Waterbar Application Manual

• General description of Waterstops and their usage

• Existing methods of sealing joints and problems associated with them

• An explanation of Strip type waterbars

Pidilite Industries Limited • Advantage of Dr. Fixit Waterbars

Construction Chemicals Division
Ramakrishna Mandir Road, PO Box No. 17411, Andheri East, Mumbai 400 059 T 2835 7000 F 2835 7008
• Detailed instructions on how to lay Dr. Fixit Waterbars
drfixit@pidilite.com, www.doctor-fixit.com
from the makers of
CC-DF-WF-WB-BK-07/13

• Frequently answered question (FAQ) on waterbars

BRANCH OFFICES Ph No.: INDIA +92-22-28357000 THAILAND +66-0-2722-8535 SINGAPORE +0065-67638681 / 6215 USA +561-775-9600
UNITED KINGDOM +44 208 42223111 CHINA +86 21 64430132 EGYPT +20-2-4186709 BRAZIL +55-11-96263661 • Comparision table for different types of strip waterbars
DISCLAIMER The product information & application details given by the company & its agents has been provided in good faith & meant to serve only as a general guideline during
usage. Users are advised to carry out tests & take trials to ensure on the suitability of products meeting their requirement prior to full scale usage of our products. Since the correct
identification of the problems, quality of other materials used and on-site workmanship are factors beyond our control, there are no expressed or implied guarantee / warranty as to
the results obtained. The Company does not assume any liability or any consequential damage for unsatisfactory results, arising from the use of our products.

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 Waterbar Application Manual
1] What are waterbars or waterstops and where are they
used in civil engineering?
All structures built of concrete have construction joints.
These may be horizontal joints, vertical joints, inclined joints
or curved joints. By themselves, they do not pose any
serious problems. However, if the structures are subject to
water pressure, improperly cast joints may cause problems
because of leakage. This may happen in water tanks,
basements, tunnels, swimming pools, water treatment
plants etc.
Such structures include Water Tanks, Swimming Pools,
Basement Wall and Floor perimeter joint, Basement column
and floor slab joint, vertical joints in basement retaining
walls, Sewage Treatment Plants, Sump Tanks, Potable water
Reservoirs, Raft Slabs cast in more than one pour, final roof
slabs cast in more than one pour, pipe intrusions in
concrete walls, fish hatcheries, concrete lined storm water
and irrigation channels, precast structures such as box
culverts, septic tanks and utility vaults, pedestrian and
below grade tunnels, but joint between old roof and new
roof and other joints.
2] Why does leakage occur?
Existing Methods of Sealing Construction Joints and common problems
with such methods
TYPICAL
WATER MAY LEAK ALONG PVC WATERSTOP FOLDING
THE PATH SHOWN IN RED OVER WHEN CONCRETE
FALLS ON IT
PROBLEMS WITH PVC WATERSTOPS
2 3
Leakage occurs when there is a gap in the construction
joint. This gap occurs when it is not possible to vibrate
concrete properly and effectively within the construction
joint due to various difficulties under site conditions. Such a
gap can also occur due to shrinkage of concrete. Shrinkage
gaps may vary from 0.5 mm to 1mm. Gap due to
inadequate vibration may vary from 1-6mm.
3] How do we solve this chronic problem?
Various attempts are made by engineers to solve this
problem.
Some engineers suggest the use of PVC waterstops during
concreting. Some apply epoxy to the construction joint.
Some prefer to grout the joint with cement slurry or epoxy
injection. Let us evaluate all these systems one by one.
• PVC Waterstops
PVC waterstops are available in various sizes in width and
various thicknesses. One half of the waterstop is inserted
into fresh concrete during concreting.
The other half is normally concreted in the second phase
of concreting. It is believed that this waterstop helps in
increasing the flow path of water around it thus lowering
its pressure. Experience shows us that PVC waterstops do
not bond with the parent concrete due to
nonhomogenous nature of the PVC and the concrete.
It is very difficult to keep the PVC waterstop in position
while concreting is underway, especially if there is
obstructing reinforcement bars. When the second lift of
concrete is poured, the second half of the PVC waterstop
generally folds over and helps to form a passage through
which even more water may leak. It is difficult
to weld PVC waterstop on site if a welding machine is not
available.
• Epoxy Coatings in Construction Joints
Although some nonengineers have suggested epoxy
coating as a solution to the problem of sealing gaps in
construction joints, this system will not work since epoxy
forms only a thin coating and does not fill the gap. It is
useful only when structural bonding is required. Gaps in
construction joints may be quite large (upto 5-6 mm) and
cannot be filled up by epoxy coating. In addition to sealing
the construction joint with a waterbar to prevent leakage,
your structural consultant may still recommend that you
apply epoxy coating above and below the waterbar so as
to ensure structural bonding.
• Cement Grouting
Cement grouting into construction joints is one of the
methods which is used regularly by engineers in the
attempt to fill up construction joints. This works well if
there is a large amount of honeycombs in the concrete.
However, if there are no honeycombs and there is only
a thin gap in the joint, then it becomes very difficult
to grout since the slurry cannot find its way into the fine
gap. Moreover, drilling a number of holes directly into
a joint will actually make the joint weaker and not help
much in sealing the joint.
• Epoxy, P. U, acrylic or other chemical
grouting
Epoxy grouting also has the same problems as cement
grouting. If drilling and fixing a grout nipple can be
executed well, then this method has a higher degree of
success as compared with cement grouting. However,
epoxy or any other kind of chemical grouting is very
expensive and it is difficult to find experienced applicators
to carry out such jobs.
The correct solution to sealing construction joints in
water contact structures is a STRIP WATERBAR OR STRIP
WATERSTOP.
A strip waterstop looks like a rope. Strip Waterstops
typically have a square or rectangular cross section of
sizes like 5 mm x 20 mm, 10 mm x 10 mm, 10 mm x 20
mm, 19 mm x 25 mm, 20 mm x 20 mm, 25 mm x 25 mm
etc. They are made of different materials like
hydrocarbon based polymer , hydrophilic rubber,
bentonite base, butyl rubber and other materials.
Generally they are divided into two categories:
NonSwellable (Compressible) Waterstops and Swellable
Waterstops or Waterbars.
• Nonswellable Waterbar
A noneswellable or compressible waterbar works on the
principle of compression and sealing the joint. When
concrete falls on the sealant, it gets compressed and by
virtue of this the gap or construction joint gets filled up.
For this, the essential properties are compressibility, i.e.
the waterbar should be slightly soft so that it gets
compressed. It should be able to change its shape and
squeeze itself to fill up the gap. It should be of fairly large
cross section so that there is enough material to get
squeezed. If for eg, the cross section is only 5 mm x 10
mm or 10 mmx 10 mm, there may not be enough material
to get compressed. Typically, compressible sealants
should be of 20 mm x 20 mm cross section minimum for
maximum effectiveness. If it is 25 mm x 25 mm, it is even
better.
Compressible (Nonswellable Waterbars) require very less
cover in concrete. They can be used with cover as less as
25mm. The minimum strength of concrete can also be as
low as M15 since there is no danger of expansion of
sealant.
An important requirement of compressible waterbars is a
highly adhesive nature. This is required because freshly
poured concrete should adhere immediately with the
waterbar. When shrinkage of concrete occurs, the
waterbar is still stuck to the concrete and no gap occurs
because of the shrinkage.
Compressible waterstops are generally useful to stop
water leakage having a maximum head of about 15 to 20
mtrs.
• Swellable Waterbars
A swellable waterbar works on the principle of swelling
upon coming into contact with water. If there is no water,
it does not swell at all. Typically, they are made of
hydrophilic rubber or are bentonite based materials.
• Pure rubber Hydrophilic Waterbar
Let us look at such a waterbar which is commonly
available in the market today. Such a waterbar is of small
cross section say 5 mm x 10 mm or 10 mm x 10 mm and
expands to 200 percent of its volume on contact with
water. Such waterstops are fairly rigid before expansion
and also after expansion. They retain most of their cross
section even after expansion. If it is immersed in water
and then taken out after a few days, it is not possible to
squeeze it in your hand and change its shape. These
waterstops work well in straight joints and where there is
no irregularity in the gap.
High Expansion pressure: Because hydrophilic rubbers
expand so much (250-300 percent), they are generally
manufactured using small cross sections like 5 mm x 10
mm, 10 mm x 10 mm, or 5 mm x 20 mm. This ensures
that there is not too much expansion volume and
 Waterbar Application Manual
LAYING DR. FIXIT WATERBAR-METHODOLOGY

consequently high pressures which may “blow out”
the joint.
For the same reason, manufacturers advise that the
minimum cover required in concrete when you use such
materials is about 75– 100 mm. Also the grade of
concrete should not be less than M20. Some
manufacturers even advise M25.
Premature Expansion Problem: It is important to see that
expansion does not take place even before you place
concrete. To solve this problem, some manufacturers
coat their waterstop with a “Delay Coating” which slows
down the rate of swell of the waterstop. This means that
the waterstop expands slowly.
Bentonite based Swellable Waterstop: Such a waterstop
relies highly on its considerable bentonite content to
expand. This is uncontrolled expansion. If immersed in
water, it will expand to the point that it will change its
shape completely and may even fall apart. If water
pressure is high, sometimes there is a chance that it
might even get washed away.
• Dr. Fixit's Swellable Waterbar SW 2020
Swellable waterstops are designed for higher waterheads.
They are typically used when you want to resist water
heads of about 50 to 100 mtrs.
freshly poured concrete. It is extremely difficult to site conditions cause problems and the waterstop 1 2
remove NSW2525 from set concrete. This property helps expands even before you concrete it. In that case, the
when concrete shrinkage takes place. The waterstop is SW2020 waterstop behaves like a flexible compressible
pulled by the concrete and shapes itself into the new waterstop. Its large cross section again comes into play
space. and the material squeezes itself into the construction
joint and again makes the joint watertight. This is why it is
NSW 2525 is larger than most other waterstops in the called a “2 in 1 Waterbar”.
market. It his highly flexible and therefore can be
moulded into the construction joint when concrete falls
on it, thus filling up the construction joint completely and CLEAN THE JOINT APPLY PRIMER 20mm WIDE
making the joint waterproof. 3 4
NSW 2525 is completely unaffected by water and hence
can be used in situations where there is a danger of
curing water or rain affecting the work. It can be used
even when the cold joint is wet or curing water has
stagnated. However, loose mortar and laitance should be
removed physically before using NSW 2525.
NSW 2525 is recommended to be used where it is
necessary to resist water heads of upto 15 to mtrs.
UNCOIL DR. FIXIT WATERBAR PLACE IN POSITION
5 6
SW 2020 is the hydrophilic swellable waterbar of Dr. Fixit.
It is also known as a “2 in 1 Waterbar”

SW2020 first acts like a compressible waterstop because

Badly compacted concrete above or below a construction
joint can still leak in spite of using the best quality
waterbar
Advantages of Dr. Fixit Waterbars
• Dr. Fixit Nonswellable Waterbar NSW2525
Dr. Fixit Nonswellable Waterbar NSW 2525 is a
compressible waterbar with a large cross section.
Unlike other hydrophilic Rubber waterbars which are
commonly available, NSW 2525 is highly adhesive in
nature. This nature allows it to bond by adhesion to
4 5
of its large cross section and because of its flexible
nature. It immediately makes the joint water resistant to a
waterhead of about 20 mtrs. Next, it starts expanding
when it comes into contact with water and then increases
the resistance to water leakage upto a head of 60-80
mtrs. This is why it is called a “2 in 1 Waterbar”.
SW 2020 is a “Controlled Expansion” waterstop. It does
not swell to the point of deterioration. It is designed to
swell upto a maximum of 150 percent over and above its
original volume. By this, it ensures that there is no
unnecessary pressure generated inside the joint due to
high expansion. Hence concrete cover can be as less as
50 mm when using SW2020. It also ensures that it does
not expand so much that it gets washed out from the
joint in case there is a large gap.
SW 2020 has a large cross section of 20 mm x 20 mm.
Thus, it has the great advantage that compressible
waterbars have. A large cross section which ensures that
there is enough volume to begin with which can get
compressed. SW 2020 is a flexible material unlike regular
hydrophilic rubber waterstops which are rigid. Note that
rigid waterstops cannot be compressed easily.
Unlike other hydrophilic Rubber waterbars which are
commonly available, SW 2020 is highly adhesive in
nature. This nature allows it to bond by adhesion to
freshly poured concrete. It is extremely difficult to
remove SW2020 from set concrete. This property helps
when concrete shrinkage takes place. The waterstop is
pulled by the concrete and shapes itself into the new
space.
SW 2020 is fault tolerant waterstop. Let us assume that
POUR CONCRETE FINISHED WATERPROOF JOINT
Effect of SW 2020
placed in a pipe &
immersed in water
Before swelling After swelling
Detailed laying instructions
(READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING DR.FIXIT WATERBAR)
• Positioning of waterstop in the joint is very important.
Please refer to the section on SKETCHES in the waterbar
application manual to see exactly how waterstop is to be
placed.
• Cleaning of joint of loose concrete, debris, dust and loose
mortar is very important.
• ALWAYS CHECK the carton to make sure which waterbar
you are using Swellable or Nonswellable. Please note that
instructions for laying Swellable and Nonswellable
waterbar are different. Please refer SPECIFICATION in the
TECHNICAL DATA SHEET.
• Do not stretch or pull the Dr. Fixit Waterbar and make it
longer than its existing length. If you do this, then the
effectiveness of the waterbar will reduce drastically and it
will not be able to seal the joint properly.
 Waterbar Application Manual (Sketches)

SECOND
POUR

SECOND FIRST
Cut away view showing Dr. Fixit Waterbar inside a typical POUR POUR

horizontal construction joint

Vertical Joints in raft slab

VERTICAL JOINT - HANGING WATERBAR

USING BINDING WIRE OR STRING TYPICAL PLACEMENT OF WATER BAR IN
IF IT DOES NOT STICK TO PRIMER CONSTRUCTION JOINTS OF BASEMENT OR CELLAR

6 7
 Waterbar Application Manual
products
• Question: In hot weather, will Dr. Fixit waterbar become
soft and melt?
Answer: No, the unique structure of Dr. Fixit Waterstop
ensures that it does not melt and flow in hot weather,
unlike other waterstops.
DR. Fixit Waterbar SW 2020 is the only hydrophilic
rubber swellable waterbar having such a large cross
section. Cross section of SW 2020 is 20mm x 20 mm =
400 sq mm. Other waterbars are of much smaller cross
section.
Dr. Fixit Waterbar NSW 2525 is made of superior
material made with the latest technology in the USA in
international standard extruding machines. The
manufacturing process complies fully with ISO 9001.

Comparision with other similar

Comparision of Different types of Strip Waterbars (User Guide)
process which exerts less pressure on the surrounding
Frequent questions concrete and is the preferred specification today.
No. Property Compressible Other Regular Pidilite’s special 2 in 1
• Question: Will the Waterbar become hard or deteriorate
• Question: You have two types of waterbars. One is with time?
(Nonswellable Waterbar) SwellableWaterbar Controlled Expansion
swellable and the other is nonswellable. Which should I Answer: Dr. Fixit Waterbar is designed to remain flexible Waterbar
choose for my project? for the lifetime of the concrete. It will not deteriorate SW 2020
Answer: The choice of waterbar depends on various with time. It will last the lifetime of the structure.
factors. The first and primary characteristic is the 1. Concrete Grade Can be used in concrete grade Preferable to use in concrete Can be used in concrete grade
waterhead that it has to resist in your structure. If you • Question: Is it compulsory to make a keyway or groove as low as M15 or M20 grade M 25 and above only from M20 to M40
have a high waterhead, you will choose the swellable and then place the waterbar?
type. If you have a low waterhead, you will choose the Answer: No, it is not. The waterstop will work effectively 2. Cover required 20 mm 75 mm 50 mm
nonswellable type. If you are not sure how well you will be even if there is no keyway as long as there is enough
able to vibrate in the construction joint area, you will head of concrete on top to “press” the waterbar. This is 3. Size available Generally 20 mm x 25 mm Typically Big size
choose the swellable type. If you are fairly certain about especially important in the case of the nonswellable (Bigger the better) (500 sq. mm.) 5mmx10mm 20mmx20mm (400 sq. mm)
your concrete quality compaction just below and just waterbar. For best results, the recommended head of 10mmx10mm Value for money
above the construction joint, you will choose the concrete for nonswellable waterbar is 400 mm and for 5mmx20mm
nonswellable type. However, in view of the fact that the swellable waterbar, the head can be as low as 150 mm.
price difference is very less between the swellable and 4. Expansion None 250 to 300 150 over and above
the nonswellable waterbar in Pidilite, it may be advisable • Question: How do I know if the waterstop I have used (More need not original volume
to choose the swellable type since it offers significantly in my project is the original patented Dr. Fixit Waterbar necessarily be
more benefits. or not? better, please read
Answer: It is always advisable to buy from any of our
detailed literature
• Question: Some waterstop companies claim that their registered dealers. That way, you are assured of getting on this)
waterstop is better because it resists a waterhead of 100 the original waterbar. There are instances when fake
mtrs. Is that of better quality? waterbars made of cheap black material will be shown as 5. Technology Proven technology. Has been Swelling technology better Next higher level in
Answer: You need to buy a waterstop that fits your need Dr. Fixit waterbar or equivalent. Only when the waterbar used for many years. than compressible waterbars technology after swelling
and your budget. If your structure has to resist only 15 fails will you know that the product has caused you technology
mtrs waterhead throughout its entire life, there is no enormous problems. But by then, it may be too late. It is
need to pay a very high price and buy a waterstop which always advisable to buy the original product and be 100 6. Water Head which 15-20 mtrs 50-100 mtrs 60-80 mtrs
can resist 100 mtrs waterhead. However, if you are able percent sure. it can resist
to get a waterstop which will resist a very high pressure • Question: Is Dr. Fixit waterbar competitive in price
and at the same time costs very less, then buy it. 7. Flexibility and Very good Fairly rigid Very good
compared to other waterbars in India? compressbility
• Question: Our consultant has specified that the waterstop Answer: Compare our product with any other waterstop
has to expand in volume by 300 percent so that it will available in the market. When others give smaller cross 8. Dual Role of No No Yes
work well. Does your swellable waterstop swell by 300 sections of 10 mm x 10 mm or 5 mm x 20 mm, Pidilite is compressible and
percent? offering a cross section of 20mm x 20 mm for the same swelling waterstop
Answer: Generally the gap in construction joints varies price as others. i.e. you are getting a waterstop which has
from 0 mm to 4 mm. More the waterstop swells, more three times the volume which also means that the price 9. Availability Available always Not available always Available always
the pressure that is exerted inside the concrete. For this is nearly one third that of competitors for the same
reason, uncontrolled expansion is generally not preferred category. 10. Technical Backup Always available from Pidilite. Not available always Always available from Pidilite.
by knowledgable engineers. Dr. Fixit Waterbars are • Question: How is it that Dr. Fixit waterbar is priced lesser Separate division formed to Separate division formed to
designed to swell by 150 percent more than original than other competitor's products? service this market service this market
volume which is the specified standard in many advanced Answer: Pidilite is able to give this technically advanced 11. Offering Full range Pidilite offers entire range Competitors do not offer Pidilite offers entire range
countries. This “Controlled “Controlled Expansion” Waterbar at such a low price by of waterstop entire range
Swelling” property of Dr. Fixit Waterbar is a patented manufacturing it in large quantities.
8 9
Notes