System selection based on the project — not the product.
Product choice is the last decision, not the first. Ten factors are assessed on every project before a system is nominated or accepted.
Concrete, screed, blockwork, compressed sheeting, plywood or an existing membrane. Substrate governs preparation, primer, moisture tolerance and whether a bond breaker is required.
Internal wet area, external deck, roof, below-ground tank, planter or plant room. Location sets the consequence of failure and the access available for future repair.
Permanently exposed, protected under overburden, intermittently wet or under constant immersion. Exposure narrows the product class before anything else is considered.
Structural deflection, thermal cycling, control and construction joints. Movement dictates elongation, reinforcement fabric, bond breakers and joint band detailing.
Pedestrian, furniture, maintenance plant or vehicular. Traffic loads drive membrane hardness, wear layer, screed thickness and protection requirements.
Soil, drainage cell, pavers, screed or tiles. Overburden imposes puncture and compressive demand and removes any chance of later access to the membrane.
Falls, outlet positions, overflow provision and drainage layers decide how long water sits on the membrane. Poor falls will defeat any product.
Fully exposed surfaces require a UV-stable membrane or a protective wear coat. UV degradation is the most common cause of early failure on exposed decks.
Architectural and engineering documentation, hydraulic drawings and consultant requirements. Where a system is nominated, we install it or raise a written alternative.
Coverage rates, dry film thickness, primer selection, recoat and cure windows, substrate moisture limits and detailing sequence. We install to the manufacturer's published data sheets.
Where a system is nominated in the project specification, VVS installs it as documented. Where site conditions make the nominated system unsuitable, we raise it in writing with the builder or consultant before work proceeds rather than substituting on site.
01 — Seamless, fully bonded, detail-driven
Polyurethane, acrylic and hybrid membranes applied wet and cured in place. Because there are no laps, liquid systems suit heavily penetrated decks and irregular geometry where sheet material cannot be dressed cleanly.
VVS projects using this system
02 — Factory-controlled thickness
Pre-formed sheet systems deliver consistent thickness across large areas because the membrane is manufactured, not applied. Performance depends almost entirely on lap integrity and termination detailing.
VVS projects using this system
03 — Modified bitumen, heat welded
Torch-applied modified bitumen sheet, typically installed in two plies for exposed roofs and terraces. Robust and long-established, but the installation is a hot-works activity and must be planned accordingly.
VVS projects using this system
04 — Designed for hydrostatic pressure
Basement, retaining wall, lift pit and tanking applications where the membrane is permanently buried and under water pressure. There is no realistic access for repair once backfill is placed, so detailing is verified before cover.
05 — Applied against the water
Where the positive face cannot be reached — an existing basement, lift pit or retaining wall — crystalline and cementitious systems are applied to the internal face and resist water pushing through the structure.
06 — Waterproofing plus a wear surface
Carpark decks, ramps, walkways and exposed decks where the membrane itself is the finished surface. These builds combine a flexible waterproofing layer with an aggregate broadcast and a hard-wearing top coat.
VVS projects using this system
07 — Bathrooms, laundries, amenities
Internal wet areas use cementitious or liquid membranes over prepared substrates, with bond breakers at junctions and flood testing before tiling. Most wet area failures come from junctions, hobs and penetrations, not the field.
08 — Buried, landscaped, unrepairable
Podium decks carry landscaping, paving, services and sometimes vehicles above the membrane. Once overburden is placed the membrane is inaccessible, so the whole build-up — membrane, drainage, protection and falls — is treated as one system.
VVS projects using this system
09 — Thresholds, falls and drainage
Balconies concentrate almost every waterproofing risk into a small area: a door threshold, a shallow fall, a single outlet and a balustrade fixed through the slab. Systems are chosen around movement and the tiled finish above.
VVS projects using this system
VVS installs ARDEX, Sika and Tremco systems to each manufacturer's published technical data. Manufacturer names identify the products we install — no endorsement, sponsorship or accreditation is implied unless separately stated in writing.
Cementitious and liquid-applied membranes with a broad tile-and-screed ecosystem, widely used across wet areas, balconies and podium decks.
VVS projects using this system
Polyurethane, cementitious and below-ground technologies engineered around movement, exposure and hydrostatic load.
VVS projects using this system
High-performance sheet and liquid membranes commonly specified on commercial roofs, terraces and trafficable decks.
VVS projects using this system
Send substrate, exposure, overburden and drainage details — or the specification — and we'll advise on suitable systems in writing.
