Choosing the Right Basement Waterproofing Materials

One of the biggest beginner’s mistakes that most people make when they are waterproofing a basement is to choose the wrong type of waterproofing materials. Unfortunately many basement-waterproofing materials that are sold as so are not really going to solve the problem of leaking or incoming leaks.  This is because they are only applied to the part of the wall that you can see and over the perceived “leak”.

The technical term for these types of basement waterproofing materials that are more like band-aid solutions is damproofing.  Damproofing waterproofing material will not stop a flood or a leak.  The very best that they can do is slow leakage of water into a building.  It is not a sure way to slow the leakage of water. 

Damproofing products are usually made out of some kind rubber and tar compound. These compounds generally become brittle after they dry and can crack. Waterproofing compounds, on the other hand, are much different because they can actually prevent leaks. They are applied on the side of the wall that faces outwards into the dirt foundation. True basement waterproofing materials also have a little bit of give to them and are more elastic so that it is harder for cracks to form in your basement walls. 

 There are a wide variety of products on the market. Some are urethanes, modified asphalts, clay based, or rubber based. These products can either be spray applied, or are available in sheets and are much more effective then damproofing products in preventing water leakage and flooding in your basement.

Waterproofing Products are Stop Gap Measures