Advantages and Disadvantages of Cement Based(cementitious) Waterproofing Products
Posted: Monday, March 16, 2009
by Christos Strogilis
http://www.macon.gr
Cement based waterproofing products are used massively all around the world for the waterproofing of projects as:
- water tanks
- swimming pools
- basements
- manholes
- foundations etc.
We will elaborate hereunder on the advantages and disadvantages of these well known and tested waterproofing materials.
1.1 These products already have a long, proven track record. A considerable know-how has been developed round their use domain, and a lot of technicians are knowledgeable about their use.
1.2 Cement based waterproofing products are suitable for both negative and positive water pressures. Actually they are the only waterproofing products appropriate for projects with negative pressures.
This means that many times they are the only available option.
1.3 Provided that one follows the manufacturer's instructions, they are generally easy to handle and apply.
They don't need any sophisticated equipment except for the spray application.
1.4 They contain no solvents and are user and environment friendly.
1.5 They are suitable for contact with potable water.
They are the mainstream product for the waterproofing of water tanks and reservoirs and can withstand very high positive pressures.
2. DISADVANTAGES
2.1 Conventional cement based waterproofing products are prone to cracking (following the substrate's cracks). Therefore they are not ideal for situations as the following:
- vibrating substrates
- when settlement is expected
- when there is considerable movement of the substrate due to wide temperature fluctuations.
2.2 Cement based waterproofing products need a thorough, minute preparation of the substrate. Not even traces of laitance, dirt, grease, curing compounds etc. are acceptable!
This is not an easy task to accomplish under the usual site conditions!
2.3 It is very difficult to provide idoneous curing conditions for these products and the problem is that perfect conditions are critical for their waterproofing behaviour.
In Greece this is a major problem especially for the hot season and outdoor applications.
2.4 Cementitious waterproofing products are water vapor permeable. Though this might be considered as a distinctive advantage, there are a lot of applications where this property is mostly undesirable e.g. delamination problems of floor coverings etc.
Please check on this website the articles on crystalline and flexible cementitious waterproofing.
Chris Strogilis
Civ. Eng. - MBA - DipM
http:/imaconwaterproofing.blogspot.com
http://monosimacon.blogspot.com/
This Article has been viewed 6,717 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.