# CMU Waterproofing



## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

I have about 600 sf of below grade 12" solid filled reinforced CMU wall I need to waterproof. The owner bought some Masterseal 5000. He said that's what the contractor supply house recommended. Never used it before.
Any recommendations? Thanks in advance


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

cdkyle said:


> I have about 600 sf of below grade 12" solid filled reinforced CMU wall I need to waterproof. The owner bought some Masterseal 5000. He said that's what the contractor supply house recommended. Never used it before.
> Any recommendations? Thanks in advance


What does it say on the bucket?


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

greg24k said:


> What does it say on the bucket?


Spec Sheet


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

http://www.buildingsystems.basf.com...s/items/pdfs/basf-masterseal-hlm-5000-tds.pdf


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

greg24k said:


> What does it say on the bucket?


I can read what's on the bucket. Have you used it before or would you recommend something else?


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## slowsol (Aug 27, 2005)

Make sure to use the drainage board with it.


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

slowsol said:


> Make sure to use the drainage board with it.


We are installing 4" and 6" drainage pipe surrounded by class A rock next to the bottom of the wall. Still need drainage board?


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

This is what I use,I feel it is the best. http://www.armtec.com/en-ca/products-and-services/drainage-solutions-and-water-treatment/platon.aspx


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

fjn said:


> This is what I use,I feel it is the best. http://www.armtec.com/en-ca/products-and-services/drainage-solutions-and-water-treatment/platon.aspx


fjn, That looks like a really good product. Looks expensive. ??


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

No ! Around here (N.W. Indiana) about 140 bucks a roll.Think there is 70 ft. in a roll. You can install it almost as fast as you can pull out the brushes for the other stuff.


This is real water proofing,any other method is just pretending that you are water proofing.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Yeah, Platon is the good stuff. Not only is it a drainage plane but it is also a bond break between freezing soil and the foundation. There is another compoany that makes about the same stuff....CD something...google dimpled foundation waterproofing and you'll find some good info and some competition as well


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

Water management is more important than the membrane I think, but both are important.

The way I was taught was parge coat, bituminous coating to just about grade level, dimple board if the specs call for it and proper backfill. You need a good cove at the bottom of the wall with a drain tile and some type of geo fabric to prevent silting, backfill nearly to grade with clean stone, geo fabric again and then topsoil with the proper grade to get surface water away from the house. The drain and backfill will handle all the ground water.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

sitdwnandhngon said:


> Water management is more important than the membrane I think, but both are important.
> 
> The drain and backfill will handle all the ground water.


I agree, which is why the dimple board has a good function os a bondbreak between the soil and the foundation. Frozen soil can grab onto a tarred foundation with no problems


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## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

Good advice above, I'd add insulation to save heating and reduce condensation during the cooling season.

Don't allow any tiling to draw below any footings in Bentonite clay country. It will cause damage as the clay swells and shrinks as the water table changes seasonally. Don't puncture the bottom of the sump pump pit basket! no holes below bottom of spread footings.....don't dewater any load bearing soil.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

cdkyle said:


> We are installing 4" and 6" drainage pipe surrounded by class A rock next to the bottom of the wall. Still need drainage board?





While on the subject of drainage,this may be helpful to elaborate on. The perforated pipe (sdr #35 not black "slinky") is best IMHO. By all means,run pipe to daylight if possible (no pumps to maintain or power outages to contend with)


If a pump and sump basin is needed,place them OUTSIDE. It makes no sense to place it in the interior of the building. Why invite the water inside only to figure out how to pump it back out ?


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## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

fjn is correct.
Gravity drainage is far better than a sump pit and electric pump... gravity rarely fails.

A properly laid out sub division will have the storm sewers deep enough to gravity drain the new home's basements saving home owners thousands of dollars of electricity and dead rusty sump pumps over the lifetimes of the houses.

I install Two drain tile systems on new basements and underpins,the traditional exterior to daylight if possible, if not the sump pit in a window well or stoop/porch footing that doesn't communicate with the inside of the basement. Again fjn is correct, the usual indoor sump is a poor second best.

And a tile loop inside the footer to a interior sump pit if the outside tile fails or water springs occur under the basement floor slab... it is only a few hundred dollars of material and labor that can save thousands later.
and it can be used to suck out any radon gases with the use of dvw pipe to the roof to vent the sump pit basket.

Only if the building is in a flood plain, and the basement walls are incapable of resisting full depth immersion without failing than the provisions allowing the inside of the basement to fill with water to counteract the massive thrust of flood's water and liquified soil against the block walls should be installed.


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

fjn said:


> While on the subject of drainage,this may be helpful to elaborate on. The perforated pipe (sdr #35 not black "slinky") is best IMHO. By all means,run pipe to daylight if possible (no pumps to maintain or power outages to contend with)
> 
> 
> If a pump and sump basin is needed,place them OUTSIDE. It makes no sense to place it in the interior of the building. Why invite the water inside only to figure out how to pump it back out ?


Its funny you mention that because the Architect has all the perimeter foundation drains and storm water drains running into the sump pit, which is located "inside" the building. Mostly 6" perforated dumping into a duplex sump pump pit. And, we're talking about an 8000 sf full basement with water collection from storm drains and foundation drains. But, the complex is going to have a huge backup generator.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Give the architect a copy of this. http://www.jlconline.com/foundation/q-a--sump-for-foundation-drain.aspx#


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## dbrons (Apr 12, 2010)

> I agree, which is why the dimple board has a good function os a bondbreak between the soil and the foundation. Frozen soil can grab onto a tarred foundation with no problems


Not only that but the dimple board protects the waterproofing from being damaged by rocks during the backfilling.
Dave


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## NJ Brickie (Jan 31, 2009)

I rarely do residential work. But I used a combination of Mel-roll, dimple board, form-a-drain, clean crushed stone, and filter fabric on a particularly wet basement addition I was doing. Very high water table at the bottom of a hill. Dry as can be 2 yrs later. Sump pit was the only option which constantly runs.


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