NOTE This standard covers self-adhering (peel-and-stick) sheet waterproofing membranes that bond to the substrate through a factory-applied pressure-sensitive adhesive without hot-applied adhesives or open-flame torching. (1.1)

NOTE Self-adhering sheet membranes are supplied in rolls with a release liner; the adhesive face is exposed at installation and pressed to a primed or compatible substrate, forming a continuous fully-bonded waterproofing plane. The fully-bonded condition is the defining advantage over loose-laid systems: because the membrane is adhered, water that breaches a defect cannot migrate laterally between membrane and substrate to a remote leak, which keeps below-grade leaks local and findable. (1.2)

NOTE The following applications are within scope. (1.3)

NOTE Below-grade and foundation walls within the membrane's rated hydrostatic head, both post-applied to cured concrete and masonry and pre-applied (blind-side) against formwork or soil-retention systems. (1.3.1)

NOTE Horizontal applications including deck slab soffits, plaza decks, split-slab construction, and membranes installed beneath topping slabs, mortar beds, and tile in wet areas. (1.3.2)

NOTE Roof eave, valley, and penetration ice-and-water shield where the self-adhering sheet is the specified deck or below-grade waterproofing product rather than a component of a finished shingle roof system. (1.3.3)

NOTE The following systems are deliberately out of scope because a different membrane chemistry, hydrostatic rating, or installation discipline governs them; each is covered by a dedicated SynC standard. (1.4)

NOTE ASTM D6135, the historical application practice for self-adhering bituminous sheet, was withdrawn in 2014 and has not been replaced; as a result, this standard treats the manufacturer's published installation instructions as the governing procedural document. (2.3)

NOTE Single-source responsibility prevents the common field failure in which a membrane from one manufacturer is paired with an off-brand primer or mastic; many adhesion and compatibility failures originate at that mismatched interface rather than in the membrane itself. (4.4)

NOTE Self-adhering membranes are temperature-sensitive at installation: the pressure-sensitive adhesive must be warm enough to wet out and grab the substrate, and standard bituminous products lose tack below roughly 40°F (4°C). Specifying a winter or shoulder-season project on a standard product without a cold-weather formulation or substrate heating is a predictable installation failure. (5.1)

NOTE The service temperature range, frost depth, and water-table conditions establish whether the assembly must be a waterproofing grade rather than a dampproofing grade. (5.4)

NOTE Under IBC Chapter 18, waterproofing — not dampproofing — is required wherever a hydrostatic condition exists, which the code characterizes as a high water table or other conditions creating hydrostatic pressure against the structure. (5.4.1)

NOTE Membrane chemistry, orientation rating, application sequencing, and thickness are the four selections that determine the assembly; the notes and datasheets below take them in that order. (6.1)

NOTE Membrane chemistry sets flexibility, temperature range, and compatibility with adjacent materials. (6.2)

NOTE SBS polymer-modified bituminous sheet is the general-purpose choice: high elongation (typically 200–400% per ASTM D412), good self-healing around fasteners, and broad availability, but it is incompatible with expanded polystyrene and with some solvent-borne primers and must be primed on concrete and masonry. (6.2.1)

NOTE HDPE or polypropylene composite sheet carries higher tensile strength with lower elongation and is the basis of most pre-applied (blind-side) products, where its film face bonds mechanically and chemically to concrete cast against it. (6.2.2)

NOTE EPDM-based and other elastomeric sheets are used where extreme low-temperature flexibility or specific chemical exposure governs. (6.2.3)

NOTE Some products are rated for one orientation only; a vertical-rated product used on a ponding horizontal deck, or a wall product specified where deck-grade lap integrity is needed, is a frequent specification error. (6.3)

NOTE Pre-applied (blind-side) membrane is installed against the formwork or soil-retention face before concrete is placed, so the concrete is cast directly against it and the cured concrete bonds to the membrane; post-applied membrane is installed onto cured concrete after the forms are stripped. The choice is driven by access: where excavation or lagging will leave no room to install and inspect a membrane from outside after the wall is poured, a pre-applied system is the only correct answer, and substituting a post-applied product there is a defining pitfall of this section. (6.5)

NOTE Total membrane thickness is selected from hydrostatic head, traffic or topping load on horizontal work, and substrate roughness. The 80% case for a below-grade vertical wall is 60 mil; 40 mil is the floor for protected vertical work, and 80 mil is reserved for heavy-traffic deck and split-slab service. (6.7)

NOTE Physical-property minimums shall be met by the supplied membrane and verified against the manufacturer's published data. (6.8)

NOTE The substrate is the foundation of a fully-bonded membrane: a self-adhering sheet bridges voids it cannot fill, so surface irregularity, dust, laitance, and moisture all defeat the bond before the membrane is even down. (7.1)

NOTE Rough or open-textured masonry, including coarse CMU, shall receive a parge coat or a primer-fill before the membrane, so the membrane adheres to a continuous surface rather than bridging the mortar joints and block texture. Without this step the membrane spans the irregularities and water tracks behind it at the surface profile. (7.5)

NOTE Most adhesion failures and field RFIs on self-adhering work trace to an omitted or wrong primer; the membrane line item must always carry its matching primer rather than treating priming as optional. (7.6.1)

NOTE Lap dimensions shall meet the following minimums, and all laps shall be rolled. (8.6)

NOTE T-joints, where an end lap meets a side lap, shall be dressed with the manufacturer's detail mastic, because three layers of release-edge geometry are the most leak-prone point in any self-adhering field. (8.6.3)

NOTE The final finish-grade elevation shall be confirmed before the membrane is terminated; a termination set below finish grade is buried, loses its mechanical and sealant closure, and admits water at the top of the system. (8.7.1)

NOTE A bonded membrane is durable in service but vulnerable between installation and burial: backfill aggregate, form stripping, foot and equipment traffic, and topping-slab placement all puncture an unprotected sheet, and omission of a protection course is a leading cause of post-construction below-grade leaks. (9.1)

NOTE Field verification confirms two things the submittals cannot: that the membrane actually bonded to this substrate under site conditions, and that the completed assembly holds water before it is buried. (10.1)

NOTE The system warranty protects the Owner against the two failure modes that matter below grade — loss of watertightness and loss of adhesion — over a term commensurate with the inaccessibility of the work. (12.1)