The Terra-Petra Waterproofing Division conducted water testing in Culver City that resulted in a first-time pass.
By Barry Taheri, Terra-Petra Forensic Waterproofing Consultant
Q: What does a first-time pass in water testing demonstrate?
A: It demonstrates the team can execute the detailing and workmanship of the materials required to build a watertight assembly without having to make alterations to the detailing means, methods, or materials. Typically, we don’t see a first-time water test pass.
We congratulate our team on their success, particularly the meticulous detailing by the applicator/subcontractor. We conducted an audit of the past 30 water tests to identify the best practices that lead to a first-time pass water test versus otherwise. Our team was surprised to find the following commonality without exception.
All mockups that resulted in a first-time pass had one thing in common. The GC, subcontractor, manufacturer representative, and waterproofing consultant were present during the mockup layering and detailing. In all other cases that did not result in a first-time water test pass, the mock-ups were done in the dark without the critical parties present.
This example demonstrates clearly that the shortcut to water tightness is to follow the process of appropriate design and materials, mocked-up in place or stand-alone, with all parties present.