Waterproofing basement apartments: Technical insights of a new flood protection solution

Abstract

Installing perimeter floor drains is a waterproofing option used inside buildings, which manages water ingress in basements. Newly designed products providing a means to access the inverts of perimeter floor drains and facilitate inspection and maintenance have been designed and are Patent Pending GB1117089.1, GB1102662.2, and GB1102661.4. The new system incorporates pivotally connected fittings with water deflector plates combined with straight lengths of perimeter floor drain. The fittings ensure that secure joints with both axial and invert alignment are maintained throughout, which are essential for movement of water through the level perimeter floor drains and accessibility as recommended by British Standard BS8102: 2009. The patents demonstrate several practical advantages over those of existing designs and systems, which is evidenced by the commercial uptake by Safeguard Europe Ltd. and product installations in hundreds of flood-risk basement apartments in the UK.