Terra-Petra’s waterproofing division has been engaged by a leading Southern California contractor to conduct a forensic assessment of historic water intrusion issues for an existing building near LAX.

Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to discuss the project in detail, or disclose our client’s name as we are bound by an NDA, but we can say that the building in question is a single-story warehouse type structure with an approximate footprint of 100,000 SF.

Our process When Conducting Forensic Assessments:

Complete due diligence research on all existing buildings plans, specifications, reports, waterproofing submittal packages, photos and as-built drawings (if any of these exist). We want to be able to wrap our head around everything that has been completed to date, in order to better understand contributing factors that could have led to the failure in the waterproofing assembly.


Our investigators then conduct site walks where they perform non-destructive testing in compliance with ASTM 2128-12: Standard Guide for Evaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls. This will usually include a visual inspection and the use of thermal imaging equipment and moisture meters, among other tools, to carry out the assessment work.


The forensic investigators will meet with on-site personnel, take notes and photo document conditions in order to prepare summary with our findings, options and recommendations for addressing the water intrusion matters. Sometime the non-destructive testing is not able to identify the source of the failure. In these cases, we are able to move through a destructive testing process where claddings are removed to expose the underlying conditions for the investigators. Possible testing strategies may include water testing following ASTM/AAMA standards either with or without static pressure, flood testing with colored dyes or visual inspections. Each condition is analyzed on a case-by-case basis to determine the most appropriate strategy.

No Quick Fixes, Patches Or Band-Aids....We Get To The Root Of The Problem and Fix It!

At Terra-Petra we do not believe in “patches” or “band aids” when it comes to repairing failures in the waterproofing assembly because quite honestly, they just don’t work…one must get to the root cause and make repairs at that level, to stop the leak.

Our forensic team has a high degree of success in identifying root causes of water intrusion issues by following the process outlined above.

Contact Terra-Petra today to get started or get a consultation on your own waterproofing project needs.