What we work on · Below-Grade Waterproofing
Water That Is Always There
Below-grade water is not weather. It is constant hydrostatic pressure, and it exploits every weakness continuously.
Where it appears inside, when it happens, and what has already been tried. That is enough to plan an investigation.
Test first
Water testing before scope, not sealant and hope
Uphill
Water enters above where it appears, almost always
Systems
The envelope fails at transitions, not in the field
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
Repairing it from the inside is a compromise
Proper below-grade waterproofing is applied to the outside, against the water. Once a building exists, excavating to reach it is enormously expensive, so repairs are made from the inside — which works against the pressure rather than with it and is inherently a lesser solution. That trade should be stated rather than glossed over.
What can be done
- Injection into cracks and joints, from the inside.
- Negative-side coatings, which resist rather than exclude.
- Drainage and pumping, managing water rather than stopping it.
- Excavation and external repair, where access allows.
- Correcting surface drainage, which is frequently the actual cause.
The part of the building you cannot get back to
Below-grade waterproofing is the one envelope element where a mistake is close to permanent, because the failed material is under the ground or under the slab and accessing it means excavation or demolition. That asymmetry should drive every decision made about it: the cost of getting it right is small relative to the cost of returning.
South Florida makes this harder than most markets. The water table is high, so structures below grade are frequently sitting in water rather than merely damp, and hydrostatic pressure is a constant load rather than an occasional one. Repairs from the inside are sometimes possible but are working against that pressure rather than with it. Where interior repair is the only practical option, it should be described honestly as a mitigation rather than as a cure.
How we handle it
- 01Establish where the water is entering before proposing anything.
- 02Check surface drainage first — it is frequently the cause.
- 03Recommend external repair where access makes it viable.
- 04Be explicit about the limits of an internal repair.
- 05Design drainage and pumping where exclusion is not achievable.
Check the surface drainage first. A downpipe discharging next to the wall, or ground sloping toward the building, causes a great many below-grade problems and costs almost nothing to correct compared with any waterproofing intervention.
Said plainly
Where we stop
An internal repair works against hydrostatic pressure rather than with it. It is frequently the only practical option and it is a compromise, and we will say so rather than presenting it as equivalent.
FAQ
Common questions
- Can below-grade leaks be fixed from inside?
- Frequently, as a compromise. It works against the pressure rather than with it.
- What should be checked first?
- Surface drainage. Downpipes and ground slope cause a lot of it and cost almost nothing to fix.
- Is external repair better?
- Substantially, where access makes it viable. Excavation is the cost.
- Can water be managed instead of excluded?
- Sometimes that is the honest answer — drainage and pumping.
Our approach
Investigate First
leak investigation water testing building envelope
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Test After Repairing
water test after repair verify leak fixed
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Systems, Not Products
building envelope system compatibility waterproofing
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Warranties
roof warranty what it covers exclusions commercial
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Maintain, Not React
building envelope maintenance program inspection commercial
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Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.