Water intrusion through a building’s envelope—whether it be the walls, windows, roofs, or foundation—is one of the most common and costly issues property owners and managers face. If left unchecked, it can lead to structural damage, mold growth, and compromised indoor air quality, all of which can significantly impact both the safety, longevity, and value of a building.
The key to mitigating these risks lies in a two-pronged approach: prevention and cure. By understanding the sources and pathways of water intrusion, as well as implementing effective preventive measures, building owners can reduce the likelihood of water damage.
However, when problems do arise, knowing how to effectively address and remediate water intrusion is crucial to preserving the integrity of the structure. In this article, we’ll explore both proactive strategies for preventing water intrusion and the best practices for diagnosing and treating existing water damage.
Preventing and solving water intrusion problems during the life of the water management system is actually pretty simple. Only a few principles need to be adhered to:
- Everything leaks. The entire building envelope including the roof, walls, fenestrations (doors, and windows), penetrations, plaza slabs, and foundations leak.
- The entire building envelope needs to have at least 3 layers of water management. The exterior layer should shed the bulk rainwater, the secondary layer should drain the water that passes the outer layer, and whatever remaining moisture that reaches the interior of the building gets evaporated within the building’s conditioned air.
- 99% of water intrusion problems are the result of human error, including the original architectural detailing and construction, not failure of the building envelope materials.
- You get what you inspect, not what you expect. Detailing of the building envelope should be peer reviewed either internally or externally. Mock-ups should be constructed to set the approved standard going forward with construction or restoration. And periodic inspections should be conducted by an experienced waterproofing expert.
Roof (or Plaza Slab): For a roof to successfully keep water out of a building, the bulk water should be shed quickly and efficiently from the roof surface or the drainage layer within a plaza or green roof. Ponding, which is standing water 48 hours after precipitation (rain) is unacceptable. Standing water can break down asphaltic and polymeric roofing material. Water can also freeze and erode embedded gravel UV protective surface. Standing water can also find its way through the smallest of imperfections within the roofing system. For these reasons, ponding also voids roofing warranties. The secondary barrier is the actual roofing material itself. And the tertiary water management layer is the building’s HVAC system that deals with what little moisture enters the building.
Exterior Walls: For a wall to successfully keep water out of a building, the bulk water should be shed quickly and efficiently from the outer wall cladding. Water that penetrates the cladding should be drained and evaporated within a secondary drainage plane backed up by a water-resistant barrier. And the fourth water management layer is the building’s HVAC system that deals with what little moisture enters the building.
Foundation Walls (Basement): For basement walls to successfully keep water out of a building, the bulk rainwater should shed quickly and efficiently away from the building at the ground surface. Water that penetrates the surface should be collected by a drainage layer channeled to a perforated foundation drainpipe sloped to daylight or sump pump. The third layer is water resistant membrane and what little moisture that penetrates the basement wall is evaporated by an HVAC System or dehumidifier.
Slab-on-Grade: For a slab-on-grade to successfully keep water out of a building, ground water should be kept below the slab, either naturally or with the aid of a dewatering system. A crusher-run base should be used as it provides stable support for the slab, is compatible, and minimizes the wicking of moisture. Supported by this water management layer is a sealed (taped) vapor barrier followed by the slab-on-grade. Any moisture that passes these three layers is evaporated by an HVAC System or dehumidifier.
When diagnosing a water intrusion problem, Innovative Engineering Inc. (IEI) first reviews the original drawings, previous reports, and failed repairs to postulate possible water entry locations and plan out where to begin the investigation. IEI then duplicates the leak and excavates as necessary to determine the underlying cause. Often, the repair reflects how the building envelope should have been designed and constructed per the accepted standard of care.
Schedule Your Building Envelope and Water Intrusion Inspection Today
No one likes surprises. Having a building envelope inspection and report done only to realize during the restoration that the budget you were given isn’t enough to complete the project can create unnecessary problems and possibly damage reputations.
We take a very holistic and thorough approach to building envelope inspection, forensic investigation, reporting, and estimating of repair costs. Innovative Engineering’s staff includes engineers with expertise in both structural and building envelope engineering. They also have relationships with reputable restoration contractors with real-time pricing. If you or others have tried unsuccessful to solve water intrusion issues, contact IEI. Chances are they have dealt with similar conditions. If not, they have the education, certifications, experience, and a quiver full of specialized diagnosis tools to diagnose and solve the water intrusion issue.