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Waterproofing deatails: How to treat a basement window


What are basement windows used from?

The basement window is a fondamental small building component that serves to guarantee the passage of air and light to the basement.

At street level, the basement window is presented with openings protected by gratings or ditches that are also provided with a grating cover.

What is the most common window for basement?

They becoming common in the construction world , because they are used to ventilate basements and create a source of natural light. They are not all the same, but come in different types: plastic (prefabricated) or concrete (cast in situ), with an open or closed bottom. In any case, however, regardless of their type, basement window wells, if not well treated till to the smallest detail (corner areas, vertical and horizontal castings), can lead to unpleasant and degrading infiltrations.

In the presence of infiltrations, whether they are prefabricated or concrete structures, it is possible to intervene on basement window wells with a mix of solutions capable of resolving the damage caused by the passage of water. These are either hydro-expansive mastics to be used in combination with waterproof mortars, or high-performance elastic tapes associated with an epoxy adhesive: solutions that ensure a very strong seal against water, even in counterthrust.

In these cases it is important to seal cracks and joints with special tape and epoxyadhesive (even from inside if is not possibile to escavate from outside) able to resist to negative pressure of the water. Semi-basements very often present the combination of phenomena of external rising dampness and internal leakages. It becomes absolutely necessary in thes contexts to work waterproofing even from outside with a combination of waterproof mortar, chemical injection and dehumidifcation.

How do I protect my basement windows?

You can protect your basement windows from inside or from outside. Usually, considering type of backfill and possibility and cost to make excavations it is always preferred reparation from inside.

How do you waterproof old basement windows?

In the first option you can operate localized reparations with waterproof mortars and special tapes resisting to water pressure. From outside you can repair making a drainage and/or applying tapes in all weak points and joints.

Products associated with the article

I-PLUG

Ultra-quick waterproof mortar.

PLASTIVO 180

Two-component flexible waterproofing compound.

AKTI-VO 201

Synthetic rubber hydro-expansive mastic.

BI FLEX SYSTEM

Elastic tape based on TPE polymers and epoxy adhesive for gluing.

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