Waterproofing. The extent to which a wall should be waterproofed will depend upon the location of the building. Foundations near running water must naturally be better protected than those in well drained locations. Fig. 7 illustrates a treatment which will prove quite safe for almost all localities. The exterior face of the wall is covered with several layers of asphaltum or tar. By coating the top of the footing and the top of the concrete floor just before the finish floor of cement is placed, little water will enter. A drain tile carried about the house as shown in Fig. 7, especially if gravel is placed against the wall above it, will meet every emergency.

Fig. 13. Cellar Frame with Sash.

There are other ways of waterproofing basement walls, but this is typical of the external wall treatments. In monolithic construction waterproofing may be secured by appropriate additions to the mixture of waterproofing materials such as slacked lime, just before the mixture is placed, no external applications being required.