Drainage Do’s and Don’ts
Good drainage is much more than membranes. It starts with gutters and downspouts and extends to sprinklers, landscaping, and lot topography. Damp basements aren’t just unpleasant; they can be literally hazardous to your health. On the other hand, a...
A New Look at Ballasted Roofs
When gravel, pavers, or vegetation is used to hold roofing components in place, the result is a ballasted roof. This time-tested technique is receiving a new look from code councils, as recent studies on roof temperature and wind uplift requirements reveal...
Negative Side Waterproofing
– By Basil Mewes and Dieter Köster It’s Possible to Waterproof Leaking Basements From the Inside Water and moisture con-siderably reduce the value of a basement as living space or storage area. When moisture enters a basement, the conditions for the...
Winter 2011 News
Liberty Pumps, the New York-based sump pump manufacturer, has selected a group of eight sales representatives to be part of the company’s “Rep Council.” The selections were made as part of the American Society Of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) Convention held in early...
Sloped Roofs – Roof Pitch and System Selection
The optimal roofing product for a building depends primarily on a roof’s slope and weight-bearing capacity.With a pitch that varies from dead flat on the top to near vertical at the eaves, metal roofing was a good choice for this building. It’s no...
Working With Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber makes basement structural repair easier and more profitable. Whether the job calls for straps, staples, or whole sheets of material, there’s a product on the market to fit your needs. In terms of weight-to-strength ratio, carbon fiber is...
Radon Barriers
As building envelopes have gotten tighter, radon has become deadlier. Underslab barriers, radon mitigation, and testing systems are healthy—and profitable—services basement contractors can add to their businesses. Radon is a cancer-causing radio-active gas. ...
Fall 2010 News
Two and a half years in the making, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has finalized new guidelines on how to protect green roofs from wind uplift.Titled Wind Design Standards, RP-14, the standard provides a method of providing adequate wind uplift...
Black or White: Roofing Color as an Energy Strategy
Reflective roofing has gained tremendous market share in recent years as energy costs and environmental concerns have increased. Black roofing membranes have been the status quo for more than a century. And while they usually do a great job protecting the...
Commercial Grade Sump Pumps Provide the Answer to Flooding
Heavy-duty submersible effluent pumps from Hydromatic demonstrates the high quality components used in commercial-grade equipment: The cutaway at left shows multiple strainer inlets, a bronze impeller mounted on a stainless steel shaft, top and bottom...
