Start with the opening drawing note of the issued Section 07 13 53: confirm that the plans and sections show where the membrane runs and on which substrate, how it terminates and is counterflashed, how every pipe, conduit, and reinforcing bar that crosses it is flashed, and how the wall membrane joins the floor or deck membrane. Then check that the one membrane type kept, its protection board or drainage grid, the protective covering, surface preparation, dewatering, splices, and flood test agree with the details and the geotechnical report, and that every edge where it meets dampproofing, another waterproofing system, roofing, or the above-grade air barrier is detailed as one continuous system.
Assemble the review package
Gather the foundation and slab plans with the waterproofing extents, the wall sections and the footing, pile cap, grade beam, slab edge, elevator pit, and sump details, any plaza or parking deck plans with drains, curbs, joints, and topping, the wet-area plans and the shower pan, kitchen, toilet, janitor, and pool details where the section is used there, the pipe and conduit sleeve and penetration details, the structural drawings with dowels, reinforcing, waterstops, and construction joints, the excavation support and shoring drawings, the geotechnical report with the groundwater level and the hydrostatic design assumption, the foundation drainage and subdrainage plans, the details where below-grade waterproofing meets the above-grade air barrier or dampproofing, and the issued Section 07 13 53 with Sections 07 60 00, 03 30 00, 31 00 00, and 33 46 16 and any of 07 11 13, 07 12 00, 07 14 00, and 07 17 00 the project also issues. Follow one wall from the footing to the top termination, and one deck drain from the membrane to the drain body, before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 07 13 53: Elastomeric Sheet Waterproofing as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 6, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Extent, substrate, and system for each condition | Opening scope notes (hydrostatic pressure, the IBC dampproofing and waterproofing section, groundwater investigation) + opening drawing note + foundation plan, slab plan, wall sections, and geotechnical report + Sections 07 11 13, 07 12 00, 07 14 00, and 07 17 00 | Do the plans and sections show the extent of membrane waterproofing and its substrate on every wall, slab, deck, and wet area that uses the section, as the drawing note requires, where the groundwater investigation finds a hydrostatic condition and the design has no groundwater control system, are both the walls and the floor waterproofed, as the scope note directs, and are areas meant for dampproofing or for fluid-applied, built-up, or bentonite waterproofing given their own hatch and boundary, so no surface is claimed by two sections or by none? |
| Membrane type, compatibility, and puncture resistance | Materials article and its notes + Butyl Rubber Sheeting, Thermoplastic Membrane (PVC), and Composite, Self-Adhering Membrane Sheeting articles + Primers, Adhesives, Mastics, and Accessories articles + product data, test report, and certificate submittals + detail callouts | Is one membrane type kept, as the Materials article expects, and do the detail callouts name that type rather than a generic membrane, are the primers, adhesives, mastics, and tapes the ones that type’s articles name, with the materials confirmed compatible with each other and with the substrate, as the Materials article requires, and where the membrane will be subject to abuse from reinforcing, traffic, or rough backfill, is the higher puncture resistance the materials note suggests written into the edited section? |
| Terminations, reglets, and counterflashing | Opening drawing note (termination details, flashing, counterflashing) + Flashing article (metal reglets on footings and intersecting walls, lead wedges, counterflashing over the membrane and protective covering) + composite membrane edge mastic + PVC securement strip note + Section 07 60 00 Reglets articles + wall sections at grade, footing, and intersecting walls | Does each wall section show where the membrane stops at its top edge, at the footing, and at intersecting walls, with the continuous metal reglet the Flashing article positions there and counterflashing over both the membrane and its protective covering, is the reglet type chosen in Section 07 60 00, are exposed self-adhering edges finished with the mastic bead the composite article requires, is the PVC securement strip drawn at the perimeter, penetrations, and elevation changes where the manufacturer calls for it, and does the top termination meet the above-grade air barrier, dampproofing, or wall flashing without a gap? |
| Penetrations, sleeves, dowels, and reinforcing bars | Opening drawing note (pipe and conduit penetrations) + Flashing article (flash penetrations, seal reinforcing bars that penetrate the membrane) + composite membrane second ply at drains and projections + PVC containment grid at penetrations + plumbing, electrical, fire protection, and structural drawings | Is every pipe, conduit, sleeve, drain, anchor, and tie that crosses the membrane on the plumbing, electrical, fire protection, and structural drawings given a flashing detail for the membrane type kept, where dowels or reinforcing bars cross the membrane line, such as slab dowels into walls, pile caps, or grade beams, does a detail show the sealant or mastic flashing component the Flashing article requires at the bars, and do the waterproofing details use the same sleeve sizes and locations as the trade drawings? |
| Wall-to-floor junctions, corners, pits, and deck drains | Opening drawing note (junctions at walls and floors) + Building Envelope Requirements article + General Installation Requirements article and the cant strip note + composite corner, joint, and drain reinforcement + PVC containment grid at walls, curbs, and transitions + footing, slab edge, pit, sump, curb, and deck drain details | At each footing, slab edge, elevator pit, sump, curb, and deck drain, does a detail show the horizontal membrane carried up the abutting vertical surface and lapped with the wall membrane, as the general installation article requires, is the cant strip paragraph kept only where the details draw cants, are corners, joints, drains, and projections reinforced or flashed as the article for the membrane type kept requires, and is every transition to another material continuous, since the Building Envelope article allows no assembly variation without written approval? |
| Protection board, drainage grid, and protective covering | Protection Board article and its note + Protective Covering article + protection board submittal and protective covering inspection reports + wall and deck sections + foundation drainage detail + Sections 33 46 16 and 31 00 00 | Is protection drawn between the membrane and the fill on every wall and under every topping, as the protection note always requires, is one protection option kept to suit the groundwater exposure, with the polymeric drainage grid where the note calls for it at facilities with routine groundwater exposure, is the Protective Covering article, which still lists fiberboard and bitumen-type board, edited to agree with that choice, since the note warns that fiberboard stops protecting once wet and that bitumen-impregnated board must not touch PVC, and does any drainage grid discharge to a foundation drain the subdrainage section specifies? |
| Surface preparation, curing, dewatering, and weather | PART 3 opening note (waterlogged soils, dewatering, moisture verification) + Verification of Conditions and Surface Preparation articles and the curing compound note + Environmental Conditions article and its note + Section 03 30 00 Curing and Protection and floated finish articles + Section 31 00 00 Drainage and Dewatering articles + substrate details | Are the drying, dewatering, and written moisture verification requirements the PART 3 note asks for added and coordinated with the Dewatering article of Section 31 00 00, has the paragraph the surface preparation note asks for, removing curing compound that contains wax or oil, been added to Section 03 30 00, whose current guide text only keeps membrane-forming compound off surfaces that receive bonded coverings, are projecting ledges below grade, other than footings, detailed with the mortar bevel the preparation article requires, is the substrate under each horizontal membrane detailed, and is the outdoor weather paragraph deleted where the membrane is installed indoors, as its note directs? |
| Laps, flood testing, inspection, and warranties | Butyl Rubber, Thermoplastic Membrane (PVC), and Composite, Self-Adhering Membrane articles (laps, splices, and seams) + Field Quality Control article and its note (UFC 3-110-03, electric field vector mapping) + Protective Covering inspection + Contractor Guarantee and Manufacturer Warranty articles + deck plans, geotechnical report, and construction schedule | Where the geotechnical report puts a butyl membrane below the water table, does the section keep the tongue-and-groove cemented splice with a factory heat-vulcanized seam its article requires there, are PVC laps oriented with the flow of water toward the drains on the deck plan, do the plans identify the horizontal surfaces over finished spaces that get the flood test before concealment, with one bracketed depth option chosen, is electric field vector mapping considered where overburden will hide the membrane, as the note recommends for covered roofing assemblies, does the schedule hold backfill and topping until the membrane and its protective covering are inspected and accepted, and are the draft guarantee and warranty certificates kept in the preconstruction submittals? |
Worked example: a membrane that stops at the slab edge and a wall nobody can reach
Illustrative example: a new headquarters building has one basement level for mechanical and storage rooms, an elevator pit and a sump pit in the basement slab, and a landscaped plaza deck over part of the basement at the main entrance. The geotechnical report expects groundwater above the basement slab in wet seasons, the design includes no groundwater control system, and part of the north wall is cast against the excavation support. The foundation plan hatches the walls for sheet waterproofing but stops at the slab edge, with nothing under the slab, the issued Section 07 13 53 keeps all three membrane types and both protection options, the wall section ends the membrane below finished grade with no reglet or counterflashing, the elevator pit and sump details show no membrane turning down into them, the plaza deck drain detail refers only to a generic clamping ring, and the north wall section draws the membrane on a face no one can reach once the wall is cast.
Ask the architect to carry the membrane under the slab, since the report shows a hydrostatic condition and the design has no groundwater control system, to keep one membrane type and the protection option the groundwater exposure calls for, to detail the turn-down into the pit and sump and the membrane connection at the plaza drain, and to add the reglet and counterflashing at the top edge in coordination with Section 07 60 00. Ask the architect and the structural engineer which section and product will waterproof the north wall where it is cast against the excavation support, since Section 07 13 53 has no article for a membrane placed before the wall is cast, and ask the geotechnical engineer to confirm the groundwater level the details and the splice requirements assume.
See the published sump-opening finding. The illustrative scenario above is separate from that published finding.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 07 13 53 covers sheet membranes applied to a prepared, accessible surface. Fluid-applied membranes under a separate wearing course follow Section 07 14 00, whose opening note says not to use it where hydrostatic pressure acts and points to Section 07 13 53; built-up bituminous waterproofing follows Section 07 12 00; bentonite follows Section 07 17 00, whose note sends hydrostatic walls and floors without groundwater control to a multi-ply membrane in Section 07 13 53; and dampproofing without hydrostatic pressure follows Section 07 11 13. Reglets and counterflashing follow Section 07 60 00, curing, waterstops, and the vapor retarder follow Section 03 30 00, whose vapor retarder note sends hydrostatic or excessively damp conditions to a Division 07 membrane, dewatering and shoring follow Section 31 00 00, and foundation drains follow Section 33 46 16 Subdrainage Piping. The section has no article for a membrane placed against shoring or lagging before the wall is cast, for waterstops at construction joints, or for expansion joints, so check which section your project issued for each before calling a requirement missing. Its scope note cites IBC Sections 1803.5.4 and 1805.1.3 on groundwater investigation and groundwater control; 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 C1305, D41, D146, D297, D412, D429, D471, D570, D573, D624, D638, D746, D751, D903, D1004, D1149, D1204, D1876, D2136, D2240, D3045, D5385, E96, and E154; 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.