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Key Takeaways

  • Windows and walls are the last barrier, not the roof. Structural engineers treat the wall and window assembly as the final separation between the outside and the occupants, however elegant or efficient the design. That’s why waterproofing them is central to preserving the building envelope.
  • Sealant selection depends on the substrate. There are many sealant materials, each carrying different warranty advantages and limitations, and the right one depends on what surface it’s bonding to. A specification written without that match produces a product that fails early on a technicality.
  • Waterproofing covers far more than roof coatings. The work includes masonry restoration, leak repair, structural concrete repair, tuck pointing and brick replacement, epoxy injection, deck and traffic coatings, anti-graffiti coating, interior and exterior sealant replacement, expansion joint replacement, and below-grade waterproofing.
  • Industry standards work is a credential worth checking. KPost belongs to the Sealant Waterproofing Restoration Institute, and Waterproofing Operations Manager Luis Diaz Deleon helped develop concrete guidelines for the International Concrete Repair Institute, a professional partner of SWRI.
  • One contractor for roofing and waterproofing means one warranty. General contractors and multi-facility owners can consolidate the entire building envelope scope with a single provider, which saves money on overlapping work and puts the watertightness warranties in one place.

There is no shortage of iconic commercial buildings in North Texas. These “statement structures” such as the Perot Museum of Nature & Science, the Omni Hotel, the Hunt Oil Headquarters and the AT&T Stadium, all designed by architectural visionaries, have transformed the skylines of the DFW metropolitan area over the past decade. However, as a contributor to the construction of each of these magnificent buildings, KPost Company, understands the most innovative designs are only as water-tight as their most vulnerable areas.

It has been noted by many structural engineers that the windows and walls of a building – regardless of its design elegance and environmental efficiency – are the last barrier between the outside elements and the occupants inside. Because of this, waterproofing these windows and walls is absolutely critical to maintenance of the integrity of the envelope of the building.

It is for this is the reason KPost Company has a business unit dedicated exclusively to waterproofing commercial buildings. This unit is led by twenty-year industry veteran Shawn Morgan, Waterproofing Division Manager.

Every Waterproofing Job is Different

“Each job presents different challenges,” notes Morgan. “For example, if it is a window glazing, masonry project or concrete repair project, KPost Company makes sure we have the qualified workforce on the job who specialize in those particular trades.”

The company has extensive experience in all phases of waterproofing. “Although we have 40 years of waterproofing experience in our service leadership, our waterproofing workforce has more than 300 years combined experience in this area,” he said. “Because of this, there is typically no situation where we have not had experience in dealing with it before and can recommend the best system or repair.”

KPost Company is also a member of the prestigious Sealant Waterproofing Restoration Institute (SWRI) and over the past decade Luis Diaz Deleon, the Waterproofing Operations Manger for the company, helped to develop the concrete guidelines for The International Concrete Repair Institute, a professional partnership with the SWRI.

In explaining why these professional relationships are important to KPost Company customers, Luis notes,“It shows our dedication to quality, workmanship and professionalism. We have been involved in developing the specifications for concrete repairs on an international basis, not just local. My teammates and I work hard to bring the best practices to the entire industry,” he said.

Waterproofing is offered as a stand-alone contracting service or as a part of KPost Company commercial roofing projects. Besides protecting a building from water infiltration, the company offers:

  • Restoration of masonry
  • Leak repair
  • Minor and gross structural concrete damage repair
  • Tuck pointing and brick replacement
  • Epoxy injection
  • Deck and traffic coatings
  • Roof coatings
  • Anti-graffiti coating
  • Interior and exterior sealant replacement
  • Expansion joint replacement
  • Below grade waterproofing

Morgan notes, “Because we can offer waterproofing and commercial roofing to a general contractors and multi-facility owners, we can help them save money on the entire building envelopes scopes of work. Plus, there is a convenience factor of hiring us to manage the complete projects and the warranties tied to water-tight buildings.”

The construction industry has taken note of the company’s approach to building envelope innovations. Recently, one of the Dallas skyline-defining KPost Company waterproofing and roofing projects – the Perot Museum of Nature and Science – won the 2014 NRCA Golden Circle Contractor of the Year Award for innovative solutions for new construction. There are only four NRCA Golden Circle Awards given annually and KPost Company has won it three of the past five years.

Waterproofing Sealants: One Size Does Not Fit All

Having extensive experience as a waterproofing sealant manufacturer’s representative before joining KPost Company, Shawn Morgan has first-hand experience with the myriad sealant products and techniques available nationwide. This knowledge is invaluable for the company’s clients, consultants and the KPost Company team.

“While many times we base our estimates on the specifications of the consultant or architects, there are many types of sealant materials, each with a little different warranty advantage and disadvantage,” he said. “We know which sealant material works best for the specific substrate being utilized on the building. One size does not fit all,” he smiled.

“Waterproofing is absolutely essential for preventing water damage which can lead to equipment and inventory failures as well as downtime of your manufacturing and employees,” he said. “Leaky windows and walls which can result from inadequate or improper waterproofing product installation, can lead to mold and mildew in the building and health problems of your employees, the remediation of which can be extremely expensive.”

KPost Company has the team to ensure the safety, quality and value for all your building envelope projects.

FAQs

It is every part of the structure that separates conditioned interior space from the outdoors: the roof, the exterior walls, the windows and doors, the foundation and below-grade walls, and every joint and transition between them. The reason the term exists is that water and air do not respect trade boundaries. A leak at a window head, a failed wall joint, and a roof edge detail are the same problem viewed from three different contracts.

With controlled water testing rather than by waiting for rain. Standardized procedures direct water at a specific assembly under defined pressure and duration while someone observes the interior, which isolates exactly which component is failing. Spray rack testing evaluates windows and wall assemblies, flood testing checks horizontal surfaces such as plaza decks, and air leakage testing measures how much air the envelope passes. Testing during construction costs a fraction of diagnosing the same failure after occupancy.

Tuckpointing is cutting out deteriorated mortar from between masonry units and refilling the joints with fresh mortar. Mortar is designed to be the sacrificial element in a wall, weathering before the brick does, so joints eventually recede, crack, or crumble while the brick stays sound. Signs it is due include visible gaps, mortar that crumbles under a key, and interior damp on an exterior wall. Using mortar harder than the original brick causes damage, which is why the mix matters.

It is a repair for cracks in structural concrete, where low viscosity epoxy is injected under pressure through ports set along the crack until it fills the full depth. Cured epoxy is stronger than the surrounding concrete, so the repair restores structural continuity rather than just sealing the surface. It suits dormant cracks in walls, columns, and beams. Cracks that are still moving need a flexible joint treatment instead, because epoxy will simply crack again beside the repair.

Because water shows up on a ceiling and the roof is directly above it, which is a reasonable assumption and often the wrong one. Water entering at a wall joint, a window perimeter, a parapet coping, or a through-wall flashing detail travels down and inward through the structure before it appears, and it frequently surfaces at a ceiling line. Repeated roof repairs that never stop a leak are the clearest sign the entry point is somewhere in the wall assembly. See our waterproofing services.
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