Skip to content
Civil Vedant

Civil Vedant

The Online Civil Engineering Portal

  • Articles
    • Materials & Construction
    • WRE & Irrigation
    • Geotechnical
    • Transportation
    • Environment
    • Safety
  • Multiple Choice Questions
    • Civil Engg.
    • Materials
    • Environment Engg.
    • Fluid Mechanics
    • Soil Mechanics
    • RCC & Steel
    • Survey
    • Hydrology & Irrigation
    • Transportation Engg.
  • Jobs
  • Toggle search form
damp proofing materials

Damp Proofing Materials – Requirements & Types

Posted on May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 By Civil Vedant

Damp Proofing in a construction is a technique of preventing moisture from entering  the interior of the structure to prevent weakening or decomposing of construction materials (i.e. weakening of bricks due to overwater absorption and oxidation of steel results in the development of cracks in walls). It is basically a technique of making the outer surface impermeable.

The requirements of ideal material for damp-proofing are as follows :

  1. Material should be durable
  2. Material should be steady and does not allow any movement in itself
  3. Material should be perfectly impervious
  4. Material should be capable of resisting safely the loads
  5. Material should be flexible so that it is capable of accommodating the structural movements without any fracture
  6. Material should be dimensionally stable
  7. Material should be reasonably cheap
  8. Material should be free from deliquescent salts like sulphates, chlorides and nitrates.

Types of materials used for damp-proofing are as follows :

  1. Hot Bitumen :
  • This is a flexible material placed on the bedding of concrete or mortar.
  • It should be applied with a minimum thickness of 3mm.

2. Mastic Asphalt :

  • It is a semi-rigid material and forms an excellent impervious layer for damp-proofing.
  • It is durable and completely impervious material.
  • It can withstand very slight distortion.
  • It is liable to squeeze out in very hot climates or under very heavy pressure.

3. Bituminous Felts :

  • It is a flexible material.
  • It is easy to lay and is available in rolls of normal wall width.
  • It is laid on layer of cement mortar.
  • It can accommodate slight movements.
  • It is liable to squeeze out under heavy pressure and it offers little resistance to sliding.

4. Metal Sheets :

Lead, Copper and Aluminium are used as membranes of damp-proofing.

[wptb id=1317]

5. Combination of sheets and felts :

  • A lead foil sandwiched between asphalt or bituminous felt, known as lead core
  • It is economical, durable and efficient

6. Stones :

  • Two courses of sound and dense stones such as granites, slates etc. laid in cement mortar with vertical breaking joints can work as an effective damp-proofing course
  • Stones should extend for full width of walls

7. Bricks :

  • Bricks absorbing water < 4.5% of dry weight can be used as damp-proof material
  • Bricks are used where damp-proofing is to be done on existing wall

8. Mortar :

  • It is used as damp-proofing by mixing 1 part of cement and 3 parts of sand by volume
  • For plastering work, the water-proof mortar is prepared by mixing 1 part of cement, 2 parts of sand and pulverized alum at a rate of 120 N/m3 of sand. 

9. Cement Concrete :

  • A cement concrete of 1 : 2 : 4 is provided at plinth level
  • Depth of layer varies from 40-150 mm.

10. Plastic sheets :

  • Material is made of black polythene having thickness of about 0.5-1 mm
  • Treatment is relatively cheap and not permanent
Share
Materials & Construction Tags:damp proof materials, damp proof membrane, damp proofing materials for walls, damping, dampness, DPC, hot bitumen for damp proofing, materials used for damp proofing, types of damp proofing

Post navigation

Previous Post: Hydrology & Irrigation| MCQ – 07 | 20 MCQs
Next Post: Building Materials | MCQ – 10 | 20 MCQs

More Related Articles

Cement Laboratory Tests Materials & Construction
bamboo types Bamboo in Architecture and Construction. Why its Use? Materials & Construction
non destructive testing on concrete Non Destructive Tests on Concrete Materials & Construction
Cement Cement – Basic & Technical Specification Materials & Construction
building information model Building Information Modelling (BIM) : An Overview Materials & Construction
smart building Smart Building Automation: How IoT is Improving Building Performance Materials & Construction
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • DMCA

Copyright © CivilVedant. All Rights Reserved. All logos and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Image by macrovector on Freepik

Copyright © 2023 Civil Vedant.

Powered by PressBook Blog WordPress theme