Saturday, April 22, 2017

Utilizing Two Waterstops in Concrete Joints

With waterstop, two is often better than one. If your concrete joint has the appropriate clearance, why not use one waterstop as your primary barrier and another as a secondary barrier as a kind of insurance policy? If the first system fails in any way due to manufacture or installation, the second system is there to ensure fluid-tight integrity at the concrete joint.

Because waterstop systems are relatively low cost, having a secondary product installed can be a wise and inexpensive investment.

Let me be clear, if a hydrophobic waterstop is properly installed, there really is no need for a secondary waterstop system. Regardless of polymer or manufacturer, these waterstop products really only leak from poor installation procedures and a lack of quality assurance. In my over 20 years in this industry, I am yet to see a waterstop burst or fail due to high hydrostatic water pressure. However, I often see improperly installed product that will result in failure and leakage.

A typical “belt and suspenders” approach would be to have an embedded hydrophobic on the high-pressure side of the joint and a hydrophilic or mastic strip-applied waterstop several inches away from it on the low pressure side. An alternative secondary waterstop would be an injection tube system placed on the low pressure side.

Another great option would be to utilize JPEB375 Integrated Capseal as the “belt” and JP211 Base Seal as the suspenders.

The benefits of redundancy in installed waterstop systems is great and the cost is low, especially when amortized over the extended life of the concrete structure they are installed in.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Join New Concrete to Existing Concrete With Earth Shield Retrofit Waterstop

Earth Shield Part No. JP325T installed in an expansion joint.
Retrofit waterstop is designed to provide a fluid-tight seal between existing and new concrete construction, without resorting to the labor-intensive and structurally destructive saw-cut-and-grout method. It is ideal for constructing a new containment curb or wall to an existing slab, or joining a new slab to an existing wall. Special profile fabrications are available for columns and pipe penetrations.

All of our retrofit waterstops are sold as a system, and include all the necessary stainless steel bars and bolts. We also offer a high-quality chemical resistant novolac epoxy — VEN 1000. Earth Shield® retrofit waterstops are manufactured with our proprietary thermoplastic vulcanizate compound, which provides for unsurpassed chemical resistance.

Like all our thermoplastic vulcanizate waterstops, Earth Shield® retrofit can be heat-welded using a standard waterstop splicing iron. This allows for easy field fabrications, and allows the waterstop to function as a continuous, homogeneous, fluid-tight diaphragm. Waterstop change of directions can be purchased along with straight roll stock, and custom, fit-to-print waterstop modules are produced to order. Prefabricated ells, tees, tank pads, column fittings, and many others are in stock and ready to ship.

Tuesday, April 04, 2017

The Importance of NSF 61 Certification for Waterstop

NSF/ANSI Standard 61 was developed to establish minimum requirements for the chemical contaminants and impurities that are indirectly imparted to drinking water from products, components, and materials used in drinking water systems. Standard 61 is intended to cover specific materials or products that come into contact with drinking water, drinking water treatment chemicals, or both. The focus of Standard 61 is evaluation of contaminants or impurities imparted indirectly to drinking water. In the U.S., 47 of 50 states have legislation that requires compliance with NSF/ANSI Standard 61. Products that are NSF Certified against NSF/ANSI Standard 61 demonstrate compliance with both Canadian and U.S. Plumbing Codes. NSF Certification and Testing is widely accepted. NSF data is recognized by ASSE, BOCA, IAPMO, ICBO-ES, SBCCI, City of Los Angeles and many others. Earth Shield® Thermoplastic Vulcanizate Waterstop by J P Specialties, Inc. was the first commercial waterstop to achieve NSF 61 certification, and maintains this certification annually. Therefore, for your drinking water applications there is no more suitable product than Earth Shield® TPV Waterstop. Most commercially available waterstops do not have NSF 61 certification, so the designer should be wary in specifying these non-certified products.