By Shashi Suvarna — National Head, Technical Solutions, Pidilite Industries Ltd. (Pidilite Professional Solutions)
Why high-rise protection now depends on continuity across levels
In high-rise construction, waterproofing is often specified in parts—basement membranes, podium coatings, drainage layers—each addressed separately.
It is impractical to hold across decades of hydrostatic pressure, monsoon cycles, root growth, and structural movement. The challenge has evolved beyond individual product specs to the integrity of the interfaces between them.
More than half of highrises face waterproofing challenges
Studies on urban high-rise performance show that more than half of high-rise buildings face waterproofing challenges, primarily due to gaps in design detailing and construction execution, often requiring complete system restoration.
Water can infiltrate through cracks, expansion joints, porous materials, or service openings before spreading across the structure. Beyond surfaces, performance depends on critical interfaces—construction joints under pressure, window and facade perimeters, podium decks, and service penetrations.
The impact of rainfall: design that weathers any storm
During monsoons, inadequate podium slopes increase ponding, stressing membranes and edge detailing; research highlights poor drainage design as a key failure driver, reinforcing 1–2% slope requirements.
Wind-driven rain forces water into façades, where even minor gaps at joints and window perimeters enable moisture ingress.
Hydrostatic pressure: designing for below-grade conditions
Basements face sustained hydrostatic pressure as groundwater accumulates via pressure, capillary action, penetrating membrane interfaces, joints, and cracks across levels.
Movement: buildings are never static
High-rise structures undergo settlement, thermal expansion, and seismic movement.
Disconnected systems concentrate these stresses at joints and transitions, creating potential leakage paths.
Root penetration: specifying for landscapes
Landscaped decks introduce sustained biological stress, as roots seek moisture and exploit defects at laps and terminations, progressively widening them and creating pathways for water ingress. This often results in concealed, progressive waterproofing failure, underscoring the need for root-resistant systems compliant with EN 13948.
The shift towards integrated systems
Waterproofing is no longer an isolated application. It is part of a broader system aligning materials, detailing, and sequencing across the building.
Waterproofing is now a multi-step process involving joints, membranes, sealants, and coordinated execution. This includes coordination between horizontal and vertical surfaces, integration with facade systems, and careful treatment of penetrations and edges.
A system approach in practice
At Godrej Meridien Prive, Gurgaon, waterproofing extended across the basement, podium, terrace, and wet areas, each exposed to varying water pressures, usage demands, and environmental conditions.
The project required addressing high water table conditions, coordinating across large surface areas, and ensuring performance at construction joints, podium interfaces, and service penetrations. With multiple systems deployed across levels, maintaining continuity was critical.
Resolving this meant viewing materials and details as a unified system rather than as isolated trades. In this framework, the transitions – not just the surfaces – became the primary design discipline.
The discipline of continuity
High-rise waterproofing is no longer about protecting individual surfaces— it is about ensuring systems work together over time.
Because in the end, water does not test materials. It tests continuity.
Let’s build for long-term performance
together: pps@pidilite.com
