Negative Waterproofing

Service Description

Water and moisture considerably reduce the value of a basement as living space or storage area. When moisture enters a basement, the conditions for the formation of mold become favorable.

Once mold has formed, it continually produces spores and releases them into the surrounding air, allowing them to spread through the rest of the building, which not only causes a musty smell but also reduces the living quality and even cause health disorders.

The cause of water or moisture in basements is usually ground water or ground moisture which penetrates into the basement through the floor slab or the basement walls. Such defects are frequently encountered in older buildings, but new buildings can also be affected.

Construction is usually carried out during the dry summer months, so designers, owners and craftsmen sometimes neglect the seasonal changes which will expose a basement to water in the fall and winter. As a result the waterproofing of new structures is often neglected and does not provide permanent protection.

Why is it necessary?

Once the interior surface of the wall is dry, clean and stable, and fillets have been installed, the waterproof coating can be applied. For successful negative-side waterproofing, our products have the following properties:

  • The waterproofing product should be mineral-based, just like the brick or concrete substrate. It has to become one with the substrate
  • The waterproofing product ideally penetrates a little into the substrate. That way it cannot be pushed off by water pressure
  • The material has to be open to vapor diffusion so that water vapor can penetrate the cured coating
  • The material should be free of chlorides so that it does not harm the steel reinforcement
  • The product should resist any high-water pressure coming from the positive side
  • The product should be easy to apply