Wednesday 12 March 2014

Different Kinds Of Waterproofing Materials

By Ashis Jain


The decision to waterproof a building requires people to be ingenious in order to obtain quality results. This is because not all waterproofing techniques are the same; some would offer more suitable results when compared to others. Therefore, to ensure that you waterproof your structure with the most suitable materials, it may be essential to know the most common waterproofing materials available.

One of the main waterproofing materials is bituminous which is made of bitumen components and polymers. The polymers are added to the bitumen to enhance its performance since bitumen is prone to damage by sunlight. Therefore, the quality of bituminous materials mostly depends on the quantity of polymer added to the product.

Cementitious is another waterproofing material which is obtained from asphalt and cement components. Cementitious waterproofing is essential in wet areas like bathrooms and toilets. These materials are strong enough to reduce problems of expansion and contraction, which may be caused by structures failing to get enough exposure to sunlight.

Buildings can also be installed with liquid waterproofing membranes that consist of three layers. Liquid waterproof membranes are made from various polymers, which offer different benefits. In most cases, the quality of liquid membranes usually depends on the kind of polymers that have been used in such materials as well as whom the manufacturer is.

Polyurethane liquid membranes are also other common waterproofing materials, which can also be used as roofing membranes. Polyurethane membranes are extremely reactive to moisture components, which means before application, people should be careful to ensure that there is no moisture content within the concrete slab. However, this waterproofing membrane is usually very expensive when compared to other membranes.

One other popular waterproofing material is bituminous torch-on-membrane that has both uncovered and covered layers. In order to be able to endure the impacts of weathering along with other weather conditions, the uncovered membrane has coarse mineral aggregates, which are resilient to such impacts. Contractors have to use the screed layer correctly to make sure that the membrane does not develop punctures later on.

Another common waterproofing material is the self-adhesive membrane, which needs applications of added polymers as it continues to wear out with time. This is because its bonding properties keep on diminishing as time goes on. Contractors are required to take the appropriate measures when applying these membranes to ensure they obtain quality results.

When installing your building with waterproofing membranes, it would be important to first familiarize yourself with the most common types available in order to determine the one that suits your needs. This is because many of the waterproofing materials available in the market would have different benefits and drawbacks; some that would be more beneficial than others would be. Knowing some of the above given waterproofing membranes would enable you determine, which to choose and why to choose them depending on their drawbacks and benefits. It is for this reason that people need to know these materials in order to be able to make an informed decision when choosing waterproofing materials as not all types can offer good results for all types of structures.




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