Benchmarks to minimize water leakages in basements

Basement defects such as water seepages leakages are tedious and expensive to rectify. Intensive research has been conducted to study the problem type, their causes and preventive measures. The study explored 987 water seepage leakage cases in 61 buildings. Eleven significant factors leading to the occurrence of water seepage in basements were identified. The implications of six benchmarks, namely: degree of water-tightness; safety measures for structural concrete; performance of waterproofing systems; integrity of basement structure; provision for movement and quality of compaction in concreting, for minimizing four types of water seepage leakage problems in basements are discussed.