Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Five Key Waterproofing Focus Areas

  • 12/01/16

HGA’s Kevin Donaghey offer tips in considering the following specific areas where water can present challenges.

1. Above-grade Walls
It’s important to acknowledge that most exterior materials will take on rainwater at some point over the life of the building, and that an exit route for this water should always be accounted for in exterior wall assemblies. Rainwater should be viewed not as a passive element, but a force actively trying to penetrate the exterior barrier’s lines of defense. Analyzing exterior assemblies through this mindset can help to identify and provide adequate drainage pathways out of a rain-screen system for water that has found its way in.

2. Below-grade Systems
Ground water from surface rainfall or the water table, and its ability to infiltrate large areas of earth and into foundation systems, can be easily underestimated. Diversion of storm water run-off, extensive below-grade drain tile systems, and comprehensive membrane waterproofing at below-grade foundation walls can all serve to keep water out.

3. Roofs
Selecting a roofing system that meets the owner’s criteria for performance and budget can be a challenge, with reduced membrane thickness or warranty coverage being a tempting cost-reduction measure. We encourage the owner to err on the side of caution with roofing selection, even if it means adjusting project scope elsewhere.

4. Windows and/or Skylights
Skylights are typically more horizontally orientated than exterior wall window systems, and thus run a higher risk of water infiltration. Even with adequate slope, it is important that skylight assemblies be equipped with drainage channels, gutters and drop edges to usher rainfall onto the roof, and away from the skylight frame/roofing transition, which typically serves as the most susceptible part of the assembly. This can serve dual purposes (Example: the Language Arts and Humanities Building at East Los Angeles College features sloped skylights at a third-floor courtyard situated over occupied space, which funnel the rainwater into adjacent concrete planter boxes).

5. Doors
Doors located on exterior walls with exposure to the elements will pose increased risk of water infiltration. Drip edges, especially at the horizontal portion frame head, will divert water that would otherwise work its way inward.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • UNT Dallas Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for $100M STEM Building

    The University of North Texas at Dallas in Dallas, Texas, recently celebrated the opening of its new, $100-million STEM Building, according to local news. The ceremony on Dec. 2 preceded the first day of classes in the facility on Jan. 12, 2026.

  • Kimball International Releases Curated Design Support Program

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced the launch of a new end-to-end design support program, DesignSuite. According to a news release, its goal is to guide architecture & design professionals and dealer partners through the process from vision to specification.

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.