Rectification of a Leaking Basement from the Inside

This existing luxury private residence in South East QLD was experiencing substantial water ingress through the basement walls during light and heavy rain periods. Rectification from the internal side was the only option as external excavation was not possible.

Project Description 

Water ingress around the stairs of the basement area had caused buckling of the timber flooring on the stairs, and free-water penetration down the walls of the store room below. There were several issues contributing to the water ingress, primarily ‘percolating’ surface water (as opposed to a rising ground water level) coming to bear against the external wall. This water appears to be entering primarily at the wall/cantilevered floor section junction, both above and below the cantilevered slab, as a result of an incorrectly specified waterproofing solution to this area.

Based on the inspection observations it was assumed the membrane had de-bonded from the external face of the wall and underside of the cantilevered concrete slab due to poor adhesion, therefore rendering the external membrane ‘useless’ as a waterproofing barrier in this area.

Our Repair Solution

In consultation with the engineers and the original builder, Dryspace Solutions specified and installed a waterproofing systems that required both Type A and Type C waterproofing – installing both a negative hydrostatic membrane system to selected walls and the Newton System 500.

Newton System 500 was installed with the surface mounted Newton Baseboard system at the perimeters, to capture the water and divert it out of the property. Works were completed in 2019 – Dryspace recently ‘checked in’ with the home owner who was happy to report that there were no signs of any further water or moisture ingress despite several heavy rainfall periods.