Waterproofing

Waterproofing products for balconies, wet rooms and tanking

Water ingress is among the most expensive defects to remedy once a building is complete, because reaching the failed layer usually means removing everything above it. Licata supplies liquid waterproofing membranes, cementitious tanking slurries, elastic waterproof coatings and the detailing components that make a waterproofing system continuous.

Waterproofing as a system, not a product

Waterproofing fails at junctions, not in the middle of a flat area. Upstands, thresholds, drainage outlets, pipe penetrations and internal corners are where water finds its way through, and these are exactly the places a general-purpose product cannot detail reliably on its own.

A waterproofing system supplies the membrane together with the tapes, fillets, corner pieces and collars that form a continuous barrier at every junction. Specifying the membrane alone and improvising the details is the most common route to a callback.

Balconies and terraces

Balconies combine every difficult condition: constant weather exposure, thermal movement, falls to drainage, an upstand at the threshold, and usually a tiled finish bonded on top. The waterproofing layer has to accommodate movement without splitting and remain fully bonded beneath the finish.

Liquid-applied membranes suit balcony work because they form a seamless layer that follows the substrate profile and can be dressed into upstands and around outlets without joints. On refurbishment, they can often be applied over a prepared existing substrate, avoiding full removal.

Wet rooms, bathrooms and showers

A wet room has no tray to contain water, so the waterproofing beneath the tiles is the only thing protecting the structure. Grout is not waterproof, and tile adhesive is not a membrane. Water passing through the tiled surface has to meet a continuous membrane beneath.

The critical areas are the shower zone floor and walls, the junction between them, and any pipe penetration. Our wet room systems combine a liquid membrane with a deformable S1 tile adhesive, so the finish accommodates movement without the tile detachment that rigid adhesives suffer.

Tanking and below-ground waterproofing

Below-ground waterproofing works against hydrostatic pressure rather than surface water, which is a fundamentally different problem. Cementitious tanking slurries bond to the substrate and resist positive and negative pressure, making them suitable for basements, lift pits, tanks and retaining structures.

• Balcony and terrace waterproofing beneath tiled finishes
• Wet rooms, bathrooms and shower enclosures
• Basements, lift pits and below-ground structures
• Water tanks, plant rooms and service areas
• Roof terraces and podium decks

Technical support and supply

Our technical team can confirm the right waterproofing system for the application, the substrate and the finish going over it, and advise on detailing at the junctions where it matters. Waterproofing products are stocked across our six UK branches.