Start with the head of water: take the design groundwater level from the geotechnical report, confirm that the ply count kept in the issued Section 07 12 00 and named on the wall sections is the one its note’s table gives for that head, and confirm that the plans hatch every wall and floor that receives the membrane, since the section has no designer note listing what the drawings must show. Then check that the asphalt type, felt or fabric, primer rate, keyed footing flashing, wall-to-slab reinforcement, flanged sleeves, drain clamping devices, reglets, protection board, flood test, and kettle location agree with the details, the plumbing drawings, and the site logistics plan.
Assemble the review package
Gather the foundation and slab plans with the waterproofing extents, the wall sections and the footing, keyed joint, slab edge, pit, sump, and tunnel details, any shower pan, above-grade retaining wall, tank, or culvert details where the section is used, the pipe sleeve, duct, and floor drain details and the plumbing and mechanical drawings that place them, the structural drawings with construction joints, keys, and any settlement or movement joints, the geotechnical report with the design groundwater level and the hydrostatic assumption, the dewatering and foundation drainage drawings, the masonry and concrete sections that set joints and curing, the site logistics or phasing plan showing where kettles and hoists can stand, and the issued Section 07 12 00 with Sections 03 30 00, 07 60 00, 06 10 00, 31 00 00, and any of 07 11 13, 07 13 53, 07 14 00, and 07 17 00 the project also issues. Follow one wall from its keyed footing to the reglet at its top edge, and one floor drain from the membrane to the drain body, before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 07 12 00: Built-Up Bituminous Waterproofing as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 8, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Where the system applies and the code basis | Opening scope note (local practice or the IBC dampproofing and waterproofing section; hydrostatic condition without groundwater control) + Application articles (waterproofing where indicated, components in locations indicated on the drawings) + Section 07 17 00 note (bentonite as an alternative to the multi-ply membrane of Section 07 12 00) + Section 07 11 13 scope + foundation plan, wall sections, and geotechnical report | Since the section has no designer note listing what the drawings must show and places the waterproofing only “where indicated”, do the plans and sections hatch every wall and floor that receives the built-up membrane and set its boundary against dampproofing, sheet, fluid-applied, or bentonite waterproofing, and where the groundwater investigation finds a hydrostatic condition and the design has no groundwater control system, are both the walls and the floors waterproofed, as the IBC passage the opening note quotes requires? |
| Ply count, head of water, and felt or fabric | Membrane Waterproofing note (fabric rather than felt where settlement is likely or masonry is rough; plies and moppings by head of water; waterlogged soils) + Below Grade Wall Waterproofing ply bracket and its closing sentence + Membrane Fabric note and table (felts and fabrics as designer selection or contractor options) + Cotton and Woven Burlap Fabrics articles + geotechnical report and wall sections | Does the ply count kept in the wall article and named on the wall sections match the row of the note’s table for the head of water the geotechnical report sets at the deepest wall and floor, is the ply bracket edited to one option, since it includes an option with fewer plies than the article’s own closing sentence requires, has the editor read the table with care, since its inch-pound ranges for the two deepest rows overlap while the metric ranges do not, and where settlement is likely or the masonry is rough, are felts deleted so only fabric remains, as the note directs? |
| Asphalt type, plastic cement, primer, and weather | Bitumen note (Type I below grade, Type II above grade away from high heat, Type III on vertical surfaces in sun or heat) + Bituminous Plastic Cement note (cement type matched to asphalt type) + Primer article + Preparation of Surfaces primer rate + Below Grade Wall and Floor Waterproofing primer rates + Heating and Application article + Environmental Conditions article | Is the asphalt type kept matched to where the membrane goes, below grade, above grade out of high heat, or on vertical surfaces exposed to sun, is the plastic cement type the one its note pairs with that asphalt, since the Preparation of Surfaces article and the wall and floor articles state different primer coverage rates, has the specifier kept one so the installer and the inspector work to the same rate, and does the construction schedule place the work in weather the Environmental Conditions article allows? |
| Substrate, curing, masonry joints, and dewatering | Preparation of Surfaces note (concrete moist cured, no membrane-forming curing compounds, masonry with flush joints) + Preparation of Surfaces brackets (concrete, masonry, and metal substrates) + Inspection of Surfaces article (embedded items, rough-in complete) + Membrane Waterproofing note (drying, dewatering, and written verification of dryness, coordinated with Division 31) + Section 03 30 00 Curing and Protection article + Section 31 00 00 dewatering + masonry section | Is Section 03 30 00 edited so the walls and slabs that receive the membrane are moist cured, since its Curing and Protection article keeps membrane-forming compound off surfaces where coverings are bonded but names moist curing only for sealers, hardeners, and epoxy coatings, does the masonry section call for flush joints on walls to be waterproofed, as the note asks, have the drying, dewatering, and written dryness verification the note asks for been added and coordinated with the dewatering requirements of Section 31 00 00, and are sleeves, inserts, and rough-in complete before the membrane goes on, as the inspection article requires? |
| Keyed footings, wall-to-slab joints, and corners | Keyed Joint Footings article (flashing formed to the key, turned down at the footing edge, continued through the joint, lapped into the under-slab membrane, protected until lapped) + Below Grade Wall Waterproofing (fabric reinforcement at corners, angles, and construction joints) + Floor Waterproofing + Fabric Membrane Reinforcement article + footing, slab edge, and construction joint details + structural drawings | Does each footing detail with a keyed wall joint show the membrane flashing formed to the key, carried to the outside edge of the footing and turned down, and continued through the joint to lap the under-slab membrane, with a note on how it is protected until the floor membrane is placed, are construction joints and corners reinforced, as the wall article requires, and since the Floor Waterproofing and Fabric Membrane Reinforcement articles give different extensions for the first ply at the slab-to-wall intersection and at vertical corners, has the specifier kept one set? |
| Sleeves, drains, reglets, and exposed edges | Flashing Flanges article (primed flanges on pipe sleeves and ducts, two fabric collars, connection to work exposed to weather) + Clamping Devices article and the Floor Waterproofing drain clause + Reglets article (Section 07 60 00, reglets filled with bitumen) + Manufacturer’s Detail submittal + plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and fire protection drawings + drain schedule | Is every pipe sleeve and duct that crosses the membrane on the trade drawings a flanged sleeve, since the Flashing Flanges article seals the membrane to a flange with fabric collars, do the drain schedule and details call for drains with clamping devices wherever the floor membrane meets a drain, is the reglet at each exposed membrane edge the type Section 07 60 00 specifies and drawn on the wall sections, and where the membrane meets work exposed to weather, does a detail carry it to the back of that work or counterflash it, as the article requires? |
| Protection board, protective covering, and the flood test | Protection Board article (asphalt plank, cellulosic fiber board, or mineral wool board) + Protective Covering articles (vertical board pressed into the final hot mopping; horizontal covering removed immediately before concealment) + Test of Membrane Waterproofing article and its note + wall and slab sections + foundation drainage details + Section 07 13 53 Protection Board note | Is the protection board on the wall sections one of the three types the article lists and suited to the backfill and groundwater, bearing in mind that the 07 13 53 protection note warns fiberboard stops protecting once wet, where the design uses a drainage board, which this section does not specify, does another issued section cover it, does a slab or topping detail give lasting protection over horizontal membranes, since the Horizontal Surfaces paragraph removes the protective covering immediately before the concealing work, and do the plans identify the horizontal surfaces over finished spaces that get the flood test, with one depth option chosen? |
| Kettles, fire protection, shower pans, nailers, and bulk asphalt | Flame Heated Equipment articles (kettle location from buildings and combustibles, extinguishers, NFPA 1, no flame heated equipment on the roof) + Protection of Surrounding Areas + General Installation Requirements (ventilation of enclosed spaces, contractor-option shower pans) + Prefabricated Pan article + Wood Nailers note (preservatives leaching into asphalt) + Bulk Liquid Asphalt note and articles + site logistics plan + Section 06 10 00 | Does the site logistics or phasing plan leave room to set kettles at the distance the section requires from buildings and combustible materials, which can be hard on a tight urban or courtyard site, is the ventilation bracket kept for pits, vaults, and other enclosed spaces, where shower pans may be prefabricated, are they drawn as one piece with an opening only for the drain, are wood nailers in contact with the membrane kept free of preservative treatment that can leach into the asphalt, as the note warns, and is bulk liquid asphalt kept only where its note allows, with shipment records and sampling? |
Worked example: a ply count nobody chose, a key the membrane skips, and sleeves without flanges
Illustrative example: a new command and communications building has a basement with a communications vault, an elevator pit, and a mechanical room, set in a courtyard between two occupied buildings. The geotechnical report puts the design groundwater level well above the basement floor, and the design includes no groundwater control system. The issued Section 07 12 00 keeps the whole ply bracket, the wall sections say only “built-up waterproofing”, the footing detail stops the wall membrane at the top of the footing with no flashing through the keyed wall joint, and the floor slab is drawn cast directly on the under-slab membrane. The plumbing drawings show plain pipe sleeves with mechanical seals through the basement wall, the floor drains are scheduled without clamping devices, Section 03 30 00 still allows membrane-forming curing compound on the basement walls, and the logistics plan leaves no place in the courtyard for a kettle at the distance the section requires from the neighboring buildings.
Ask the architect and the geotechnical engineer to set the ply count from the design head of water, keep that one option in the wall article, and name it on the wall sections. Ask the architect to detail the flashing through the keyed joint into the under-slab membrane, to add a protection course or protection slab over the floor membrane, and to coordinate with the plumbing engineer so the sleeves through the waterproofed walls are flanged and the floor drains have clamping devices. Ask the specifier to edit Section 03 30 00 so the waterproofed surfaces are moist cured, and ask the architect and the contracting officer whether the site leaves room for the kettles the section requires or whether another waterproofing section suits the site better.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 07 12 00 covers hot-applied built-up asphalt membranes on below-grade walls and floors and the other surfaces its notes list, and contractor-option prefabricated shower pans. Elastomeric sheet membranes follow Section 07 13 53 and the sheet waterproofing guide, fluid-applied membranes under a separate wearing course follow Section 07 14 00 and the fluid-applied waterproofing guide, bentonite follows Section 07 17 00, whose note calls it an alternative to the multi-ply membrane of this section, and dampproofing without hydrostatic pressure follows Section 07 11 13; built-up roofing is a separate section, UFGS 07 51 13 Built-Up Asphalt Roofing. Reglets follow Section 07 60 00, curing follows Section 03 30 00, wood nailers follow Section 06 10 00, and dewatering follows Section 31 00 00, so check those before calling a requirement missing. The section has no designer note listing what the drawings must show, no drainage board, no waterstop or expansion joint article, and no protection that stays over horizontal membranes, and its flood test note is written for roofing and electric field vector mapping under UFC 3-110-03. Its Fire Protection paragraph requires compliance with NFPA 1, though NFPA 1 is not in its References article, and its bulk liquid asphalt paragraph holds tanker asphalt hotter than the maximum the heating article allows, so ask which limit governs at the kettle. Its opening note quotes IBC Section 1805.3 and cites Sections 1803.5.4 and 1805.1.3; confirm the edition your jurisdiction adopts. Groundwater levels, hydrostatic and uplift design, and slab design belong to the geotechnical and structural engineers. The current guide section cites ASTM C208, C726, D41, D173, D226, D449, D517, D1327, D1668, D2178, and D4586, and NFPA 1; confirm the editions your project invokes.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.