Most of the terraces are laid with brick-lime jelly and pressed tiles or brickbat coba for providing nominal slopes on the roof slab to drain off water through the rainwater down-take pipes. This lime concrete over the RCC is meant for gradation and hydration purpose only and not used as a waterproofing agent. So, the RCC should be protected with waterproofing system.

Since water has a tendency to take the weaker path, the entry of water from the terrace of even the ninth or 10th floor can be the cause for leaks in the ground floor or any other floor of that building. Also, leaks may take place through cracks on the top and sides of the parapet walls leading to entry of water into the building. Improper sealing of the rainwater down take pipes also leads to water leaks in the walls/slab of the building.

 

Terrace precautions

Care should be taken to provide proper slopes on the slab to prevent stagnation of water.

All opened-up tile joints have to be filled with a polymer - modified waterproof mortar and sealed.

Damaged tiles have to be replaced with new ones.

Any exposed concealed pipe-electrical/others on the terrace has to be sealed properly to prevent water seepage through them into the building.

 

We also offer waterproofing solutions for Seepage from Sunshades. These are widely used in various industries.

These water tanks are potential sources of leaks where proper waterproofing has not been done. The water from these tanks can enter the slab, beams, columns or brick work of the total building and damage the structure as a whole.

It is always advisable to have R.C.C. tanks and not overhead tanks made of brickwork. Brickwork tanks crack and deteriorate. Even waterproofing in such cases does not help.

Precautions: Proper water-proofing on the internal walls of the water tank have to be done after sealing the gap between all pipe lines and the walls with a polymer-modified waterproof mortar.

Cracks in the internal/external walls occurring due to various reasons can be a source for water ingress into the building.

Precautions: All cracks up to 5 mm shall be cut-open up to a width and depth of 5 mm and filled up with a movement accommodative acrylic paintable sealant However, if larger cracks are formed due to differential settlement, various other forms of recourses like micro-piles are available to prevent future occurrences of these cracks. The existing cracks thereafter can be sealed using paintable sealants.

 

 

The ingress of water into the building leads to formation of dampness in the internal walls leading to fungal growth which causes staining and discolouration.

Preventive measures: Primarily, the source of leakage has to be arrested. An internal anti-fungal, acrylic based, crack-bridging wall coating can be applied..

 

Leakage of water can take place due to failure of concealed pipeline joints and the pipe itself. Such leaks can be identified as dampness and leaks show up continuously even during peak summer, when there are no rains.

Leakage from toilets due to failure of water proofing of the sunken slab also takes place.

Protection measures: When concealed pipelines are laid, pressure-testing has to be carried out for 24 hours to ensure that leaks do not take place. In case leaks are noticed later, the pipelines have to be checked on a trial and error basis and the defective pipe has to be replaced or the joint sealed properly. The leaks from the toilet can be stopped by using an epoxy-based mortar in all tile joints on the floor, water outlet point and joints.

 

Water logging around the building and increase in ground water table can also lead to water coming up through the flooring by capillary action.

Prevention: To prevent water logging around the building, the level of the floor around the building has to be raised above the road level and sloped towards the road or external drain to drain-off water.