Structural waterproofing

Structural waterproofing and design

Looking to protect below ground structures from water ingress from external sources? We can help.

Developments are continuing to incorporate basements within buildings across urban, suburban, and rural locations, expanding their depth and size, constructing fully functional spaces used for activities that are much more sensitive and susceptible to damp and water ingress. We provide bespoke and sustainable designs and in depth risk assessments independent of bias, delivering a solution tailored to your needs.

Central to our strategy is understanding your aims and project specific requirements. Honest and transparent communication is a key part of our approach – we work as an extension of your team to deliver the right solution.

We operate within RIBA stages, so we are aligned throughout the project.

Why do I need basement waterproofing?

Basements and other substructures can leak during and after construction and the consequences of this are far reaching and often result in costly remedial works, delays to programme timelines in construction and even expenditure and disruption after construction.

Working with a reliable, independent specialist at the start of your project helps to avoid delays and keeps a development running to schedule.

How can waterproofing designs be cost-effective?

We will provide robust, cost-efficient and practical waterproofing designs based on rigorous risk assessments. Our design creation considers the associated inputs of the broader design team including, but not limited to, the structural engineer, architect, mechanical, and electrical services engineers along with the needs and requirements of the contractor, client and the building insurer.

We can give accurate assessments of ground conditions including gas contamination, soil permeability, groundwater regime and flood risks in conjunction with the sensitivity of the internal use of the basement structure to ensure the construction is completely sound.

This risk-based, collaborative approach follows the guidance provided in BS8102:2022, The Building Regulations and other advisory documents.

How can a buried podium deck be incorporated into the basement waterproofing design?

In cases where the podium decks are linked to basements, we consider the deck to be an extension of the basement waterproofing design and apply the same rigorous risk assessments.

Podium decks generally need to facilitate a range of overlying finishes associated with the use of the landscape, including maintenance or emergency vehicular access, soft planted landscaping, activity/play areas and water features. Additionally, podium decks are now routinely incorporated into sustainable drainage systems and utilised as water-attenuating ‘blue-roofs’.

Our designs address the impacts associated with the deck use, which include drainage, irrigation, structural fixings, traffic loading and thermal insulation. Our services extend to full hydrological modelling of drainage and attenuation elements and structural analysis of the load cases for the overlying layers.

FAQ

All our designs are supported by up to £10m of professional indemnity insurance. We can also provide a collateral warranty subject to prior agreed.

Structural waterproofing