The benefits of waterproofing may not be visible immediately and therefore it is one of the primary reasons why it gets relegated to the background and is often ignored.
Waterproofing is an absolutely essential component of the construction process; however, as a consumer its benefits may not be immediately apparent to you. It is the job of your contractor to ensure that waterproofing is done for the foundation, basement, the terrace and the bathrooms. Just as it is their job to ensure that the best quality construction materials are used in the construction of the house, similarly they should advise you on adequate waterproofing. Yet this is an ideal situation, and very often the contractors themselves are either unaware or uninterested in putting sufficient efforts towards quality construction. These days the focus appears on completing the building, rather than taking pride in the final product. Clearly, one cannot rely blindly on the contractor or builder.
As a homeowner it is essential that you remain aware about the process of construction and choice of materials for waterproofing. Even though it is not practical to know about every aspect of house construction, it helps to have a broad outline about major requirements, materials and finishing.
The problem with waterproofing or rather if you do not have waterproofing done in your house is, that the effects may not be visible immediately. But as moisture, dampness and leakage continue to build up it can cause great damage to the structure, walls, flooring and even the foundation. Although you can do repairs at that point, it is much more expensive and labour intensive to get it done. It is always better to have waterproofing solutions in place as a preventive measure rather than a fix to the problem when it has already occurred.
However, if you are in that situation, there is no point in blaming yourself for it, as it is a much wider problem than you would imagine. Many homeowners find themselves in a state where they realise that waterproofing was either not done at all, or the materials used for it were of very poor quality and deteriorated with use. It is also possible that the job that was done was extremely shoddy and has therefore, caused and left cracks, which has then allowed the moisture to seep in. In either situation, the fact remains that you have a house which is not completely waterproof and you must take measures to address each of these individually to resolve the problem.
It is unfortunate that lack of awareness can lead to more repairs and maintenance issues in the future. Fortunately now with the Internet, there is easy access to information pertaining to every aspect of construction of houses, which allows you to read up on them and make the right choices.
