Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.

: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No1 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

REVISION

Rev No. Date of Rev Description

Rev. 1 Changes after vertical Membrane Mock-up

Rev. 0 First Issue

Prepared By Reviewed By Approved By Issued By

Name S. Kulkarni S.B. Dutta K.R.Visvanath Umapathi

Designation Manager - QA Manager - QM Project Manager Doc. Controller

Signature

Date 9.08.02 9.08.02 9.08.02 9.08.02

 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No2 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

1.0 Purpose:
This procedure explains the methodology for laying of water proofing membrane on
vertical surfaces.
2.0 Scope:
This procedure is applicable for laying of water proofing membrane by HCC in their
project site at Kudankulam.
3.0 Reference: 1) T.S. Section V, Sr. No. XII, XIV & XVI.
2) Drawing No. KK.1UKC.0.KZ.OK.WD001 (Sheet nos. 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 24, 25)
3) Drawing No. KK.1UKA.0.KZ.OK.WD001 (Sheet nos. 1, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 31, 32 and 42)
4.0 Details:
A. Materials to be used:

1. Bituminous primer PRIME POLYMOD (SB) – Cold applied solvent based

bituminous primer.
2. PRIMIERFLEX 3000 PLAIN – SBS Modified bituminous membrane having a
thickness of 4.5mm. Roll dimension – 1M x 10M. Covered with polyethylene film on
both sides, with black finish on topside and printed polyethylene on the underside. To
be used as the first layer and the second layer.
3. Hot applied Bitumen 90/15 grade to be used as adhesive to fix the Polyethylene (PE)
sheet.
4. Polyethylene sheet 2 layers of 400 micron thickness each, manufactured as per IS:
14500: 1998
B. Consumables:

Liquefied petroleum gas – LPG

C. Tools and Tackles:

1. Knife
2. Trowel
3. Measuring Tape
4. Hand gloves
5. LPG Torch
6. LPG Regulator and hose pipes
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No3 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

D. Identification of rolls:

Plain membrane rolls have a printed polyethylene sheet on the underside.

This printed side is to be torched while laying the membrane rolls. The plain
membrane has a black plain finish on the topside.

Procedure for laying of SBS Modified Bituminous membrane Premierflex 3000

A. Before starting the work:

All the places, where the waterproofing membrane transits from the horizontal
surface to the vertical surface; it shall be smoothened by fine concrete of 100mm
radius.

B. Surface on which the treatment shall be laid:

Surface, on which the treatment shall be laid, shall be concrete face of the vertical
surfaces.

C. Surface preparation:

The surface to be covered with membrane shall be cleaned with the help of wire
brush / air jet to make it free from loose dust, dirt etc. Moisture content of
concrete surface shall be kept below 4%. If there is roughness on the
waterproofing surface, it shall be smoothened.

D. Priming the surface:

The cleaned surface shall be coated with a coat of bituminous primer Prime
Polymod SB @ 0.2 Lit per sq.m (as specified by manufacturer).

To make sure that the exact quantity of primer is used, the area to be coated shall
be marked and pre-measured quantity of primer, required to cover the marked
area shall be fully consumed.

A container of primer has 20 ltrs material, which is sufficient to cover an area of

100 m2 and hence a pre-marked area of 100m2 shall be covered with one container
of the primer.
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No4 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

E. Removal of Tapes from the rolls.

Each roll of PRIMIERFLEX 3000 Plain has three tapes along with paper stickers.
All the three tapes and stickers must be removed from rolls.

F. Laying of bottom layer at junction of vertical and horizontal faces.

An additional layer of Premier Flex 3000 (Plain) shall be laid at junction of

Horizontal & vertical faces as per approved drawing (Attached sketch 1).

G. The first and second layer of membrane shall be laid in such a way that the
bottom portion of first and second layer completely overlaps the horizontal
portion of the additional layer laid at junction of horizontal & vertical faces.

H. The First Layer of membrane ( Plain Membrane )

(Refer sketch – 2)

1. Cutting of rolls

As the treatment is to be carried out on the vertical walls, the same shall be
carried out in pieces depending upon the number of projections on the vertical
face. Based upon the profile of the vertical face of the walls the rolls of the
membrane shall be cut to the required length, prior to laying.

2. Torching Guidelines:

Once the cutting of rolls is as per the requirements, the membrane is rolled back.
The top 300 to 400 mm of the membrane shall be torched first & fixed by
pressing. The remaining portion of roll shall be torched & unrolled and pressed
to fix.

The underside of the membrane shall be torched just enough to superficially melt
the bitumen. The torch flame shall be directed to membrane in such a way that
the flame will completely burn of the printed polyethylene film on the underside
of the membrane.

In order to prevent any damage to the Polyester Reinforcement in the membrane,

it is recommended that the underside is not heated for more then 7-8 seconds.
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No5 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

3. Overlaps

The Overlap on the longitudinal direction shall be between 80 to 100mm, while

that on the Transverse direction shall be 150mm.
While the next roll of plain membrane is laid, the overlaps at the joints shall be
heated and the membrane shall be held with the help of a trowel, at the overlap.

Once the torching of the membrane roll is completed, the overlaps should be
reheated and resealed with a trowel to ensure seam integrity.
While heating the top surface of the membrane, in order to avoid overheating,
the duration of heating shall be limited to 3-5 seconds only.

4. Adherence of the rolls:

While membrane roll is unrolled and torched, simultaneously the roll shall be
pressed, to ensure proper adhesion of the membrane to the surface. To ensure the
proper fixity of Premier Flex 3000 (Plain) in curved area/ vertical area wooden
mallet/ wooden float shall be used.

5. Sealing of Edges:

All the edges of the membrane shall be sealed by flaming the top surface,
resealing shall be with the help of a trowel.

I. THE SECOND LAYER OF MEMBRANE (PLAIN MEMBRANE)

The steps 1 to 5 of layer I shall be followed for layer II also.

(Refer sketch – 3)

J. The first layer of Polyethylene sheet

A coat of hot applied Bitumen 90/15 grade shall be applied @ 0.4Kg/Sq.m (as
specified by manufacturer) on the top of the second layer of membrane. While
the Bitumen is still hot and tacky the Polyethylene sheet shall be laid on the
entire surface of the membrane.
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No6 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

K. The second layer of Polyethylene sheet

A coat of hot applied Bitumen 90/15 grade shall be applied @ 0.4Kg/Sq.m (as
specified by manufacturer) on the top of the first layer of PE sheet. While the
Bitumen is still hot and tacky the second layer Polyethylene sheet shall be laid on
the entire surfaces.

STAGGERING OF JOINTS

Staggering of transverse joints

The waterproofing treatment to the vertical walls shall be carried out in following
two stages:

Stage I:

In the first stage the treatment shall be carried out up to –5.7 m level. In this stage
the methodology to be adopted shall be “Laying waterproofing membrane from
–8.85m level and bringing it up to – 5.7m level i.e. starting from bottom and
ending at –5.7m level.

Stage II:

In the second stage the treatment shall be extended up to 0m level. In this stage
the methodology to be adopted shall be “Laying waterproofing membrane from
0 m level and bringing it up to –5.7 m level i.e. starting from top of the vertical
wall and ending at –5.7m level.

To meet the requirements of the specifications, the transverse joints in the first &
the second layer of the treatment, shall have to be staggered. (Ref Sketch II/III)

STAGE I

In order to achieve the proper staggering of the transverse joints, the fixing of the
membrane shall be in the following manner.
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No7 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

The first layer of the membrane:

Starting the treatment at the bottom, first membrane roll shall be extended up to
–5.7m level. The second membrane roll shall be extended up to a height of –
6.00m. After this all the membrane rolls shall be extended up to a height of –5.7m
and –6.00m alternatively.

In order to achieve overlap of the membrane of the second stage ( 0 level to –5.7m
level ) in the proper direction , the membrane rolls shall be laid in the first layer
in the following manner:

 Lay the first roll of the membrane up to a height of –5.7m

and fix the same to the wall by torching entire bottom surface of the
roll.
 Lay the third roll of the membrane up to height of –5.7m
and fix the same to the wall by torching the entire bottom surface of
the roll. While laying the third roll, ensure the distance between the
edges of first and the third roll is 800 to 840mm. This will ensure an
overlap of 80 to 100mm in the longitudinal direction, when the
second roll is laid on the top of first and third roll.
 Lay the second roll on top of first and third roll by torching
entire bottom surface of the roll, ensuring longitudinal overlap of 80
to 100mm on both first and third roll. The second roll shall be laid
up to height of –6.00m.
 After this, lay alternative rolls i.e. the fifth, seventh, the
ninth and so on, up to height of –5.7m.
 Lay alternative rolls i.e. the forth, sixth, the eighth and so
on, up to height of –6.00m.

This process is shown in the enclosed sketch –2 & 3.

The second layer of the membrane:

Starting the treatment at the bottom, first membrane roll shall be extended up to
–6.35m level. The second membrane roll shall be extended up to a height of –
6.70m. After this all the membrane rolls shall be extended up to a height of –
6.35m and -6.70m alternatively.

In order to achieve overlap of the membrane of the second stage (0 level to –

6.70m level) in the proper direction, the membrane rolls shall be laid in the
second layer in the following manner:
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No8 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

 Lay the first roll (0.5m wide) of the membrane up to a

height of –6.35m and fix the same to the wall by torching entire
bottom surface of the roll.
 Lay the third roll of the membrane up to height of –6.35m
and fix the same to the wall by torching the entire bottom surface of
the roll. While laying the third roll, ensure the distance between the
edges of first and the third roll is 800 to 840mm. This will ensure an
overlap of 80 to 100mm in the longitudinal direction, when the
second roll is laid on the top of first and third roll.
 Lay the second roll on top of first and third roll by torching
entire bottom surface of the roll, ensuring longitudinal overlap of 80
to 100mm on both first and third roll. The second roll shall be laid
up to height of –6.70m.
 After this, lay alternative rolls i.e. the fifth, seventh, the
ninth and so on, up to height of –6.35m.
 Lay alternative rolls i.e. the forth, sixth, the eighth and so
on, up to height of –6.70m.

This process is shown in the enclosed sketch.

Note: The above methodology will ensure that the back filling can be done up to
a height of –6.9m, leaving membrane of the second layer up to –6.70m level so or
to ensure a minimum 150mm overlap in transverse direction.

STAGE II

Torching on balance height of the wall at a later date:

The balance portion of the vertical wall shall be covered at a later date by
torching the membrane roll from top to bottom and overlapping the membrane
roll already laid earlier, ensuring proper overlap in the required direction.
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No9 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

Staggering of Longitudinal joints in the second layer:

PLACEMENT OF ROLLS & STAGGERING OF JOINTS:

It is very important to ensure that the joints on the second layer of membrane do
not fall on top of the joints of the first layer of membrane in longitudinal
direction.

To achieve proper staggering of joints, the first roll that shall be laid at the
starting of the marked area shall have a width of 0.5M. This shall be obtained by
cutting a roll exactly at the center, in the longitudinal direction and laying the
same up to the required height.

After this, all the rolls shall have a width of 1M.

 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No10 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

SKETCH – I

Bottom piece of membrane 300 mm

R = 100

150 mm

Schematic for Bottom piece of membrane at the junction of horizontal and

vertical faces
 Kudankulam Atomic Power Project Rev.No.: 1
HCC P 15 17 10 Page No11 OF 11
Date of Rev:
Procedure for laying of water proofing membrane on
9.08.2002
vertical surfaces

SKETCH - II
-5.70 800 – 840 mm
Layer I Step 1 Layer I Step 2

-6.00
Layer I Step 3

80 – 100mm 80 – 100mm

I st Layer of Membrane
SKETCH - III
-5.70 800 – 840 mm
Layer I Step 1 Layer I Step 2

-6.00
Layer I
Step 3
80 – 100 mm 80 – 100 mm
-6.35
Layer II Layer II
Step 1 Step 2

-6.70
Layer II Step 3 80 - 100
80 – 100 mm
mm

II nd Layer of Membrane