Waterproofing walls and floors

Bathrooms, toilets and other sanitary areas can be treated with polyester or epoxy for waterproofing.

Should you use polyester or epoxy for walls? 

Both materials provide a waterproof result. However, epoxy and polyester cannot be used interchangeably. So a choice has to be made.

Waterproofing walls and floors with polyester

Polyester gives off a pungent odour during application . Consider using epoxy if the home is occupied. Epoxy is virtually odourless.

Waterproofing walls with polyester

• Round exterior corners.
• Apply adhesive primer.
• After a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 12 hours, round the inside corners with polyester resin and cotton fibre.
• Then apply a layer of polyester and fibreglass chopped strand mat. For lightly loaded walls, a 225 g/m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat is sufficient. For walls that are subject to impact, use 450 g/m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat.
• After curing, finish as desired.

Required per square metre:

• Adhesive primer: 250 gr/m2
• 1m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat 225 gr/m2 or 450 gr/m2
• 0.5 kg polyester (when using fibreglass chopped strand mat 225 gr/m2) or 1 kg polyester (when using fibreglass chopped strand mat 450 gr/m2).

Waterproofing floors with polyester

• Stabilise the substrate. Cover plank flooring with a layer of plywood or underlayment. Screw these to the substrate every 15 cm. Make concrete floors flat and dust-free.
• Round exterior corners.
• Apply adhesive primer.
• After a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 12 hours, round the inside corners with polyester resin and cotton fibre.
• Then apply a layer of polyester and fibreglass chopped strand mat. A fibreglass chopped strand mat of 450 g/m2 is sufficient for lightly loaded floors. For more heavily loaded floors, 2x 450 g/m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat can be used.
• After curing, finish as desired.

Required per square metre:

• Adhesive primer: 250 gr/m2
• 1m2 or 2m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat 450 gr/m2
• 1 kg polyester (when using 1x 450 gr/m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat) or 2 kg polyester (when using 2x 450 gr/m2 fibreglass chopped strand mat)

How to finish polyester

You can use various methods for finishing polyester. We explain these methods below.

Finishing with tiles:
While still wet, sprinkle the last layer with dry sand. After curing, you can vacuum up the excess sand and then place the tiles. Use cementitious tile adhesive (powder glue) for this purpose.

Finishing with topcoat:
Finishing with topcoat is quick and efficient. It produces a surface with a light structure that is easy to keep clean. Topcoat is available in all RAL colours.

Finishing with paint:
Since polyester has more structure than epoxy, more filler is needed if the whole thing needs to be tight. DD paint is the first choice when it comes to polyester paint. This paint is available in high gloss and silk gloss.

Waterproofing walls and floors with epoxy

Epoxy is almost completely odorless and can therefore also be used when the house is occupied. It also has better adhesion to materials such as metals, wood, etc.

Waterproofing walls with epoxy

• Round exterior corners.
• Apply an adhesive layer of approx. 250 g/m2 epoxy.
• After curing, sand lightly (grit 180).
• Then apply a layer of epoxy and glass fabric 200 g/m2. For lightly loaded walls, a single layer will be sufficient. For walls that are subject to impact, a second layer can be applied.
• After curing, finish as desired.

Required per square metre:

• Adhesive layer: 250 gr/m2 epoxy.
• 1m2 or 2m2 glass fabric 200 gr/m2.
• 0.3 kg epoxy (for 1 layer) or 0.6 kg epoxy (for 2 layers).

Waterproofing floors with epoxy

• Stabilise the surface. Cover plank flooring with a layer of plywood or underlayment. Screw these to the substrate every 15 cm. Make concrete floors flat and dust-free.
• Round the exterior corners.
• Apply 250 g/m2 adhesive layer.
• After curing, round the inside corners with epoxy resin and cotton fibre.
• Then apply 2 layers of epoxy and glass fabric 200 gr/m2. Allow these to rise approximately 10 cm against the walls.
• After curing, finish as desired.

Required per square metre:

• Adhesive layer: 250 gr/m2 epoxy
• 2 m2 glass fabric 200 gr/m2
• 0.6 kg epoxy

How to finish epoxy

You can use several methods to finish epoxy. We explain these methods below.

Finish with tiles:

While still wet, sprinkle the last layer with dry sand. After curing, you can vacuum up the excess sand and then place the tiles. Use cement-based tile adhesive (powder glue) for this purpose.

Finish with roller coating:

Finishing with roller coating is quick and efficient. It produces a surface with a light structure that is easy to keep clean. Roller coating is available in all RAL colours.

Finish with paint:

Epoxy can also be finished with paint. Glass fabric 200 gr/m2 leaves a fine structure. If this structure is not desired, a layer of epoxy can be rolled over the fabric. This will fill the structure almost completely. You can then sand the surface and touch it up with epoxy filler where necessary. Then the wall can be finished with DD paint. This paint is available in high gloss and silk gloss and in many RAL colours.