Waterstops

Choose them wisely

and install them with care

BY FRANK A. RANDALL, JR.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

f it slows the flow of water but doesnt stop it, is it a waterstop? If it is made of the best material to the best
design but is not installed properly is it still a waterstop?
When waterstops are required in concrete construction
they must be carefully planned and installed.
The waterstop is a long, thin barrier against water
leakage. Like the links in a chain, every part of its length
must do the job. There are many different waterstops
and there are many different situations that require waterstops.

Design
The state of the art of waterstop design lags behind the
techniques of manufacture and installation. The concrete industry has no detailed guidelines or standards for

To achieve watertightness at joints, waterstops must be

positioned correctly and care must be taken to avoid
honeycombing near the waterstop. Forms have been
removed at this construction joint and before the next
concrete placement dirt, oil or hardened concrete must be
removed from the exposed portion of the waterstop.

what size and which shape to use in a given situation.

The catalogs give only vague advice on the size and
shape to use. Besides, it is often difficult to determine
how much movement will occur at a joint. So it is important for all involved to do their part. Whoever specifies the waterstop should give careful thought to its size
and shape, and the contractor should use the best practices when installing whatever is specified.
Some large engineering offices and many public
agencies have had enough experience to develop their
own waterstop designs and specifications. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario have conducted detailed investigations and established standards for waterstops for dams
and water resource structures. The rest of the industry
relies on common sense, its own limited experience, and
the advice of representatives of waterstop manufacturers.
When selecting any waterstop, the size should be in
keeping with the mass of the concrete. Catalogs list

widths from 4 to 9 inches. The thickness will determine

the stiffness and how well the unit will stay in place during construction. Catalogs list center thicknesses from
3
16 to 12 inch.
Catalogs rate the maximum head of water for waterstops. Water heads range from 65 feet for the smallest
units up to 260 feet. However, such ratings are offered for
reference only, and the brochures state that the actual
capability to resist head pressure depends on quality of
concrete and placement. This capability also depends
on the amount and directions of joint movement that
develop.

Use
Waterstops are used in walls, in floors and in roofs of
u n d e rg round stru c t u re s. They are used in basements,
tanks, swimming pools, dams, tunnels, canal linings,
b ri d g e s, locks, sewage treatment plants, water reservoirs, mine shafts, retaining walls, aqueducts, underground vaults and parking structures.
On rare occasions waterstops are used in concrete
structures having no rebars. In these cases the amount of
movement at the joints may be appreciable, and movement might take place in one, two or three directions.

aging. It should not become brittle and crack when exposed to sunlight and continuous flexing. For many
kinds of installations, the rubber should also be resistant
to chemicals, petroleum products and sewage. Rubber
waterstops are manufactured in accordance with standards of the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
Plastics. Synthetic materials were first used for waterstops about 40 years ago. Polyvinylchloride (PVC), the
first plastic to be developed for the purpose, is still very
popular. PVC waterstops have elongations as much as
350 percent, tensile strengths over 2000 psi and resistance to brittleness at temperatures down to minus 35
degrees F. They are rated as to alkali resistance, tear resistance, volatility loss and water absorption in accordance with ASTM tests.
PVC, when pure and uncompounded, forms articles
that are hard and rigid such as pipe, chairs, boxes and
automobile bodies. When compounded with certain
plasticizers, the PVC becomes flexible and tough. Originally some plasticizers were used that had a tendency to
migrate into any liquid in which the compound was sub-

Choosing the size and shape

In concrete with rebars, the size and shape of a waterstop would depend on the type of jointany of three basic kinds:
construction joint, which has practically no movement
control joint, which has a limited movement
expansion joint, which has a greater movement
Again, if no reinforcing bars cross the joint, then
movement may increase the width of the joint and in
addition, the concrete on one side may shift in either direction, lengthwise or crosswise of the joint. For control
joints and expansion joints, somebody has to know or
estimate how much movement the concrete may develop.
Waterstops primarily accommodate movement that
widens the joint. Some waterstops are made to also accommodate movements perpendicular to the plane of
the waterstop. When movement occurs longitudinally,
or parallel to the axis of the waterstop, it develops a tearing action which could cause a leak to develop.

Materials
The earliest types of waterstops were made of rigid or
semiflexible metal, usually copper, nickel-steel or galvanized iron. A crimp was often provided in the metal at
the center of the joint. For their effectiveness these types
relied solely on a good bond between the metal and the
concrete. Their main applications were where only very
limited movements would occur.
Rubber. The rubber chosen for a waterstop should be
alkali-resistant and should be able to resist the effects of

merged. Howe ve r, special polymeric plasticizers are now

used which are virtually unextractable by water.
ACI 504R-77, Guide to Joint Sealants for Co n c re t e
St ru c t u re s, also notes that PVC does not have quite as
good recovery and fatigue resistance as various rubbers
and it is susceptible to oils. Nevertheless, being thermoplastic, PVC can easily be spliced on the jobsite and it is
the material most widely used. Competition in the industry has caused a few manufacturers to use reclaimed
PVC compounds in order to lower material costs. Many
specifications prohibit the use of reclaimed compounds
and permit only virgin material.
Moldable plastic. Plastic strips that are moldable at ordinary temperatures are available. These are inserted into keyways of construction joints. This type of material is

designed to be applied after the keyway form has been

stripped rather than cast into the concrete.

Shapes
Early flexible waterstops were shaped, in cross section, like a conventional dumbbell. They were intended
to be used where the joint moved mainly in the same
plane as the waterstop, that is, where primarily tension
and little shear was expected.
The next development was a hollow center bulb in the
dumbbell so that it could absorb shear movement. This
also lessened the pull on the end bulbs.
When plastics came along, waterstops were given a
corrugated or ribbed profile and then a hollow center
bulb. The ribs increased the effective mechanical seal
area of the waterstop. They also concentrated the bond
at intervals along the unit, so that the ribs closer to the
joint resisted the greater amount of pull. The ribs farther from the joint were under less stress; thus they deformed less and so were in more intimate contact with
the concrete, effecting a tighter seal. With smooth waterstops the same effect is obtained by simply using a
greater width. A ribbed profile may be somewhat more
important in PVC than in rubber because PVC does not
have the same degree of elasticity.
In a later development, half of the waterstop was split
so that the unit could be more easily installed in the

forms (see split-ribbed waterstop among the illustrated

shapes). With the usual solid waterstop, it is necessary to
split the bulkhead in the form, placing one half the waterstop in the first pour of the concrete and half in the
second pour. Since one end of the unit is already split,
the parts can be spread so that the whole waterstop is
contained by an ordinary bulkhead. After the bulkhead
is removed, the two split parts are straightened out and
stitched together before the second pour is made.

The labyrinth waterstop was developed for massive

structures. Like the split-ribbed waterstop, it also avoids
extra carpentry work because it is placed within the
bulkhead of the first pour. When the bulkhead is removed, the concave openings on only one side of the
waterstop have been filled with concrete. Openings on
the opposite side are filled when concrete is placed on
that side. Labyrinth waterstops are usually used only in a

vertical position because of the difficulty of successfully

completely filling the concave openings when the strip is
run horizontally. The cellular labyrinth waterstop will
accommodate lateral shear movement.
Contraction joint forming waterstops were developed
for use in canal linings which may be only about 5 inches thick. The unit is placed with the stem of the T in a
vertical position; it then will induce a shrinkage/temperature crack just as a tooled control joint would. The horizontal dumbbell portion then serves as the waterstop.
The cellular type of contraction joint former will accommodate lateral or shear movement.
Expander-type waterstops are useful in situations
where larger movements are expected, for example at
expansion joints. A U-shaped loop (see diagram) opens
to accommodate up to 112 inches of joint movement. A
thin membrane at the base of the loop prevents it from
filling up when concrete is placed, but the membrane
tears easily when the waterstop is tensioned. Pulling
stress on the unit is reduced so that the ribs deform very
little and remain in intimate contact with the concrete.
Also available is a split unit of this kind which facilitates
installation entirely on one side of a bulkhead, as with
the usual split-ribbed units.

Some waterstops are thick and short and are consequently stiff enough to resist being bent out of position
when the concrete is dumped into the forms. But most
waterstops are too flexible to stay in position without
support during concreting. It is usually necessary to wire
them to the forms or reinforcing bars. Small holes must
be drilled or punched near the extremities of the units so
that tie wire can be threaded through. These holes are
costly and they are obviously not desirable in a waterstop. To avoid the holes one manufacturer provides a
continuous wire looping at the edges for inserting the tie
wires. The looping also provides extra bond to the conc re t e, thus enhancing the waterproofing effectiveness
of the profile.
The last type of waterstop among the shapes illustrated is the simple strip of moldable plastic. A keyway is
used to form a construction joint without casting any
waterstop in place. After the form is stripped, the concrete in the keyway is brushed clean of all foreign material and dust, and a primer is brushed onto the base of
the keyway. The moldable strip is then simply pressed
into position at the base of the keyway, and fresh concrete is cast against it. It is reported to maintain the seal
by remaining plastic permanently. Since part of the
depth of the keyway is taken up by the waterstop, the
keyway may have to be made deeper than usual to maintain its structural function.

Installation
There are several important requirements for achieving watertightness:
Position the waterstop correctly. The waterstop must
be located accurately and possibly braced or lashed
firmly to prevent movement during placing of concrete.
The center bulb or loop that accommodates joint movement must be placed directly at the joint; otherwise its
value will be lost.
The formwork must be tight-fitting. It must not allow
a leakage path for the cement mortar, leakage which
could lead to honeycombing. A joint is always the most
vulnerable point of a structure.
The waterstop must be clean. If it is dirty or greasy, it

will not seal out water. Dirt and splattered concrete must
be cleaned from the ribs and corrugations prior to placing concrete in each side of the joint.
Concrete must be carefully consolidated. This is very
important; the efficiency depends on good compaction
of the concrete. The waterstop must be embedded in
concrete of sufficient quality to hold it in place when
movement occurs at the joint. Waterstops are meant to
provide a barrier across construction, contraction and
expansion joints. They are not intended as a remedy for
porous concrete. Intimate contact with the concrete is
essential over the entire surface of the waterstop; entrapped air and honeycombing near the joint will nullify its value.
Splices must be correctly made. A poor splice would be
a weak link in the water barrier. Splices should be avoid-

ed if possible. Fortunately this is made easy to plan because waterstops come in rolls 50 to 125 feet long. Splicing is a subject that merits considerable discussion.

Splicing procedures
Rubber waterstops can be lap-spliced cold. The ends
are overlapped about 3 inches with flat surfaces pressed
together. Coatings of rubber cement and uncured gum
rubber are placed on the surfaces that will be in contact
and the pieces are held together by clamping between
flat stainless steel plates. Cold lap splices are relatively

easy to make and do not require any electricity, but the

tensile strength achieved is low. A much stronger splice
can be made by vulcanizing. Small, portable vulcanizers
are used, commonly heated electrically. The butted
edges are beveled to 45 degrees or less. Rubber cement
and uncured gum rubber are then applied to the ends
and vulcanized, usually at around 290 F.
Splicing PVC is simply a matter of butting together the
two ends after they have been melted by means of an
indirect source of heat. The ends should be accurately
trimmed square before exposing them to the heat. Melting is necessary to a state of only tacky plasticity or softness. The melting must be uniform across the whole section. After the ends have become molten, they are forced
together and held firmly until they have completely
cooled and fused. They must cool naturally and not be
quenched.
With PVC, an indirect source of heat is essential because direct exposure to a flame will change the chemical composition of the plastic. A common method is to
heat a 14 -inch steel plate by means of a plumbers torch.
An electric hot plate can otherwise be used, and some
manufacturers have special tools for splicing.
Ribbed designs depend on the continuity of the ribs
for their ability to stop the passage of water. Leakage
tests have shown that it is important to preserve the ribs
throughout the splice area. A soldering iron can be
equipped with a grooved tip for remolding the PVC ribs

that are lost during splicing. The continuity of the ribs is

most apt to be lost where corners and intersections are
made. For this reason it is especially economical to order
p re f a b ricated intersections and corners. These are
stronger than intersections made in the field and better
able to withstand water pressure and seepage. In any

Interferences between waterstops and reinforcing steel can

sometimes be avoided by advance planning. Here, an
inverted keyway was designed to raise the waterstop above
horizontal steel.

SOURCES OF WATERSTOPS
A total of 20 manufacturers of waterstops, with
their address, is given in Concrete 84 SourceBook.
It is available from Concrete Construction Publications, Inc., 426 South Westgate, Addison, Illinois
60101.
t ri c k y, difficult or impossible to make proper corners
and intersections with some special types of waterstops.

Planning to avoid interferences

Corner splices can be avoided if there is enough room to
curve the waterstop around a corner. Prefabricated
intersections and corners are also available; these are
stronger than field-spliced intersections.

event, the corners and intersections should be made by

use of miters in order to maintain the continuity of the
ribbing and center bulbs.
A corner splice in a wall can sometimes be avoided by
curving the waterstop around the corner (see photo). As
long as the concrete walls are thick enough there and the
reinforcing steel does not interfere, this would seem like
the preferred way to form a corner.
To be sure that the integrity of the waterstop can be
maintained at the corners the designer should consider
all corners and intersections of split waterstops and
those of other special shapes ahead of time. It will be

Installation of waterstops in some reinforced structures becomes even more a matter of advance planning.
The drawing illustrates the congestion at the base of a
wall in a water treatment plant. Because of this congestion an upturned keyway has been created in which to
place the waterstop so it will clear the horizontal bars in
the concrete mat. Diagonal rebars at the haunch have to
be detailed and fabricated to clear the waterstop, and to
permit the stripping of the 2x4-inch forms used to form
the key. This is an example of an integrated layout that
e vo l ved from several jobs where things had just not fitted and worked together. Careful planning like this will
now make for smooth sailing on the job.
References
1. Kellam, B. and Loughborough, M. T., Waterstops for
Joints in Concrete, Journal of the American Concrete Institute, June 1959, page 1269.
2. ACI Committee 504, Guide to Joint Sealants for Concrete Structures, ACI Manual of Concrete Practice.

PUBLICATION #C840569
Copyright 1984, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved