BENTONITE EXTERIOR INJECTION WATERPROOFING FOR WET BASMENTS AND FOUNDATIONS FROM GREAT LAKES WATERPROOFING

Most basement water issues are from grade level water, water coming from rain.  If you only see water after a rain storm, this includes you.  It's nearly impossible to have a concrete wall that doesn't crack, so over time, a lot of foundations develop leaks.  With bentonite injection waterproofing the idea is to seal off the water, stopping it before it can get in your basement for Real Waterproofing from Great Lakes Waterproofing.

The easiest way for water to get through your wall is through cracks, holes and "cold-joints."  A cold joint is where two or more concrete joints meet, in our Gif, it's where the wall meets the footing and floor, these were all poured at different times, each allowed to get hard before the next was poured.

By "injecting" the ground with bentonite, Great Lakes Waterproofing fills voids and water pathways next to the foundation.  As long as it's incapsulated in the ground, the benonite should maintain a gel consistency and with additional water pressure it will get pushed more into the holes, pores and imperfections in your wall creating an even stronger bond.  Water will no longer be able to move through your basement walls.

In most cases with bentonite injection waterproofing, no digging is required and plants and landscaping won't be harmed

When mixed properly, injected bentonite looks like chunky oatmeal, the little specs you see in the slurry can grow to the size of a large raisin, plugging the pathways water moves through the ground into your home.  All-natural Bentonite is also considered "self-healing"  an amazing property for a waterproofing project, when your foundation moves, like everytime a garbage truck drives by, the flexible Bentonite will move with the crack, ideally external water pressure will just push it further into the moving crack.

Bentonite injection waterproofing from Great Lakes Waterproofing stops the water before it moves through your wet walls and will not crack or flake off like asphalt or concrete coatings.

Bentonite is a fascinating material, originally mined in Benton Wyoming, it's qualities make it perfect for several different industries and applications.  Now mined worldwide, billions of dollars of Bentonite Waterproofing Materials are sold every year around the world.

Great Lakes Waterproofing uses Bentonite supplied in powered form and, when mixed with water, becomes a chunky slurry injected around the wet basement.

With it's water-resistant qualities, all-natural Bentonite is used extensively for basement waterproofing but  also has many other uses including as the bottom layer for man-made ponds, lakes and rivers.  You may have noticed the grey stuff where they've dug a new drainage basins, yep, it's Bentonite. 

There's several different blends and brands of waterproofing Bentonite Dry Materials made for all kinds of applications.  Ground conditions and type of soil will determine the best blend.  CETCO Bentogrout is one of the blends Great Lakes Waterproofing likes a lot for most wet foundations, it's added grit and filler help it stop water before it moves through the foundation for Real Waterproofing.

BENTOGROUT Bentonite is a high-solids grout consisting of a blend of bentonite and polymers formulated for sealing water leaks in existing below-grade structures using injection pumps

BENTOGROUT is injected in a fluid state adjacent to the exterior of the structure where it sets up into a gelatinous state forming a waterproofing barrier. BENTOGROUT can be used to seal leaks in concrete, masonry block, brick, and stone foundations.

BENTOGROUT is mixed with water and pumped adjacent to the exterior of the building.  There it will follow water pathways and fill underground voids, it solidifies and expands slightly to form a flexible waterproofing barrier.  Additional water pressure will just push it deeper into the foundation.

This is CETCO Voltex DS, used for exterior bentonite waterproofing on new construction.  There's a black plastic barrier, if ripped or opened, will expose the dry bentonite (the solid gray layer).  When in contact with water, the bentonite will swell up to 15x creating a thick, sticky goo that will resist water movement further into the wall.  The white fibers help hold the bentonite in place while instalation is going on.  The bentonite is attached to the wall along with prep work to anything that might be a future problem.

Great Lakes Waterproofing uses this on new foundations, one of our favorites is garages built into hills.  Since drain-tile waterproofing would freeze in the winter, this gives a water-tight bentonite barrier on the outside of the foundation, stopping water and protecting the concrete foundation.

When bentonite sets up properly it's has a thick, chunky peanut-butter consistancy that will self-heal if "punctured."  This photo shows a layer of bentonite between a concrete wall and sand. It also shows how the bentonite will surround the bolt and keep water from moving through this area.

If the bolt rusts and dissolves over the years, the self-healing nature of bentonite will fill the voids from the rusted bolt.  Additional water pressure will push the bentonite into the concrete hole and continue to seal this area.

Bentonite is one of the only materials that will stay flexible, we call it self-healing.  Other materials like asphalt,  paint and tar coatings will eventually dry and flake off the surface, if you look at homes a few years old you can see the black coatings that look faded and have very little water protection left.

Bentonite is an all-natural product, it will not polute water or the soil, in fact they use it to build man-made ponds and lakes.

Bentonite can be pumped from above-grade outside the structure without excavating, or from the interior of the structure through drilled holes in the walls or slabs. Limited jobsite space is required for bentonite injections.

Unlike many remedial waterproofing products that are applied as a surface treatment to the interior of the foundation, BENTOGROUT is applied to the exterior of the building where it stops the water before it can penetrate the foundation and help slow further damage to the walls.

The thick BENTOGROUT barrier covers the exterior surface of the structure filling voids in the adjacent soil and bridging over small cracks in the concrete. Also, BENTOGROUT has the ability to self-seal if the structure settles and therefore its performance is not limited by future hairline cracking in the concrete. BENTOGROUT does not shrink or dry out in sub-surface soil formations and is not affected by freeze/thaw cycling. 

It remains flexible, maintains a putty-like consistency over time, and retains a swell potential to seal itself off. And since BENTOGROUT primarily consists of natural minerals it is friendly to the environment and will last the life of the structure.  Older buildings love Great Lakes Waterproofing.