the water level in the wall ground. When the level is higher than the floor level by 0.8 m and more, the pressure structure is reinforced. The grids are laid as shown in Fig. 10.12 in.

Recently developed methods that are an alternative to the above. The industry has mastered the production of highly effective mastic solutions based on polymers with high waterproofing properties. Their injection into the wall material is widespread in industrialized countries. The reliability of such waterproofing is ensured by swelling of the composition in the pores. Due to this, all voids in the body of the walls are filled.