Waterproofing Piled Foundations
The waterproofing of concrete-piled foundations presents a problem for
many waterproofing systems - particularly those based on sheet
membranes. The majority of these systems cannot be used over pile heads
and pile caps because they do not have the bearing capacity to support
the applied load.
Vandex Super crystalline active waterproofing slurry offers a solution to this problem. Because its waterproofing action relies on penetrating into the concrete pile head or pile cap rather than forming a waterproof layer on top of the concrete, it is able to accept the load applied by subsequently poured ground beams or foundation slabs.
Vandex Super can either be used in its own right to provide a complete foundation waterproofing solution or combined with other waterproofing systems. Each 25Kg bag of Vandex Super waterproofs up to 20m2 so it is extremely economical in use.
An example of a typical application is shown below, however, because piled foundations vary widely in their configuration it is strongly recommended that our technical department are consulted early in the design process.
Example 1 - Waterproofing of Pile Head and Ground Beam

- Slurry coat the piles with VANDEX SUPER 1.5 kg/m² applied in two coats.
- Dry sprinkle VANDEX SUPER at the rate of 1.2 kg/m² to the blinding concrete prior to the concrete pour.
- Apply VANDEX EXPASEAL 2520 circular around the piles in the middle of the slab.
- After pouring the concrete slab dry sprinkle VANDEX SUPER at the rate of 1.2 kg/m² on top of the raft foundation when the concrete reaches initial set. It is then troweled in until coverage is uniform and the specific finish is achieved. Alternatively slurry coat the horizontal surface with VANDEX SUPER 1.2 kg/m² in one coat.
Related Applications
Waterproofing Concrete Slabs - Use of Vandex Super and Oldroyd cavity drainage membranes to prevent water ingress through new concrete slabs.
Waterproofing Basement Retaining Walls - Waterproofing contiguously piled, secant piled, and diaphragm basement walls.
Waterproofing Newbuild Basements - Use of a "dual layer" externally applied waterproofing system to waterproof newbuild basements where access to the external face of the basement walls is possible.
Safeguard currently offer the following RIBA-Approved CPD Seminars free-of-charge to architects and specifiers on the UK mainland:
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