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Brick building from 1975 with a damp hallway
The building, erected in 1975 in Uedem, Nordrhein-Westfalen, has a solid brick masonry structure. Over the years, rising damp appeared in the lower corridor walls, making retrospective waterproofing necessary.
Horizontal masonry waterproofing using wetBLOC technology was installed to prevent further incoming moisture and protect the affected wall areas over the long term.
Rising damp in the lower masonry
Moisture affected the lower parts of the corridor walls. It was caused by rising damp transported upwards through the fine-pored capillary system of the brickwork.
In this process, moisture can rise from lower wall areas against gravity and spread through the masonry. Without effective horizontal waterproofing, this moisture transport can persist and cause long-term plaster damage, discolouration and further moisture exposure.
For the renovation, the existing plaster was removed in the affected area, exposing the brickwork. This provided the conditions for targeted injection treatment.
Retrofitted horizontal damp-proof course in existing brick masonry
The challenge was to stop rising damp within the existing masonry structure without extensive intervention in the building fabric.
This required a horizontal barrier zone as continuous as possible in the lower wall area. It was intended to interrupt the capillary moisture supply from deeper masonry areas while largely preserving the masonry's water vapour diffusion.
The existing brick structure was preserved. The waterproofing work was carried out specifically from the inside of the corridor.
Horizontal wetBLOC masonry injection
A horizontal wetBLOC barrier zone was created to waterproof the affected hallway walls.
The polymer-based injection material was introduced directly into the existing brick masonry through systematically arranged drill holes and injection packers. The polymer remains permanently active within the masonry and can continue to react through water absorption and swelling when it comes into contact with moisture again.
wetBLOC technology is distinguished by its water-activated, permanently active mode of action: the polymer is introduced into the masonry's pore and capillary system through systematically positioned boreholes and injection packers. On contact with water, it absorbs moisture, swells and forms gel-like structures within the capillaries reached. This limits further capillary transport of liquid water and forms a horizontal waterproofing zone in the treated masonry.
The wetBLOC polymer remains permanently active in the masonry and can continue to react by absorbing water and swelling when moisture returns.
Unlike a rigid mechanical barrier, the waterproofing effect develops within the treated masonry. The masonry remains largely permeable to water vapour, allowing stored residual moisture to continue to be released as vapour under suitable building physics conditions.
Controlled masonry injection at the wall base
After removing the damaged plaster and exposing the brick walls, the required injection holes were drilled in the lower masonry.
Suitable injection packers were then fitted, through which the wetBLOC material was introduced into the masonry in a controlled manner using an injection pump.
A coordinated injection pressure, adequate material supply and the most uniform possible distribution through the existing pore and capillary system were crucial to forming the horizontal barrier zone.
Injection work was carried out along approximately 18 linear metres of the affected wall sections. The systematic arrangement of injection points and controlled material supply created a horizontal waterproofing zone in the lower masonry that was as continuous as possible.
Rising damp stopped and hallway restored
Horizontal wetBLOC masonry injection stopped the capillary supply of further moisture in the affected hallway area. The permanently active wetBLOC polymer mechanism is designed for long-term moisture protection.
The comprehensive horizontal barrier interrupts incoming capillary moisture from the masonry below. Water vapour diffusion is largely retained, allowing existing residual moisture to continue escaping under suitable building physics conditions.
Following the waterproofing work, the affected corridor area was renovated. This provided the basis for long-term moisture protection of the existing brick structure.
Retrospective moisture protection without extensive intervention in the building fabric
The Uedem reference project shows how rising damp in an existing brick building can be treated specifically with wetBLOC technology.
Horizontal masonry injection over approximately 18 linear metres interrupted incoming capillary moisture in the corridor and waterproofed the existing masonry structure against rising damp.
The work was carried out from inside, without extensive structural intervention. The existing brick structure was preserved and the affected corridor area could subsequently be renovated.
Uedem project report as PDF
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