Terrace & podium waterproofing

Waterproofing is the layer that keeps water away from whatever is underneath it. It is built from bitumen membrane on the same logic as a roof: a continuous surface, upstands at the edges, and a controlled route for the water out.

When this is needed

Waterproofing comes up in new construction, and whenever the surface above it — tiling, a coating or a deck — is opened. An old membrane is rarely repairable in one spot once water has already got underneath it.

Damp, lime runs or flaking paint appear on the underside of a balcony or terrace.
Tiling has come loose, or joints have opened in more than one place.
A deck or parking level surface is being renewed and the membrane is the same age as the surface.

What the work includes

01Cleaning the substrate and checking the falls before the membrane goes down.
02Laying the bitumen membrane as a continuous surface, with lapped seams.
03Upstands at walls, thresholds and edges, terminated so that water cannot get behind them.
04Connecting drains and drainage routes into the membrane.

The surface above — tiling, a coating or a deck build-up — may well be somebody else's work. What matters is that the membrane and what goes on top of it are agreed before either one starts.