Construction Chemicals by Application: Basements, Roofs, Floors, Structures and Repairs

Construction chemicals by application are grouped by the structure they protect, from basements and roofs to parking decks, bridges and tanks, and by the damage they repair (cracks, spalling, wet masonry): 8 application hubs and 21 topic pages.

Construction chemicals are formulated specialty products that waterproof, repair, protect, join, bed, level, finish, cure, release or fire-protect concrete, masonry and structural steel. Their 15 product families are listed under construction chemicals.

Table 1 lists 17 waterproofing pages for 5 structures, Table 2 lists 12 repair pages for 3 problems, and Table 3 sets the governing documents side by side, from IBC 2024 section 1805.3.2 to EN 1504-3:2005.

Standards, codes and regulations are checked against their issuing bodies, product values against the named data sheet and prices against the dated source named in the sentence; see our methodology and fact-checking.

What Are Construction Chemical Applications?#

A construction chemical application is the structure or problem a product system is selected for, such as a basement wall under hydrostatic pressure, a parking deck exposed to de-icing chlorides or a dormant crack. The application decides the product class, the governing document and whether a trained applicator installs the system. An exposed parking deck, for example, takes a traffic coating to ASTM C957/C957M-25, while a dormant dry crack takes epoxy injection.

How are the 29 application pages ordered?#

The 29 application pages are ordered on 2 axes, listed below.

1. Structures (5 hubs, 12 topic pages): basements, roofs, parking, bridges and tunnels, and water-retaining structures; the water load decides the system.
2. Problems (3 hubs, 9 topic pages): cracks, spalling and masonry; the cause decides the repair.

The order basements, roofs, parking, infrastructure, tanks, cracks, spalling, masonry holds in every table.

Waterproofing Applications by Structure#

Waterproofing applications cover 5 structures, from basements and flat roofs to parking structures, bridges and tunnels, and water-retaining structures, and the water load at each one sets the system. Loads range from soil moisture and hydrostatic pressure to ponding, de-icing chlorides and internal head.

Table 1 compares the 5 structure hubs and their 12 topic pages by what each page covers.

Basements, foundations and crawl spaces#

Basement pages split by side and access: positive-side membranes on excavated walls, cementitious or crystalline coatings on the negative side after crack injection, and pre-applied sheets or bentonite composites where the outside face cannot be reached. IBC 2024 section 1805.3.2 carries wall waterproofing to at least 305 mm (12 in) above the maximum groundwater elevation, and section 1805.2 permits dampproofing only where hydrostatic pressure will not occur. Unvented crawl spaces take a continuous, sealed Class I vapor retarder (IRC R408.3).

Flat roofs, terraces and green roofs#

Roof pages cover sheets, liquid-applied membranes and coatings on flat roofs, plus walking decks, tiled balconies and green roof build-ups. IBC 2021 section 1507.14 sets a minimum slope of 2 % (1/4:12) for liquid-applied roofing. In Europe, EAD 030350-00-0402 assesses liquid roof kits for working lives of 5, 10 and 25 years (W1 to W3), and EN 13948:2007 runs a 2-year root test.

Parking decks, bridges, tunnels and marine structures#

Parking and infrastructure pages cover traffic coatings with an integral wearing surface, membranes under asphalt on bridge decks, drained and undrained tunnel linings, and splash-zone and underwater repairs. ASTM C957/C957M-25 covers exposed traffic coatings on decks not under hydrostatic pressure; ASTM D6153-23 sorts bridge deck membranes into Types I, II and III.

EAD 030350-00-0402 excludes vehicle-accessible roofs and bridges, so decks follow their own documents: ACI PRC-362.2-21 for parking maintenance, EAD 030675-00-0107 for EU bridge deck kits and ACI PRC-546.2-20 for underwater repair.

Tanks, reservoirs and pools#

Water-retaining structures are designed for a tightness class, 0 to 3 under EN 1992-3:2006 and to ACI CODE-350-20 in the US, and the bare structure is tested before any lining goes on. BS 8102:2022 Grade 1a equals tightness class 0. A pool shell passes its tightness test before membrane and tile, because paint, plaster, tile and grout are not waterproofing membranes.

Repair and Protection Applications by Problem#

Repair and protection applications cover 3 problems, cracks, spalling and wet masonry, and each page starts from the cause, because the cause decides between injection, a repair mortar and a water repellent. Spalling pages add rebar corrosion, carbonation, scaling and honeycombing.

Table 2 compares the 3 problem hubs and their 9 topic pages by what each page covers.

Concrete cracks by type and location#

Crack pages classify the crack before any product: active or dormant, structural or non-structural, wet or dry. Epoxy injection to ASTM C881/C881M-20a Type IV, Grade 1 re-bonds dormant dry cracks (ACI PRC-224.1-07), while polyurethane and acrylic grouts seal wet or moving cracks from 0.05 mm (0.002 in) wide. Cracks from corroding reinforcement are not epoxy-injected; they go to concrete repair.

Spalling, rebar corrosion and surface damage#

Spalling pages separate cavities from corroding reinforcement from scaling, the flaking of near-surface concrete or mortar, and from honeycombing, the voids left by incomplete filling or compaction. EN 1504-3:2005 classes repair mortars R1 to R4, resin-bound mortars included. R3 and R4 are structural: R4 requires at least 45 MPa (6,527 psi) compressive strength, R3 at least 25 MPa (3,626 psi).

Masonry, efflorescence and rising damp#

Masonry pages cover penetrating and film-forming water repellents, efflorescence and chemical damp-proof courses for rising damp. Penetrating repellents seldom stop water through cracks wider than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) (BIA Technical Note 6A, August 2008). Water penetration is tested to ASTM E514/E514M-20 in the lab and ASTM C1601-22a in the field, and BS 6576:2005+A1:2012 excludes walls under hydrostatic pressure.

Where Do Floor Applications Sit?#

Floor applications sit on both axes: slab cracks and exposed parking decks have application pages, while industrial, commercial and garage floor systems are product pages in the resin flooring family.

Resin and industrial floor coatings, FeRFA Types 1 to 8, are compared by type and chemistry under resin and industrial floor coatings.

Slab moisture limits come from each product maker; ASTM F2170-19a and F1869-23 measure moisture but set no pass or fail value.

Which Standards Govern Each Application?#

Each application has its own governing documents: building codes and design standards for the structure, and product or test standards for the system, set side by side with their editions in Table 3.

Table 3 compares the US and the European and UK governing documents for each application.

Construction chemicals standards change edition on their own cycles, so each hub states the clause and edition it relies on; every EN, ASTM, ANSI and DIN document is indexed under construction chemicals standards.

How Do You Find an Applicator for a Structure?#

Waterproofing, injection, traffic coating and structural repair systems on these pages are installed by trained applicators, so a request starts from the structure, the problem, the area in m² (ft²) and the location. Crack requests give the length in m (ft) instead; photos are optional.

Which Application Page Fits a Mixed Problem?#

A mixed problem is read in the order damage, then water: the page for the cause (crack, spall or salt) comes first and the waterproofing page for the structure second. The 3 common sequences are listed below.

• Basement wall crack: injection, then a negative-side cementitious or crystalline coating.
• Spalled parking deck: EN 1504-3:2005 mortar repair, then a traffic coating.
• Wet masonry wall: crack and joint repair, then a penetrating water repellent.

Is a leaking basement wall crack a crack repair or a waterproofing job?#

Both, in that order: the crack is injected first, as covered on the foundation crack repair page, and the wall is then protected on the negative side with a cementitious or crystalline coating. Elastic film coatings are not used on the negative side, where salts and water pressure debond them.

Does a spalled parking deck need repair or a traffic coating first?#

Repair comes first: spalls from corroding reinforcement are repaired with EN 1504-3:2005 mortars before a traffic coating seals the deck against water and de-icing chlorides. ACI PRC-362.2-21, which supersedes ACI 362.2R-00, is the current maintenance guide for parking structures.

Are admixtures, asphalt sealers and water chemistry covered here?#

No: concrete admixtures, supplementary cementitious materials and fibers are covered on concreteadditives.net, cement additives on cementadditives.org, asphalt and blacktop sealers on asphaltadditives.net and pool and tank water chemistry on watertreatmentchemicals.net. Crystalline coatings applied to hardened concrete stay on this site.