WATERPROOFING WORKS IN BUILDINGS

Abstract

Water penetration and seepage are the common defects faced by building structures. At current stage, many waterproofing treatments adopted by the industry tend to fail after a certain period of time. There exists a desperate need for viable long term solution of water penetration or seepage. Through qualitative research, this paper aims to search for the most viable and durable waterproofing practice in interest of the industry. By conducting interviews with industry practitioners and a case study, different waterproofing materials and systems are studied and analyzed. Findings reaffirm that building structures will always outlast waterproofing materials and severity of water penetration and seepage will increase over time. Hence, water-tightness performance of a building cannot be solely reliant on use of waterproofing materials as they will eventually fail. In light of such concern, structural waterproofing systems are introduced to provide long term protection and they have proven to be persistent and durable. Some good practices are identified to ensure the success of structural waterproofing systems. However, findings and discussions in this paper are constrained by research duration and environmental factor, so that the conclusion drawn may only be applicable to the studied case.