Hi Richard,

I’m afraid I’ve not used them myself, but what I can say is that basement design – including the waterproofing element – should always be site-specific in order to properly account for and deal with the individual conditions on your site (e.g. groundwater, soil permeability etc).

Fundamentally the best course is to ensure you engage a design team that has a proven track record of successfully designing waterproof basements (to the level of watertightness required for your application – eg is it a storage area or a liveable zone?).

There are three main ways to waterproof, namely external membrane, internal membrane or cavity drainage membrane. Sometimes a combination of two different systems is used (e.g. external membrane, such as sprayed bitumen, plus a cavity drainage membrane) if site conditions demand.

British Standard BS8102 sets out the design principles for basement waterproofing – and actually calls for a waterproofing specialist to be included on the design team. Combining their expertise with the right surveys should ensure you get a successful result.

The other thing to remember is that, with waterproofing, the workmanship has to be just as robust as the design!

Best of luck,

Chris