Residential waterproofing: how to protect your home

The importance of waterproofing

Parts of Auckland recorded over a year’s worth of rain in the first half of this year – highlighting the importance of ensuring our homes are protected. 

“This year, many of us in the Auckland region and across the country have encountered just how devastating water damage can be and have had areas in our homes that needed attention as a result,” says Glenn Edmonds, director at Sahara Waterproofing Limited. “Foundations, roofs, decks, gutters, bathrooms, kitchens, wet areas – all of these are areas with opportunity for water ingress.”

Based in Auckland, family-owned and operated Sahara Waterproofing is committed to providing the best waterproofing solutions. The certified team has a combined 40+ years’ experience and only uses products that have a minimum 15-year warranty, paired with a 10-year workmanship warranty. 

“Prevention is always better, wherever possible, to maintain the structural integrity of the property, protect your investment and your health – damp homes are not good, and we’re increasingly aware of the importance of healthy homes.”

A recent project for Sahara Waterproofing involved repairing the roof of a residential home in the East Coast Bays area. 

“Unfortunately, the roof was leaking and there was water ingress to the downstairs level,” says Glenn. 

Sika Sarnafil thermoplastic membrane was used for this repair, a product chosen for its UV resistance, durability and longevity. “This is exactly what we needed for this room – Sarnafil has been around for 60 years and is a proven industry leader.”

The project wasn’t without its challenges, though. With the wet weather experienced this year, it was difficult for the Sahara Waterproofing team to find a window of good weather to install the roof membrane. 

“The property was not shrink-wrapped, so we had to make sure that when a window of dry weather presented itself, we made the most of that opportunity. The last thing we would want is to open up the roof, and a storm to then move through. 

“A lot of our commercial work is about prevention. However, when carrying out remedial restorative work in a residential property, it is so important to acknowledge that this is someone’s home and there will often be high levels of emotion attached to the work,” says Glenn. “When we are engaged in projects of this nature, we want to do everything we can do to get it right, with minimal disruption and a high-quality, finished product.”

The basement of the Churchill Road project also needed waterproofing. Being a below-ground area, this application of waterproofing is referred to as ‘tanking’.

“A tanking membrane is capable of withstanding constant hydrostatic pressure without failure. In order for a building to be considered fully tanked, all areas below ground are required to be fully encapsulated in a membrane.”

For this downstairs area, Ardex WPM300 Water Based Epoxy Membrane was used. “We really like this two-part system which forms a hydrostatic pressure-resistant, waterproof membrane. It can be applied to damp surfaces, which make it perfect for this area,” says Glenn.

Cost, timeline and the end result

Residential waterproofing projects such as this can generally be achieved at a cost of $200 per sqm, says Glenn, with this project taking two months as a result of the weather. 

“The substrate also had significant structural failure due to water ingress and needed to be replaced. The skylight was also very brittle, cracking upon removal, and the replacement had to be custom made.

“On existing property work, very rarely is just one trade involved. Make sure the waterproofer has a good network of reliable trades they work with and can also recommend. Work on existing property often costs more than people are expecting, due to many factors, including the complexity of older buildings and the need to involve other trades – be sure to get a good breakdown of what work is going to be done, and that you understand it fully.”

Get in touch with Sahara Waterproofing Limited to learn more about residential waterproofing.