CIB World Building Congress, April 2001, Wellington, New Zealand Page 1 of 11

Paper: NOV 16

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND CRITERIA FOR BASEMENT ENVELOPE

SYSTEMS AND TESTING

N. SAHAL, E. OZKAN

Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT

Basement can be a difficult environment in which to build a livable space. It is surrounded by soil that
may be damp, wet or frozen. The temperature of the ground surface remains nearly in phase with that
of the air, however; below surface, in summer it decreases and in winter it increases linearly with
depth. Basements are exposed to dead and live loads of the building as well as the lateral soil loads
and sometimes the hydrostatic pressure due to the high levels of groundwater. Therefore, below grade
envelope systems are subjected to more temperature changes, structural and moisture loads than that
of the above grade; yet, the interior environment is expected to be the same. Basement problems
occur because of the poor concordance between users’ expectations of basements, their construction
and the environmental forces with which the basements must meet. Solutions that reduce both
building and operational costs while improving indoor environment can only be achieved by
establishing performance requirements for basement envelope systems. And also, predicting the
behavior of the system under actual in-service conditions by performance test methods.

In this paper; the user requirements for basements and the functions of the basement envelope systems
are established. The thermal and moisture regimes as well as the structural loads of the basement
envelope systems related to the inside and outside environmental agents are identified. The resulting
structural and environmental problems are reviewed. How the basement envelope systems are
expected to perform under which circumstances are laid out as the performance requirements of the
system. The performance criteria of the materials within the envelope system that address the
performance requirements is determined. A test method which has been developed to evaluate the
performance of strained bituminous waterproofing membranes under hydrostatic pressure is
mentioned as an example for performance testing. Finally, the test results are presented and evaluated
on the basis of whether the requirement and criteria are attained.

KEYWORDS:

Performance requirements; performance criteria; performance testing; basement envelope systems;

waterproofing.

INTRODUCTION

Basement is somewhat invisible and the envelope is sometimes ignored component of the building.
Until now, the primary concern of the designer and the builder was to meet the safety requirement of
the user; therefore, the only function of the basement envelope was established as structural adequacy.
The user requirements such as health and comfort were ignored or the environmental agents that
affected the basement envelope were not fully recognized; thus, less attention was given to separate
the basement indoor climate from the outdoor soil climate. As the basement envelope was exposed to
below-grade environmental agents, it often failed to respond to the them and its performance proved to
be unacceptable. Leaky and damp basements, cracked walls, frost-heaved walls, the smell of mould
and mildew were some of the leading basement problems. These problems not only damaged the
basement envelope materials but they also represented a real health hazard. On the other hand, the
occupants of most buildings expected that the basement indoor climate would provide a prime living
space. In order to achieve an effective control of indoor climate, the occupants took some precautions
such as using humidifiers during the winter and dehumidifiers during the summer to maintain an
acceptable indoor relative humidity, re-excavating the soil around leaky basements, using extra
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equipment for heating and cooling and in extreme cases, rebuilding the basement envelope. In the
end, the cost of these precautions passed on to the homeowners. Therefore, the occupants increasingly
demanded that the basement envelope should provide an effective environmental separation besides
structural adequacy. Today’s home buyers want a healthy and energy-efficient home which they can
not only afford to buy but, also afford to live in.

In order to develop a better understanding of the intended role that is to be played by the basement
envelope for the people designing and constructing it, the need to establish performance requirements
and criteria as well as developing performance evaluating techniques for the systems and the materials
have arisen.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR BASEMENT ENVELOPE SYSTEMS

The aim is to build a livable and usable basement indoor environment that satisfies user requirements.
The user requirements for basements are determined as thermal comfort, safety and tightness. The
other user requirements, such as visual comfort, acoustic comfort, hygiene, etc. are excluded as they
are usually treated in the context of the entire building. According to the specified user requirements,
the overall function of the basement envelope system, in conjunction with above-grade, is to provide
environmental separation, strength and stability to the loads of the building and structural support to
the loads that are generated from environmental agents such as groundwater. The basement envelope
system can be capable of functioning as intended, if performance requirements are satisfied.
Performance requirements for basement envelope systems are developed from the performance
analysis of the system; where the environmental agents that affect the system are identified, they are
than related to the corresponding properties of the system and the processes involved in the interaction
of the system with its environment are analyzed, as the moisture regime, thermal regime and the loads
of the system.

The moisture regime of the basement envelope system

The environment that surrounds the basement envelope is the soil mass and the indoor climate;
therefore, the sources of water that build up the moisture regime of basement envelope system are
splash water, water vapor in the soil, seepage water, capillary water, groundwater, adsorbed water,
moisture in concrete after construction, exterior humid air that enters the basement and condenses on
cooler surfaces and water vapor from interior sources, Figure 1. The forces which drive the moisture
into the openings in the building envelope from the exterior are, gravitational forces, capillary suction,
vapor pressure and differences in air pressure. Differences in air pressure and vapor pressure are also
responsible for the penetration of moisture into the openings in the basement envelope from the
interior.

Figure 1. The Moisture Regime of the Basement Envelope System

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Seepage water is the water that drains from the soil after a rainfall by the force of gravity acting on it.
Water seeping along the basement wall-soil interface may find an easier path along a crack through the
basement wall and penetrate into the basement envelope due to the gravity. When seepage water
collects within the pores of the soil on a strata, the forces of gravity cause a build up of hydrostatic
pressure within the bulk water. When groundwater stands against the basement walls and floor,
hydrostatic pressure will develop which can force large quantities of water through pores of the
material used in the envelope into the basement. Capillary water is the water that moves by capillary
forces above the water table. This water may be drawn into the porous materials used in the basement
envelope under the action of capillary suction. Once in the wall or floor, the capillary water can
evaporate to the interior of the basement. Capillary suction is related to the porosity of the materials
used in the envelope as well as the fine cracks in the envelope. Dampness of basements is often
attributable to capillary water. Splash water may deposit a film of water on the above-grade portion of
the basement wall and porous materials may also draw the water into the envelope by capillary
suction. The air in the soil and the air in the basement contain water in the form of vapor. At times,
vapor can diffuse from the wetter soil through the envelope toward the dryer basement interior, at
times from the basement toward the soil and most of the time both kinds of diffusion are found at the
same time but in different parts of the basement envelope; the driving force being the vapor pressure
differential. In most houses, a stack effect is created when warm air in the basement rises. This
induces a negative pressure on the basement and draws vapor in the soil in through any cracks in the
basement envelope. Adsorbed water is water that is relatively firmly held by surface forces developed
between the polar water molecules and hydrophilic materials. The amount held by a surface in this
state depends on the relative humidity of the environment. It is responsible for part of the water
diffusion through building materials. It plays an significant part in moisture in construction and
seasonal storage of water in building materials. In summer time, basement windows may be opened
for fresh air. If the outside air is warm and humid, it will condense on the cool basement wall and
floor surfaces. Leakage will occur on the surface of the wall or condensed water will accumulate on
the floor. Water added to fresh concrete performs two functions; to provide workability and to react
chemically with the cement. Unfortunately, the amount of water required for workability exceed the
amount required for chemical reaction. Most of the unreacted water will be lost by drying. The
moisture regime of the basement envelope system often results in moisture problems such as decay of
organic and inorganic materials, water leaking on walls, standing water on floor, dampness, humid air,
odor, mould and mildew, deterioration of basement finishing materials, efflorescence, etc.

The thermal regime of the basement envelope system

Besides the moisture regime, the thermal regime also influences the performance of basement
envelope system. The environmental agents that build up the thermal regime of the system are soil
temperature and basement indoor air temperature. Soil temperature is affected by many factors;
terrain features such as vegetation and slope orientation, the properties of soil such as thermal
conductivity and water content, and meteorological elements, primarily, snow, solar radiation and air
temperature. Outdoor air temperature changes from day to night, from day to day and from season to
season. Soil temperature also varies, only here the rate of change is slow while the amplitude of
change is reduced. Soil temperature change reflects outdoor air temperature change, only here it can
take a long time before air temperature change is reflected in the soil; the farther we go from the soil
surface the longer it takes. The time lag is due to the thermal inertia of the soil and its water content.
The time lag is minimal close to the ground surface.

Assuming that the basement air temperature and humidity are the same as those outdoors in winter and
in summer and the temperature of the uninsulated basement envelope approaches the temperature of
the soil adjacent to it; in winter, the soil temperature between the basement floor and usually one meter
below grade is usually higher that the basement air temperature, so that heat flows from the soil into
the basement interior. In summer, it is in the opposite direction to the heat flow in winter. In both
cases, the energy consumed for heating and air-conditioning increases. The temperature of the soil
adjacent to the basement envelope is important not only because of its impact on heating and air-
conditioning loads but also because it has an effect on the direction of vapor diffusion between the soil
and the basement interior. In summer, warm, moist air in the basement interior may condense on cold
wall and floor surfaces as the soil temperature may be below the dewpoint temperature of the outdoor
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air. Further, in winter, vapor in the relatively warm moist soil may diffuse through the basement
envelope into the basement interior, in response to a vapor pressure gradient which is in the opposite
direction to the summer gradient. In winter and in summer, the materials used in basement walls will
experience different thermal movements varying with depth in response to the variation of soil
temperature with depth. Further, the maximum soil temperature difference between winter and
summer occurs 0.05 m. below grade; therefore, the basement wall may undergo the highest thermal
movement at this depth, Figure 2. If these thermal movements are restrained, stresses may induce
within the material or between the materials used in the wall, resulting in deformations such as crack
formation.

Figure 2. The Thermal Regime of the Basement Envelope System

The loads of the basement envelope system

The loads that affect the basement envelope system are the dead and live loads of the above-grade
structure, lateral soil loads, hydrostatic pressure due to the high level of groundwater and heaving
pressures that is generated from frost action. One of the loads acting on basement wall is the sum of
the dead, live and wind loads of the above-grade structure which is transferred to it vertically.
Besides, the basement wall and floor have self-loads; their own weight and user loads. Basement wall
is also exposed to the lateral loads from the soil. The lateral loads on the wall depend on the height of
the fill, the soil type, soil moisture content and whether the building is located in an area of low or
high seismic activity. If groundwater exists, water may exert hydrostatic pressure against the
basement wall and floor area depending on the height of the water table, Figure 3. If the sum of the
water pressure and the bearing capacity of the soil which has lessened as much as the water pressure
exceed the dead load of the building, the building may float. When the basement envelope can not
withstand the vertical, lateral, hydrostatic pressure and self loads and can not transfer the loads to the
ground in such a way that the stresses developed in the material are not within the safety limits of
strength of these materials and within the safety limits of soil bearing capacity, deformations may
occur. The deformations which lead to basement envelope failures are bowing, vertical or horizontal
cracking of basement walls or floor and distortion of window and door frames. Frost heaving of
unheated basement may occur if the envelope is placed above the frost line. During ice lens growth at
the frost line, most of the volume change results in an upward displacement of the frozen layer. The
heaving displacements are transmitted to the envelope and displacements of the basement envelope
occur unless the dead load of the building exceed the uplift force. Adfreezing may occur if the soil
freezes to the surface of the wall of the unheated basement. Heaving pressures developing at the base
of the freezing zone are transmitted through the adfreezing bond to the basement wall, producing uplift
forces capable of vertical displacements which leads to structural damage.
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Figure 3. The Loads of the Building Envelope System

Basement problems occur because of the poor concordance between occupants expectations of
basements, their design and construction and the environmental agents which the envelope must
contend. In order to avoid the failures, how the envelope is expected to perform under the dictated
conditions to satisfy the user requirements, must be stated. The statements are the performance
requirements for the basement envelope system which are given in Table 1. As there are various
building systems, the two functions of the basement envelope system which are to provide strength
and stability to the loads of the building and structural support to the loads that are generated from
environmental agents are considered separately. In a load-bearing wall structure, the basement wall
serves as the structural as well as the external division element; therefore, it must fulfill both functions.
On the other hand, in a framed structure, the structural component of the basement wall is the column
which must fulfill both functions; while, the external division element must only provide structural
support to the loads that are generated from the environmental agents.

Durability is a major issue in basement envelope systems. Basement envelope system must create a
protective environment for its components where they will be able to preserve their properties without
any degradation and perform as intended over the service life of the system.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR THE COMPONENTS OF BASEMENT ENVELOPE

SYSTEMS

The performance requirements are the key elements of the envelope design. In the design process, the
performance requirements that will be addressed must be determined according to the intended use of
the basement and the external agents. For instance, if the basement will serve as a structural
foundation only, then the envelope must be designed to address the performance requirements related
to the structural functions. The floor which separates the basement and indoors is now the envelope
that must address all performance requirements.

The envelope has a structural component which must resist the vertical loads of the above-grade
structure, lateral soil loads, hydrostatic pressure due the groundwater and self-loads and must transfer
the loads to the ground safely in such a way that the stresses developed in the material are within the
safety limits of the strength of these materials, the bearing capacity of the soil is not exceeded and the
settlement of the structure is not excessive. For frost-heaving and adfreezing to occur, there must be
three conditions; the soil must be frost-susceptible, water must be available in sufficient quantities and
cooling conditions must cause the water and soil to freeze. If any one of these factors can be
controlled, frost action can be prevented. Since it is seldom economically possible to control soil
temperature, frost action is usually prevented by separating the envelope from the surrounding soil
with a drained zone of material such as gravel or a thermal insulation material installed on the exterior
of the wall.
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The penetration of seepage water into the basement wall can be prevented by controlling the amount
of rainwater or surface water entering to the soil adjacent to the basement wall, controlling the number
of openings or holes in the wall and/or controlling the driving force which is gravity. In order to
control the amount of rain or entering to the soil adjacent to the basement wall, overhangs must be
designed around the perimeter of the roof, gutters must collect rainwater falling on the roof and
downspouts must direct water away from the soil adjacent to the basement wall. Ground must slope
away from basement wall in order to redirect surface runoff. An impermeable material must be used
for backfilling the upper portions of the basement wall. Gravity can be controlled by the use of a drain
screen immediately adjacent to the basement wall linked to the perimeter subsurface drainage system.
The most common examples of the drain screen is free-draining backfill material, drainage mats and
thermal insulation materials with drainage properties. A dampproofing material can be installed on
the exterior of the basement wall to eliminate the openings or holes in the wall. The dampproofing
material must also be linked to the perimeter subsurface drainage system where perforated drainpipes
in a gravel bed along the footing or beneath the slab are located to drain water to a sump. These
strategies will also prevent the development of groundwater in the soil adjacent to the basement wall
and floor; but, in sites where groundwater already exists, the penetration of water into the basement
envelope will be prevented by the provision of a continuous waterproofing membrane installed on the
exterior of the basement wall and floor. surface drainage must also be provided to prevent the rising
of the water table. A designer can prevent the penetration of capillary water into the basement
envelope by controlling the availability of capillary water, sealing capillary pores, and/or making
capillary pores larger. The traditional way is to use a material that does have any pores such as a
dampproofing material applied onto the exterior surface of the wall where it breaks the capillary
continuity between the soil and material used in wall; or to use materials that does not support
capillarity as a result of their large pore size such as granular pad placed under the floor slab.

The control of heat flow is an essential element of environmental separation. All the components of
the envelope have more or less thermal resistance and all of them are involved in heat transfer. But,
an effective thermal resistance of the assembly can be achieved by the provision of a continuous
thermal insulation material with adequate thermal resistance within the envelope. The key question in
the design process is whether to place the insulation inside or outside the basement wall and floor.
Rigid insulation placed on the exterior surface of a wall and floor has some advantages over the
interior placement in that it can provide continuous insulation with no thermal bridges, protects and
maintains the other components of the envelope, minimizes moisture condensation problems, prevents
thermal movements and does not reduce interior basement floor area. Interior insulation is an
alternative to exterior insulation and it is mostly popular for retrofit situations. It is simpler to install
on existing wall and floor and thermal insulation material costs may be low since almost any
insulation material may be used.

In general, vapor diffusion retarders are located on the exterior of the wall to retard the inward flow of
vapor by diffusion from the surrounding soil into the basement interior. Dampproofings typically
have high resistance to vapor flow; therefore, they act as vapor diffusion retarders. Vapor diffusions
from the surrounding soil into the basement wall can also be controlled by thermally insulating the
wall from the exterior. Vapor diffusion under the basement floor is controlled by installing a vapor
diffusion retarder between the slab and the granular pad. Vapor diffusion from the basement interior
into the wall and is controlled by locating a vapor diffusion retarder to the interior of the wall. Interior
moisture levels can be controlled as well. Diffusion of construction moisture from concrete walls into
the basement interior can be controlled by locating a vapor diffusion retarder at the interior surface of
the wall. Another practice is to apply the finishing materials to the interior surface of the wall after the
drying of the construction moisture is over. The key factor in the design process is that balance of
vapor flow is achieved in every point within the envelope without condensation occurring. The
moisture in the soil or basement interior air can also be transported as a result of air movement. The
air movement from the surrounding soil into the basement interior or via versa can be controlled by
controlling the openings or holes in the assembly as well as air pressure differential. As most of the
materials used in the envelope are relatively air impermeable such as polyethylene, concrete, the key
factor in the design is to provide the continuity of the materials within the envelope.
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In the design process of basement envelope, the achievement of effective environmental separation
function is usually a difficult practice as the prevailing conditions such as climate changes on a hourly,
daily and seasonal basis. Using one component in the envelope which address a requirement for a
prevailing condition at a period may cause failure in the envelope in the following period in which
another condition prevails. For example, when the basement air temperature and humidity are the
same as those outdoors in winter and in summer and the temperature of the uninsulated basement
envelope approaches the temperature of the soil adjacent to it; the heat flow from the soil into the
basement interior in winter or the reverse in summer, may be controlled by thermally insulating the
wall from the interior. But condensation between the interface of the wall and the thermal insulation
material which has high vapor permeability can be expected in the summer. Therefore, in the design
process, the roles of each material within the system must be evaluated on a full year basis.

Basement envelope system involves multiple materials or system of materials which one of them must
at least satisfy one requirement of the system. Some materials address a single requirement; for
instance, thermal insulation material placed on the interior of the wall only controls heat loss. Some
materials address multiple requirements; for instance, a bituminous liquid applied on the exterior of
the wall surface will serve as a dampproofing as well as a vapor diffusion retarder. One material can
address most of the requirements depending on how stringent the requirements are for that particular
circumstances. For the materials to meet the given role in the envelope system, the expected property
or the properties of the material must be stated as the performance criteria of the material. The
components of the basement envelope system which address the performance requirements and their
expected properties in order to satisfy the requirements, namely, the performance criteria of the
components are given in Table 2. The basement envelope as a system will achieve satisfactory
performance when all the components that address the needed performance requirements are put
together and that all of them work together as intended.

PERFORMANCE TESTING: AN EXAMPLE

After the fundamental performance requirements for basement envelope systems are derived from the
user’s needs, the performance criteria for the components of the envelope which address the
requirements are established. In order to find out, whether or not the requirements are met by the
performance criteria, performance evaluation techniques have to be developed in which the typical
conditions of real use are simulated. In the following section, a test method which has been developed
to evaluate the performance of bituminous waterproofing membranes under hydrostatic pressure will
be mentioned as an example for performance testing, (Sahal, 1999).

Basements wall and floor of a new constructed building are sometimes exposed to water that exerts
hydrostatic pressure from the outside due to the existence of high level of groundwater. The basement
envelope system is expected to resist the hydrostatic pressure loads as well as to prevent the
penetration of water under pressure. The structural components of the system resist the hydrostatic
pressure loads; therefore, they have to provide strength and stability to the loads. When the
groundwater is the concern, the basement wall and floor are designed as reinforced concrete walls and
reinforced concrete structural slab. Bituminous membranes are used as one of the waterproofing
materials in order to prevent the transmission of water under pressure; therefore, they are expected to
have low permeability. To perform satisfactorily, bituminous waterproofing membranes must
surround the entire structure continuously. To resist the effects of hydrostatic pressure, the membrane,
weak in itself, must be loaded by a mass of material at one side and must be protected from damage at
the other side. Therefore, the bituminous membranes are sandwiched between two layers in an
‘external tanking’ arrangement where the tanking is protected by a protective layer on the excavation
side with the structural wall and floor slab internally, Figure 4.

In the actual service conditions of the membrane, the membrane remains under compressive pressure
between the structural floor slab especially under the columns where the loads are relatively high and
the concrete blinding. Thus, the ‘plastic’ bituminous membranes follows the structural deformation.
In external tanking, tensile stresses are developed within the reinforced concrete structural slab in
contact with the membrane; therefore, membranes are subjected to tensile stresses and they deform as
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the reinforced concrete slab. During construction; after the pumping out of the groundwater is
stopped, the rising water will fill the air pockets and push the air to the membrane. The air under
pressure will force the membranes which may not be airtight and as a result, air will penetrate through
the membranes providing easy access for the water afterwards. The concrete blinding in contact with
the membrane, may be attacked by harmful chemicals that are found in the groundwater such as
sulphates. Sulphates will react with the hardened cement paste of the concrete to form either ettringite
or gypsum which eventually will cause the cracking and spalling of the concrete unless preventive
measurements are taken. Shrinkage may occur in concrete building elements when concrete losses its
construction moisture. The resultant movement is another cause of cracking on the surface of the
structural floor slab and reinforced concrete walls. Due to the cracking, a narrow part of the
membrane may strain excessively. Concisely, the mechanical agents that are generated by the
construction strain the bituminous membranes excessively. The mechanical properties of the
bituminous membranes may withstand the stresses satisfactorily but on the other hand it is not known
whether the strained bituminous membranes will still maintain its low permeability property
efficiently or lose its watertightness integrity under water pressure. Therefore, the performance of
both strained and unstrained bituminous membranes under water that exerts pressure must be
determined by a convenient test method.

Figure 4. External Tanking

Current test methods that determine the resistance of bituminous membranes to water pressure have
been examined and it has been found out that these methods were testing for the purpose of quality
control, they were not testing for the purpose of predicting in-service performance. Therefore, a test
method has been developed where the effects of the mechanical agents on the membranes are
simulated, one side of the strained membranes are then exposed to water pressure and whether or not
water molecules has penetrated through the membrane is determined from the other side of the
membrane. Besides, the amount of transmitted water molecules either in liquid or vapor form is
measured in order to calculate the coefficient of permeability constants of the membranes according to
the D’arcy Law. The test apparatus consists of a hydrostatic testing equipment and a measurement
system. Hydrostatic testing equipment includes, a chamber, a rubber gasket, a steel plate which has a
gap in the body, a clamping bracket and fasteners to tighten the clamping bracket to the chamber. The
strained bituminous membrane is placed between the rubber gasket and the steel plate. The
measurement system consists of an absolute humidity sensor, a signal conditioning circuitry and a
multimeter. Several tests have been conducted on the commercially available oxidized and modified
bituminous membranes; but, the results of the two tests will be mentioned here. The samples used in
both tests are polyester reinforced (180 gr/m2), APP modified bituminous membrane with a thickness
of 3 mm. In one of the tests, to simulate the strain of the membranes when subjected to the
compressive pressure under the column bases, one of the membrane samples was strained at 0.5
N/mm2 of compressive pressure in an universal testing machine. The same simulation was conducted
on the other sample where the compressive pressure was 0.8 N/mm2. Then one side of the strained
membrane sample (0.5 N/mm2) was exposed to a 0.25 N/mm2 of air pressure for 2 hours; then, the
same side was exposed to a 0.25 N/mm2 of water pressure for 96 hours in the hydrostatic testing
equipment. Meanwhile, the amount of water molecules (gr/m3) that have been transmitted through the
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membrane to the other side was collected in the steel plate’s gap which is tightly sealed from the outer
environment and measured per minute for 96 hours with the measurement system. The measured data
is recorded and stored in a computer program to be evaluated periodically. The same test was
conducted on the other membrane sample. The test result of the membrane sample which was strained
at 0.5 N/mm2 of compressive pressure showed that it maintained its low permeability property under
these conditions as there was no increase in the amount of water molecules in the gap. The test result
of the membrane sample which was strained at 0.8 N/mm2 of compressive pressure is given in Figure
5. From the figure, it can be seen that after 77 hours, the membrane has started transmitting water
molecules into the gap. Water in the gap condenses depending on the air temperature of the gap. In
the test, approximately 14 gr. of water molecules have been transmitted within 4 hours and then
condensation had occurred in the gap. In external tanking, the amount of transmitted water molecules
in vapor state may increase the moisture content of the reinforced concrete structural slab or water
may condense in the slab depending on its temperature. This may lead to the corrosion of the steel
reinforcements. In winter, the capillary water may be absorbed by the thermal insulation material
depending on its water absorbing property, leading to deterioration of the insulation. In summer,
condensed water may dry into the basement interior if the thermal insulation material has high vapor
permeability. It can be concluded that the performance criteria of the bituminous membranes will meet
the performance requirement of the basement envelope systems when they are only subjected to
compressive stresses between 0.1 - 0.5 N/mm2.

Figure 5. The Performance of Strained Bituminous Membrane Under Hydrostatic Pressure

2 8 ,0 0
2 6 ,0 0
2 4 ,0 0
Absolute humidity (gr/m )
3

2 2 ,0 0
2 0 ,0 0
1 8 ,0 0
1 6 ,0 0
1 4 ,0 0
1 2 ,0 0
1 0 ,0 0
8 ,0 0
0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72 78 84 90 96
Ti m e (ho ur )

CONCLUSION

There are many different approaches to building a basement envelope and more are emerging every
year. All should be capable of functioning as intended, if performance requirements and criteria are
satisfied under the dictated conditions. The benefits of the satisfactory performance of basement
envelope system will be creation of more comfortable above-grade spaces, reduction in homeowner’s
utility bills, creation of more usable, comfortable below-grade spaces as well as avoidance of costly
moisture and structural problems.

REFERENCES

Sahal, N., Ozkan, E. 1999. “Performance of strained bituminous waterproofing membranes under
hydrostatic pressure”. In “Proceedings, 1999 Durability of Building Materials & Components 8”,1156-
1165.
CIB World Building Congress, April 2001, Wellington, New Zealand Page 10 of 11
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Table 1. Performance Requirements For Basement Envelope Systems, (B.E.S.).

Agents
User Functions of the B.E.S. Performance Requirements
Requirements Main Sub-Agents
Agents

To provide structural support to

the loads that are generated Lateral soil load B.E.S. must resist lateral loads from the soil.
from environmental agents Dead loads
Soil pressure B.E.S. must transfer load evenly to the soil.
To provide strength and The loads of the B.E.S. must resist the loads of the above structure
Safety stability to the loads of the Loads Gravity above structure and must self-support.
building and self-loads
User loads B.E.S. must resist user loads.
Hydrostatic B.E.S. must resist the hydrostatic pressure due to
Live loads pressure due to the groundwater.
To provide structural support to the groundwater
the loads that are generated Vibration Seismic loads B.E.S. must resist the seismic loads.
from environmental agents
Heaving pressures generated from frost action B.E.S. must prevent adfreezing; frost penetration
control.
Splash water B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of splash
water.
Capillary water B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of capillary
water.
Seepage water B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of seepage
Water Soil water.
To provide effective Groundwater B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of
Tightness environmental separation groundwater.
Water vapor B.E.S. must control the vapor flow and prevent
condensation.
Basement interior Water vapor B.E.S. must control the vapor flow and prevent
condensation.
Basement wall and Released moisture of B.E.S. must control the released moisture of the
floor construction construction.
Air B.E.S. must control the air movement.
Thermal Comfort Heat Soil temperature B.E.S. must control the heat flow and thermal
Basement indoor air temperature bridges must be avoided.
Durability.
CIB World Building Congress, April 2001, Wellington, New Zealand
Paper: NOV 16
Table 2. Performance Criteria for the Components of Basement Envelope Systems, (B.E.S.)
Performance Requirements
B.E.S. must resist lateral loads from the soil.
B.E.S. must transfer load evenly to the soil.
B.E.S. must resist the loads of the above structure
and must self-support.
B.E.S. must resist user loads.
B.E.S. must resist the hydrostatic pressure due to the
groundwater.
B.E.S. must resist the seismic loads.
B.E.S. must prevent adfreezing; frost penetration
control.
B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of splash water.
B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of capillary
water.
B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of seepage
water.
B.E.S. must prevent the penetration of groundwater.
B.E.S. must control the vapor flow and prevent
condensation, (vapor in the soil)
B.E.S. must control the vapor flow and prevent
condensation, (vapor in the interior)
B.E.S. must control the released moisture of the
construction.
B.E.S. must control the air movement.
B.E.S. must control the heat flow and thermal
bridges must be avoided.
Components of the B.E.S.
The structural components of the B.E.S
Provision of a drain screen, subsurface drainage,
thermal insulation material
Dampproofing, waterproofing,
Dampproofing, waterproofing, provision of granular
pad
Dampproofing, waterproofing, provision of surface
drainage, drain screen and subsurface drainage
Waterproofing, provision of surface drainage
Vapor retarder, dampproofing, waterproofing,
Vapor retarder, provision of thermal insulation
Vapor retarder, dampproofing, thermal insulation
Air impermeable materials, provision of continuity
Thermal insulation materials
Page 11 of 11
Performance Criteria
The structural components must resist and transfer
loads such that strength of materials and soil bearing
capacities are within safety limits.
Maximum drainage capacity, effective thermal
resistance
Low capillarity, low permeability
Low capillarity, low permeability
Low capillarity, low permeability, maximum
drainage capacity
Low permeability,
High vapor diffusion resistance
High vapor diffusion resistance
High vapor diffusion resistance
Low air permeability
Effective thermal resistance