Page 27 - Construction Waterproofing Handbook
P. 27
WATERPROOFING PRINCIPLES—THE BUILDING ENVELOPE 1.9
FIGURE 1.8 Diversion systems.
must be enveloped from top to bottom with barrier or drainage systems, with divertor com-
ponents added where appropriate to increase performance of the envelope. These systems
then must interact integrally to prevent water infiltration. Should any one of these systems
fail or not act integrally with all other envelope components, leakage will occur.
Even with continuing technological advances in building materials, water continues to
create unnecessary problems in completed construction products. This is most often due to
an envelope’s inability to act as an integrated system that prevents water and pollutant infil-
tration. All too often several systems are designed into a building that have been chosen inde-
pendently and are acting independently rather than cohesively.
Detailing transitions from one component to another or terminations into structural com-
ponents are often overlooked. Product substitutions that do not act integrally with other spec-
ified systems create problems and leakage. Inadequate attention to movement characteristic
of a structure can cause stress to in-place systems that they are not able to withstand. All these
situations acting separately or in combination will eventually cause water intrusion.
BASIC ENVELOPE DESIGN
To understand the complete enveloping of a structure, several definitions as well as their
relationship to one another must be made clear:
