DIY tape waterproofing

An important role in the process of building the foundation of the building is played by its waterproofing. It is on the quality of waterproofing work that the deadline for the full -fledged foundation service, its durability and strength, depends.

High -quality waterproofing of the foundation is the key to the durability of the house, the absence of mold and fungus on its walls, a warm and dry microclimate indoors. Work on the waterproofing of the foundation is a complex, long and laborious process. But this does not mean that exclusively professional builders can perform it. With the proper level of desire and patience, it is quite realistic to cope with the waterproofing of a tape foundation with your own hands.

Types of waterproofing

There are only two types of waterproofing of the foundation:

1. Horizontal waterproofing. It is carried out in the process of erecting the foundation:

• pour the entire bottom of the pit with clay. The height of the clay layer is 0.3 m.

Tip: The use of a “sand pillow” instead of clay is given a good result. Time very carefully.

2. Make a concrete screed over the entire surface of the clay. The height of the screed is about 8 cm.

3. Give the time to be completely freezed by concrete. It will take 10 days.

4. Process a frozen screed with bitumen or special mastic.

5. Lay on a processed screed roofing material.

6. Process the first layer with mastic.

7. Put another layer of roofing material on top.

8. Make a concrete screed similar to the previous one.

9. Wait for concrete hardening.

10. Start the construction of the foundation.

11. Do not forget to waterproof the upper surface of the foundation.

12. In the presence of a high level of groundwater, you can not do without the device of the drainage system. This process is one of the components of horizontal waterproofing:

• evy a trench along the entire perimeter of the structure. The distance from the foundation to the trench is 1 m. The depth of the trench is 0.25 m deeper than the lower level of the foundation, its width is 0.25 m. Try to give the trench a small slope so that the water from it merges into the collecting well;
• cover the bottom of the trench with geotextiles, while capturing the side walls to a height of up to 0.7 m;
• pour the bottom of the trench with gravel. Layer thickness - 5 cm;
• lay on a gravel drainage pipe. It is necessary to achieve the slope of the pipe towards the collecting well. The slope angle is 5 mm per 1 m. The control of the slope is achieved by changing the thickness of the gravel layer;
• pour gravel on the laid pipe. The layer thickness is about 0.25 m;
• cover the gravel with the pipe covered with the protruding edges of the geotextile. Try to wrap the geotextiles as tightly as possible and sealed;
• pour the earth with a trench;
• vertical waterproofing. It is the processing of the walls of the foundation.

13. It is recommended to produce vertical waterproofing of the foundation not only in the construction process, but later, when the building is built and operated. There are many methods of vertical waterproofing of the foundation. Consider them in more detail.

Bitumen waterproofing

This is the most common way of vertical waterproofing.   Perfect for waterproofing of a strip monolithic foundation. The essence of the method is the processing of the walls of the foundation with bitumen. The bitumen when processing fills all the cracks and gaps. Thanks to this, moisture does not get into the building. It is necessary to apply bitumen on an even and dry surface, the work algorithm is as follows:

1. Buy a piece of bitumen.
2. Put bitumen in a metal container. It can be an old barrel or a bucket.
3. Melt bitumen to a liquid state.   To do this, a barrel of bitumen must be placed above a burning bonfire.
4. Apply melted bitumen to the walls of the foundation. Try not to miss a single gap.
5. Repeat the above procedure 3 more times.

Tip: bitumen must be constantly in a liquid state. You can cool the remains of bitumen only after the end of work. The fact is that re -melted bitumen loses most of its useful properties. It is easy to achieve a molten state of bitumen - do not forget to periodically throw firewood into a bonfire.

Tip: adding a small amount of oil processing to molten bitumen will significantly improve the waterproofing properties of this material.

The industry offers the consumer a wide selection of special mastics for waterproofing processing, which will perfectly replace bitumen. They do not need to be warmed up. And the number of processing layers is reduced to two.

Among the advantages of the bituminous method of waterproofing, I want to highlight:

1. Simplicity. Work does not require special skills, everyone will cope with it.
2. Accessibility of materials. Buy bitumen or special mastic will not be difficult.
3. Low cost of materials.

However, there are a number of shortcomings:

1. Large time spent. After all, it is necessary to process the surface of the foundation several times.
2. The fragility of this method of waterproofing. To achieve a stable waterproofing effect, it is necessary to repeat the processing every 5-7 years.
3. The average level of hydrolying of the foundation treated exclusively by bitumen. Usually, to improve the quality of the final result, combining several methods of waterproofing is used.

Waterproofing by roofing material

A good result is given by the waterproofing of the tape foundation by roofing material. The algorithm for performing work is as follows:

1. Cover the entire surface of the foundation with bitumen or mastic. One layer is enough. In this case, bitumen plays the role of adhesive rather than waterproofing matter.
2. Take a piece of roofing material. Heat it using a gasoline burner.
3. Put a hot roofing material on the wall of the foundation.
4. Put the next piece of heated roofing material with an overlap at least 0.1 m.
5. Process the joint between two neighboring pieces using a burner.

Tip: In the absence of a burner, it is allowed to use special adhesive mastic at the joints. The reliability of waterproofing work is significantly reduced.

Tip: To improve waterproofing, not one, but several layers of roofing material is sometimes applied. At the same time, each layer must be smeared with bitumen.

The advantages of this waterproofing method.

1. Accessibility of materials. Ruberoid and bitumen are sold in any household store.
2. Low cost of materials.
3. Durability. Ruberoid waterproofing successfully protects the foundation from the negative effects of moisture for five decades.

The main drawback is the inability to do the work yourself. You will definitely need at least one assistant. This method is used both independently and in conjunction with bitumen.

Plastering waterproofing

A great way of waterproofing the strip foundation.   This is not only the protection of the foundation from moisture, but also its alignment. Work on the application of plastering waterproofing is as follows:

• Take a putty mesh.
• Attach it to the walls of the foundation using dowels.
• Prepare the solution. It includes a plastering mixture and hydro -resistant components.
• Using a spatula, apply the solution to the wall -covered wall of the foundation.

• Advantages of the plastering method: low cost and accessibility of materials.
• Easy and speed of work.

The disadvantages are:

• The plaster is subject to cracks.
• The plaster is inherent in a fairly low level of hydraulic resistance.
• Relative fragility. After 15 years, the work will have to be repeated.

Waterproofing with liquid rubber

The essence of the method is the coating of the walls of the foundation with liquid rubber:

1. Process the surface of the walls of the foundation with a primer. The primer will not only enhance the waterproofing, but also the clutch of the foundation and rubber.

2. Take a container with liquid rubber. A great choice will be one -component rubber:

• ‘Lastopase. It is necessary to apply two layers. The period of time between application is 24 hours. Substation - a bucket of 18 liters. Advantages: Low cost;  The possibility of using rubber residues later. The bucket is hermetically closing;
• ‘Lastomix. One layer is enough. Dries in 2 hours. Substation - buckets with a volume of 10 liters. The cost is higher than that of elastopase. Remains of rubber are not subject to storage. This is due to the addition of rubber before using a special activator.

3. Apply liquid rubber to the walls of the foundation.   For application, use a brush or roller. It greatly facilitates the work and accelerates its use of a special sprayer.

Advantages of liquid rubber:

1. High waterproofing properties.
2. Durability.
3. Easy to apply.

The main drawback is the high cost. And you can not purchase liquid rubber in every store. Sometimes it requires additional protection against external influences. Stones and construction garbage contained in the ground are able to damage the layer of rubber, violating the integrity of waterproofing.

Penetrating waterproofing

Processing the foundation with special penetrating solutions is one of the best answers to the question: how to make a waterproofing of a strip foundation. The solution not only covers the walls of the foundation, but penetrates deep into at least 15 cm.

The work does not require special skills and comes down to the following:

1. Buy a special penetrating solution for waterproofing in the store.
2. Clean the walls of the foundation of pollution.
3. Put on protective clothes. Mandatory is the presence of gloves and a respirator. It is desirable - a cloak and a headdress.
4. Using a sprayer, apply the solution to the foundation.
5. Wait for the solution to dry.
6. Repeat the spray procedure at least 4 times.

Advantages of this waterproofing method:

1. Very high waterproofing properties of the foundation treated with penetrating solution. Yes, this is not surprising. This is not external protection. The properties of the material itself are changed from which the foundation is made.
2. Durability. The foundation treated with penetrating solutions will preserve its waterproofing properties for more than one decade.
3. Easy to apply. No special skills and skills are only caution.
4. The ability to use not only outside, but also from the inside. Process the basement with a penetrating solution and you can forget about dampness.

Not without flaws:

1. The high cost of penetrating mixtures.
2. Penetrating mixtures are not sold in every hardware store.

Screen waterproofing

A relatively new way of waterproofing of the foundation. It consists in the following: special mats filled with clay are attached to the walls of the foundation. The matches of mats to the foundation are carried out using dowels.   Mats must be fixed with an overlap at least 10 cm. Not the most convenient and not the most common way of waterproofing. For tape foundations, it is rarely used.

Clay lock

A very simple and at the same time rather reliable way to hold moisture:

1. Evy along the perimeter of the building with a trench.   The depth of the trench is about 0.5 m.
2. Pour gravel or crushed stone to the bottom of the trench.   The height of the layer is about 5 cm.
3. Put in a trench and carefully compact the clay. Lay the clay gradually, in several layers.

The advantages of this method are cheapness and simplicity.

It is used for waterproofing small buildings: garages, outbuildings. For residential buildings, if it is used, then only as an additional waterproofing method.

Finally, some tips

1. Do not dwell on one method of vertical waterproofing. A great result gives their combination. For example, bitumen isolation and waterproofing by roofing material.
2. Do not try to save on the material for waterproofing. Only the use of quality material will achieve an excellent result for a long time.