INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE FOR LEAKY ROOFS
REPAIR TO LEAKY ROOF Before taking any decision regarding remedial measures to be
(FLAT ROOF) adopted for leaky roofs, it is necessary that the roofs are inspected
thoroughly.
The inspection should preferably be done during rainy season.
{ Presented by
Avinash
Chief Instructor/works
Based on the observations, future course of action should be decided
depending upon the condition of leakage in the roofs.
Minor repairs at isolated locations may be carried out immediately
CETA/CNB
on dry day and performance of repair should be observed after next
rainfall.
Major repairs, like complete replacement of water proofing system,
may be carried out after rainy season prior to next monsoon.
Thorough inspection:- The inspection of roof should cover all the Thorough inspection…
essential aspects which may affect water proofing system and may
broken down water drainage pipes.
cause leakage in the roofs.
leakage at joints of down water.
Availability of adequate slopes (minimum 1 in 100)
drainage pipes (causes wetness in walls).
Provision of 75mm fillet at junction of roof and parapet walls.
Undulations/ minor depression in roof surface where water may
Provision of adequate number and size of openings.
stagnate.
Provision of slope and drip course in copings.
Growth of plants on the roof.
Any source of permanent leakage of water like
Condition of water proofing treatment, especially development
over head water storage tanks of cracks/ debonding etc.
leaking water supply pipe Condition of ceiling/ walls below the roof etc.
Provision of adequate openings:
The number and size of openings depends upon the area of roof & intensity of Proper detailing at junction of roof with parapet wall:
rain fall. The spacings in between outlet pipes should not be more than 6 m.
Junction of roof with parapet wall is a vulnerable location for leakage.
Dia. of Average rate of Rainfall in mm/h The fillet (angular or concave, not convex) of 75mm should be
pipes (Roof area, m2) provided all along the junction of parapet wall with roof.
50 m2 75 m2 100 m2 125m2 150 m2 200 m2
Coping on top of the parapet wall should also be provided with
50 13.4 8.7 6.6 5.3 4.4 3.3 adequate slope along with the provision of drip course on either side.
65 24.1 16.0 12.0 9.6 8.0 6.0 Water proofing system should be extended from roof to parapet wall
75 40.8 27.0 20.4 16.3 13.6 10.2 for a minimum height of 150 mm with a chase.
Invert level of rain water pipe should be approx. 25 mm below the
100 85.4 57.0 42.7 34.2 28.5 21.3
level of top of adjacent tiles.
125 - - 80.5 64.3 53.5 40.0
150 - -- - - 83.6 62.7
Expansion joints EXPANSION JOINT AT ROOF LEVEL TYPICAL DETAILS
Failure of expansion joint fillers and sealants may become source of
perennial seepage .
Expansion joint should be treated with suitable non-absorbent,
compressible, non-brittle & water tight sealants so that no leakage
occurs through joint.
A water proofing system should have the following properties:
a) It should be impermeable or should have very low permeability.
b) It should have strong adhesion with substrata.
c) It should be sufficiently elastic so as to withstand expansion and
contraction of substrata due to temperature fluctuations.
d) It should have high resistance to abrasion and cracking.
e) It should be resistant to ultra violet rays.
f) It should be breathable i.e. permit vapour transmission.
g) Its application should be easy.
h) It should be durable.
Course of action for roofs leaking at isolated points:
Following course of action should normally be followed for repairs of roofs leaking
at isolated points:
Cleaning of roof surface and openings.
Arresting permanent leakage of water from its sources.
Identification and attention to locations of stagnated water.
Repair of fillet at junction of roof on parapet wall.
Repair to joints of tiles.
Repair to plaster and coping on parapet.
After taking above steps, behaviour of roof surface should be watched and if leakage
still persists, following steps have to be taken:
Removal of complete top surface and repair of lime concrete.
Provision of adequate slope.
Re-laying of top surface.
PREVALENT WATER PROOFING SYSTEM FOR ROOFS: 1. Lime concrete terracing
This system consist of laying, ramming & compaction of lime
Various water proofing system prevalent in our country are : concrete to a desired slope . Lime concrete used in this system is a
mixture of hydrated fat lime, pozzolanic material and brick
1. Lime concrete terracing aggregate or natural stone aggregate having maximum size 25mm.
2. Mud-Phuska treatment. Application Procedure
Water proofing using polyethylene films.
Preparation of Lime Concrete –
3.
4. Water proofing using polymer cementitious slurry coatings.
For lime pozzolana mortar : One part of slaked lime and two parts
5. Water proofing using polymer modified bitumen of burnt brick pozzolana, by volume.
membranes. For lime concrete : Coarse aggregate and lime pozzolana mortar, in
6. Water proofing using bitumen felts. proportion of 2.5 : 1 parts by volume.
Lime concrete terracing Lime concrete terracing
Laying, ramming & compaction of lime Concrete- The beating will normally have to be carried on for at least seven days until
Cleaning of roof surface, attention to cracks by filling with cement sand the 'thapi' makes no impression on the surface and rebounds readily from it
when struck.
slurry, provision of adequate numbers of opening and fillet at the
During compaction the surface shall be sprinkled liberally with lime mortar
junction of roof and parapet wall shall be completed. and solution prepared by mixing, 3 kg of jaggery, 11/2 kg of Bael fruit to 100
Roof surface shall be painted with hot bitumen 80/100 @ 1.7 kg/m2 litre of water by boiling for obtaining improved water proofing of concrete.
blended with coarse sand. Curing –
laying of lime concrete shall be started from a corner of a roof and The lime concrete after compaction shall be cured for a minimum of 10 days
proceed diagonally towards centre and other sides considering the or until it hardens.
slopes required. Treatment at junction of roof and Parapet -
All along the junction of roof surface with parapet wall, a strip of lime
The average thickness of lime concrete shall not be less than 100mm. On
concrete fillet shall be laid and finished smooth.
flat roof, slope of 1 in 60 shall be given. Finish -
Further consolidation shall be done using wooden 'thapies' with On layer of burnt clay flat terracing tiles may be laid over a thin layer of lime
rounded edges. mortar.
2. Mud-Phuska Treatment
Lime concrete terracing
This treatment is suitable for hot dry region (UP, Punjab), where
rainfall is not heavy. This treatment usually consist of the following
courses:
A layer of hot bitumen 80/100.
A coat of mud phuska of 100 mm avg thickness consisting of puddle
clay.
A layer of 25mm mud plaster consisting of puddle clay mixed with
chopped straw 30 to 35 kg per cubic meter of soil.
One or two layer of tile laid on a bed of mud mortar and pointed in 1:3
cement sand mortar.
Mud-Phuska Treatment
Laying Procedure
i) Preparatory Works: Filling of cracks by cement sand slurry, provision of
adequate number of drain outlets, provision of 75mm fillet at junction of roof slab
with parapet wall, provision of a groove / chase in parapet wall etc.
ii) Cleaning of Roof Surface: Surface of roof and the part of the parapet and
gutters, drain mouths, etc.
iii) Application of Bitumen over Cleaned Roof Surface: A coat of hot
bitumen (Residual type bitumens 80/100) over the roof surface shall be applied
evenly over the entire surface without any gap. Bitumen coat is extended over the
vertical surfaces meeting with the slab.
Laying Procedure
iv) Laying of Mud -Phuska: laid in loose thickness not greater than 150mm 3. Water proofing using polyethelene film
and in the slope of 1 in 40. It shall then be rammed manually with wooden
rammers and 'thappies‘ so as to obtain maximum density. Compacted thickness of
not less than 100mm is considered adequate. The surface shall be allowed to dry This system is suitable for new as well as old roofs. This
for a period of not less than 24 hours. If any cracks appear, these shall be filled treatment generally consist of application of following
with a grout of the binder material.
courses:
v) Applying Mud Plaster: Mud plaster of at least 25mm thick over the surface
is applied in a single coat or two coats of 15mm and 10mm. A coat of bitumen primer applied to the prepared surface at
the rate of 0.3 to 0.5 kg/m2 .
vi) Paving with Brick Tiles: The tiles shall be laid and the thickness of joints
shall not be less than 6mm and not more than 15mm. After drying, the joint shall
be grouted with cement sand mortar (1:3). It shall be ensured that the joints are Application of hot applied at the rate of 0.70 kg/m2 minimum.
completely filled by mortar. The mortar shall be allowed to set for a minimum of
12 hours before further pointing of the joints, if necessary.
Laying of polyethylene film with cold cutback adhesive in
vii) Curing: 7 Days overlaps.
Water proofing using polyethelene film Water proofing using polyethelene film
Water proofing using polyethelene film Precautions in laying polyethelene film:
Roof surface should be reasonably smooth so as to avoid puncturing of
Laying of 100 gm brown kraft paper laminated in-situ over the film.
film with semi hot layer of straight run bitumen. Primer should not be applied on wet surface.
Excessive bitumen should not be used for bonding the film to the
prepared surface, which may otherwise result in the film sliding and
Application of semi hot applied bitumen at the rate of 0.7 kg/m2 wrinkling.
dusted with fine sand. Over stretching of the film shall be avoided at the time of laying, which
otherwise leads to wrinkles when the film retracts.
The laying of the film should be immediately followed by subsequent
Laying of finishing layer of tiles or Indian Patent Stones i.e. 1:2:4 operations of covering with bituminous compositions. The work should
cement concrete with 10mm down aggregate or cement concrete. not be carried out at high temperature.
The workman should preferably walk barefooted or with canvas shoes to
prevent damage to the film.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry coating
4. Polymer modified cementitious slurry coating The liquid blend consist of the polymer, liquid additives and clean
water.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry coatings are applied over the Dry blend consist of locally available Portland cement and
base concrete. This system can be used over new as well as old roofs. aggregates.
Polymer imparts significant improvement in impermeability.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry have coefficient of expansion These blends are mixed in specified ratio generally 2:1 (cement :
polymer) by weight and applied by brush on a prepared clean surface.
very similar to concrete thereby it does not get cracked due to Generally, two coats are provided.
thermal variation of concrete.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry coatings consist of a liquid To impart more flexibility, it is desirable to use some reinforcement like
blend and a dry blend. fibre glass cloth sandwitched between two coats. This coating should
be covered by screed concrete to protect it against physical damage.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry coating
Application of polymer modified cementitious slurry coating :-
Broadly following steps are involved in application of this system.
Preparation of roof surface:-
Cracks and depression shall be filled up by fillers. Prepared surface shall
be thoroughly pre wetted for one hour.
Preparation of polymer modified cementitious slurry:-
Dry blend and liquid blend shall be mix into the desired ratio as per
recommendation of supplier. The mix shall be stirred thoroughly, until no
bubbles remain in the mix. Any lump found in mix shall be removed.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry coating
First coat of polymer modified cementitious slurry shall be applied by
brush on wet cleaned surface.
Polymer modified cementitious slurry coating 5. Water proofing using polymer modified bituminous membrane
Addition of polymer in bitumen improves its workability characteristics,
Subsequently, fibre glass cloth shall be laid over first coat.
penetration and softening behavior, tensile and fatigue properties and
Second coat of polymer modified cementitious slurry shall be laid capacity to bridge movement of cracks/ joints in the substrate.
over fibre glass cloth. Non-woven fibre glass mat and non-woven polyester mat are generally
Polymer modified cementitious brush topping shall be applied used as reinforcement to improve their characteristics like lap joint
over second coat of polymer modified coating. strength, tensile strength and flexibility.
On brush topping, screed concrete, 1:2:4 admixed with suitable Polymer modified bituminous membrane are obtained by sand-wiching
integral water proofing compound 25 to 40mm thick to a min. nonwoven polyester fabrics or fibre glass mat between layers of high
slope of 1 in 100 with aggregate size down 10mm with maximum quality polymer modified bituminous membranes.
water cement ratio 0.45, shall be laid. These membranes have high softening point, high tensile strength, high
tear & puncture resistance, high joint strength and low water vapour
transmission. This system is suitable for new as well as old roofs.
Polymer modified bituminous membrane Polymer modified bituminous membrane
Method of application
Prior to application of water proofing treatment roof surface should
be provided with a minimum slope of 1 in 100 with plain cement
concrete.
After provision of slope all preparatory works like filling up of
cracks by cement sand slurry, provision of adequate number of
drain outlets, provision of 75mm fillet at junction of roof slab with
parapet wall, provision of a groove/ chase in parapet wall etc.
Laying a coat of cold applied bitumen primer @ 0.2 to 0.4 l/sqm on
entire roof surface.
Laying 85/25 grade hot blown bitumen @ 1.2kg/sqm all over the
surface.
Polymer modified bituminous membrane
Laying 2.5-3mm thick polymer modified bituminous membrane
with non-woven polyester fibre glass mat reinforcement, applied
by torch with sealing all the joints.
Laying 85/25 grade hot blown bitumen @ 1.2 kg/sqm all over the
surface.
Final finish with china mosaic tiles on a 15mm thick grey cement
THANKS
plaster bed. A typical scheme for laying of bitumen membrane is
shown in sketch 8.