BR1105 Construction Technology 2
National University of Singapore
School of Design & Environment
Bachelor of Real Estate (Part-Time)
BR1105
CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY 2
Report on
BASEMENT WATERPROOFING
CASE STUDY:
HDB HUB TOA PAYOH
REACTIVE
PODHHGFHTDJLYMERS
By : Phang Siew Boon Eric
U028644U
Page - 1 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
CONTENT PAGE
PAGE NO
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 3
CHAPTER 2: DIFFERENT TYPES OF BASEMENT 4
WATERPROOFING SYSTEMS
2.1 INTERGRAL WATERPROOFING 4
2.2 MEMBRANE / TANKING SYSTEM 5
2.3 CAVITY / DRAINAGE SYSTEM 6
2.4 CHEMICAL GROUTING SYSTEM 9
2.5 CEMENTITUOUS/CRYSTALIZATION METHOD 10
CHAPTER 3: CASE STUDY: HDB HUB (TOA PAYOH)
PART ONE – DIAPHRAGM WALLS &
ITS SUPPORT 13
3.1 Introduction 13
3.2 Construction of Diaphragm walls 14
3.3 Support system for diaphragm wall –
Ground Anchors & Struttings 16
CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY: HDB HUB (TOA PAYOH)
PART TWO – BASEMENT WATERPROOFING 20
4.1 Introduction 20
4.2 Waterproofing of basement walls 21
4.3 Waterproofing of basement slab 26
CHAPTER 5: CASE STUDY: HDB HUB (TOA PAYOH)
PART THREE – Defects & Xypex, the
waterproofing material 29
5.1 Defects after construction 29
5.2 Xypex, the waterproofing material 31
CHAPTER 6: Conclusion 34
Page - 2 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Basements can provide space for most commercial activities, storage or
carparking. It is the inhabited storeys of a building constructed wholly or partially
below ground level, exposed to soil, water and water vapour pressure.
Watertightness in a basement is the major consideration in basement
construction. Another area of doubt is the performance of the system. Poor or
non-performance will lead to additional financial burden to the parties involved.
Upon completion and if there is leaking occurs, it is expensive problem to solve.
Beside the cost of repair, it is impossible to carry out the repairs from outside, on
the face where infiltration occurs. Hence, the importance of an effective
waterproofing system for the basement is therefore important.
An effective waterproofing system of a basement is also necessary to ensure that
all the commercial activities in the basement could smoothly carry out without
interruption. There is also a need to keep basement watertight to prevent
corrosion of the reinforcement in the concrete structure, preserving the integrity
of the concrete structure. This can take place if oxygen, which water can seep
through the concrete by capillary action. If basement is not properly waterproofed
and as the result of corrosion, reinforcement steel will expand and the concrete
structure will crack. The need to exclude chloride is another reason as it can
attack and weaken the concrete. However, this is only limited to sea front
structures.
For a basement to function and operate for its intended use without hiccups and
also its long –term structural integrity, it is paramount that water is evidently
absent.
This report will an overview of the different types of basement waterproofing. In
particular, it will focus on a case study on the newly constructed HDB Toa Payoh
HUB, which uses the method of crystalline waterproofing for the basement
construction.
Page - 3 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
CHAPTER 2: DIFFERENT TYPES OF BASEMENT
WATERPROOFING SYSTEMS
2.1 INTERGRAL WATERPROOFING
This waterproofing system started in the mid sixties where Cementaids
introduced their Caltite admixture, which were added into the concrete
mix. It provides protection against water penetration based on the use of
admixtures with waterproofing properties in the concrete mix to form
concrete with surfaces that are repellent to water, and to fill the capillary
pores hence reduces the permeability of the concrete.
Watertightness depends solely on the constituents of the concrete
structure. The constituents, known as admixtures are mixed with the
concrete during batching. This process integrates the admixtures into the
concrete. An integral waterproofer is a material (in the form of powder,
liquid or suspension/paste) that must able to reduce the hydraulic
permeability of the cured concrete structure and/or have water repelling
or excluding properties transferred to the set concrete. Common
admixtures used are the reactive hydrophobic pre-blocking ingredients
and silica fumes.
The main advantage of the intergral system is the working space. This
system does not need extra working space to operate and it can be
simultaneously with the batching and casting of concrete. The
construction time is shorter due to the virtue that it is being carried out
together with the construction of the diaphragm wall. Intergral
waterproofer can prove more reliable and be quicker to apply than
membranes. By allowing their use in the tender documents the designer
will force the contractor to consider external and intergral waterproofing in
preparing the tender. Client will obtain the full benefit of cost and
programme saving.
The use of this system will impose certain burden as well. The contractor
has to ensure a higher quality of work. There is a need that the
admixtures and the concrete mix is homogeneously mixed and the mix is
free from lump. Failure to do so will mean imperfection of the system. The
use of the intergral waterproofers is economical for wall thickness of
between 300 and 400mm. The amount of admixture to be used is
proportional to the volume of concrete; and volume of concrete depends
on the structural size. In walls, the deciding dimension is the thickness.
The use of this system for thicker walls of about 500mm would be
uneconomical.
Intergral waterproofers may enhance or limit concrete strength
development. The low strength development associated with water
repellents can be overcome by decreasing water cement ratio. If it is
achieved by high cement ratio, heat generation must be considered. By
contrast silica fume waterproofer will enhance strength development.
Page - 4 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
2.2 MEMBRANE / TANKING SYSTEM
Membrane system provides a physical barrier forming a tanking
system using either sheet membranes or liquid membranes or both
to the flow of water. This tanking principle of wrapping the whole
basement is technically logical and has the advantage of ease of
application. This system provides a continuous barrier system,
which excludes water, and/or water and may exclude gases. It can
be installed on the exterior face of the walls and floor (external),
onto some external source of support (reversed), within the
construction (sandwiched) or on the interior face of the walls
(internal). See Fig 2a. Generally there are two types of membrane
available, sheet and liquid membrane.
Membrane sheet is a lining that is attached to the external face of
the basement walls through nailing or adhesion. Materials can
range from the traditional rubber, bitumen sheeting to bentonite
panels, unvulcanised polyvinyl chloride and polyurethnes. The
latest system in tanking is the HDPE membrane with special
profiles. Sheet membranes are preformed, factory-made in rolls,
which are bonded or cast against the substrate to form a
continuous membrane by lapping. Side laps of 100mm and end
laps of 150mm are common. Lapping may be achieved by
torching/ flaming, use of bonding compound or self-adhesive
membranes. As a barrier between soil and the concrete itself,
membrane must have properties to counter the undesired effect the
soil has on the concrete. It must be strong enough to ensure that
movement of the soil will not cause any damage or puncture that
may cause water seepage. The basic problem of any sheet system
is always the lap areas and extra care should always be observed.
Liquid membranes brought by companies like Tremco in the early
80s, come in either one or two-component in liquid or gel form.
They are applied either by brush, rollers or spray. Liquid
membranes give the flexibility for works on uneven surface and
complicated details. This system also has limitation when problems
of uniformed thickness, pinholes and dampness need to be
overcome.
All membrane systems require protection to avoid problems of
puncture, either on the horizontal along construction or on the wall
during bankfilling. Tanking system also requires tedious
workmanship where there are excessive ground beams, piles caps
details or where raft foundation are designed. A major point for the
use of membrane system is its attribute to maintained
watertightness despite shrinkage and thermal cracks occurring in
Page - 5 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
the concrete mass. However, this system is very susceptible to
damages during construction that waterproofing cannot be
ascertained until the structure shows no problem after a period of
time. Extra construction time is required for surface preparation
before contributed to the additional construction time.
Fig 2a - Tanked Protection.
The structure itself does not prevent water ingress. Protection
is dependent on a total water or water an vapour barrier system
applied internally or externally.
2.3 CAVITY / DRAINAGE SYSTEM
A cavity/ drainage system allows water to enter the structure,
contain and direct it to sumps from where it is removed by draining
or pumping. A cavity wall with a mass concrete outer leaf and a
reinforced inner leaf is constructed. The cavity channel works as a
drainage channel. Water flows out of the cavity through weepholes
and internal drainage will steer the water towards a sump and
mechanical pump. This technique envisages the basement to the
likeness of the hull of a ship. The rational this technique is that as it
is practically impossible to keep the basement free from water
infiltration, thus it may be preferable to exclude waterproofing the
basement and rely solely on the internal drainage system. This
manner of keeping the basement waterfree in a waterlogged area
may be unviable. The viability of using such a system will depend
Page - 6 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
on the purpose of the basement. One possible use is for basement
carkpark.
The inner wall is generally non-load bearing and may need to be
designed to be free standing to prevent moisture paths occurring
across ties. Vapour transmission through the fabric of the inner wall
may be reduced by providing a vapour-resistant membrane,
adequate ventilation of the cavity or by using a profiled cavity
drainage former, which provides an integral vapour barrier. The
later method cannot be used with wall ties.
Cavities under floor may be formed from no-fines concrete or
proprietary systems such as profiled drainage sheets or purpose-
made tiles. Wider cavities may be formed using pre-cast concrete
planks to give a raised floor, which may be useful where access is
required for maintenance of drainage channels or for servicing
pumps.
Cavity/ drainage system is suitable for cases where tanking system,
i.e. physically stopping the water could result in higher water table
and/ or unacceptable stresses behind the structure.
See below Fig 2b, 2c and 2d for the construction details of cavity
system.
Fig 2b
Page - 7 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
Fig 2c
Fig 2d
Page - 8 -
BR1105 Construction Technology 2
2.4 CHEMICAL GROUTING SYSTEM
Chemical grout membrane system has been used in Singapore and
Malaysia for more than 15 years. This system is one of the well-
proven and effective method for basement waterproofing especially
for basements with high water table. The flexibility of the method
and freedom from vandalism has been made the system cost
effective.
Since it is a grouting system, it does not require a dry concrete
surface for installation. For deep basement, especially those areas
with high water table, it is almost impossible to have a total dry
surface area whereas it is the prime requirement when sheet
membrane system is being used. It is a tanking slab system. Unlike
the sheet membrane where the membrane might be teared or
damaged during the ground settlement, the grouted layer will act as
a solid slab to resist any shear or tension forces.
This is flexible method that is particularly suitable for basement with
a lot of ground beams or pile caps where sheet membrane systems
have the continuous problems. Since it is a tanking slab, it does not
need to worry about the damage by others like the sheet
membrane systems does. There is freedom from vandalism. The
system is particularly popular for a thick floor slab as it is cheaper
than the admixture method in such circumstances.
A layer of aggregates were laid completed with grouting points prior
to casting the reinforcement concrete slab on top. Thereafter a
grout comprising cement and additives like AM-9 were injected. Mix
designs of the grout and the additives used may have changed
over the years, but these grouting systems are still widely used by
companies. This system can be also used for basement walls.
However, an appropriate formwork system would be necessary to
set up before the grouting. For the walls, the sheet piles were left in
place, joints welded and the reinforced concrete wall cast against it.
In addition, grouting on the cold joints of the vertical construction
joints were done and water stops was also incorporated in all joints.
Water stops are available with hydrophilic compound incorporated,
which will then expand when in contact with water and ensure a
tighter fit. However the general worry of whether the position of the
water stop inside the concrete wall after casting, it as design, has
and always is debated. See Fig 2e
The chemical grout membrane system requires highly skilful and
well-trained workers for all the grouting processes particularly the
sequence of grouting and the installation of grout formers
Page - 9 -
