Selection
Waterproofing System Selector
Answer five questions about the element you are waterproofing and get a recommended system — primer, membrane, coats and protection — with the reasoning, the cautions that matter, and a jump straight into the material calculator.
Describe the element
Five questions. The recommendation updates as you go.
What this assumes
- This is a selection aid, not a specification. It maps the zone, exposure, water pressure and substrate movement you enter onto the waterproofing chemistry that suits them, and states why. Confirm against the manufacturer’s system datasheet and, on a critical structure, a waterproofing consultant before it goes on site.
- Immersion and potable-water tanks are treated conservatively — crystalline or food-grade systems are preferred and UV-only chemistries are excluded.
- Where the substrate moves or cracks, elastomeric membranes (PU / acrylic) are favoured over rigid cementitious coatings used alone, because a rigid film bridges no crack.
- Buried and podium build-ups always assume a protection layer before backfill or screed — the membrane is not the wearing surface.
Where these figures come from. Recommendations follow standard waterproofing practice and IS 3067 / IS 2645 principles; the specific product within each system type is chosen on the product page and quantified in the material calculator.
Questions
How is this different from just picking a product?
It works one level up: it tells you the SYSTEM the situation needs — chemistry, build-up and cautions — before you pick a brand. A terrace that moves in the sun and a buried tank wall need completely different chemistries, and the wrong one fails regardless of how good the product is.
Positive vs negative side — why does it ask?
Water pushing INTO the structure (negative side, e.g. a basement from outside) will lift most surface coatings. Negative-pressure situations point to crystalline or integral systems that work within the concrete, not just on it.
Can I waterproof a moving crack with a cementitious coating?
Not reliably. A rigid cementitious film has almost no elongation and re-cracks over a live crack. Movement calls for an elastomeric membrane (PU or high-build acrylic) with crack-bridging, often with a reinforcing fleece over joints.
Does it tell me how much to buy?
It sizes the system, then hands off to the Waterproofing Material Calculator for kilos, coats and tubs against a named product’s published coverage.
Other tools
Coverage & quantityLitres, kilos and packs for a real areaWaterproofing materialMembrane kg and tubs to orderConcrete volumeCement, sand & aggregate for any memberAdmixture dosageLitres per m³, per batch and drumsEpoxy / PU flooringLitres by DFT with primerTile adhesiveBags by tile size and notchGrout consumptionGrout kg from joint geometry