Swellable water bar

About Swellable water bar

A Swellable Water Baralso called a hydrophilic waterstopis a flexible sealing material used in concrete construction joints to prevent water ingress. It's especially useful in underground structures, tunnels, basements, retaining walls, and water tanks.

What Is a Swellable Water Bar?

A swellable water bar is typically made from sodium bentonite or hydrophilic polymers that expand when in contact with water. When placed in a joint or around penetrations in concrete, the bar swells to fill the gap, creating a watertight seal.

Key Features:

Applications:

• Cold joints between concrete pours

• Pipe penetrations

• Precast segments

• Box culverts

• Basement slabs and walls

• Tunnels and water retaining structures

Advantages:

• Self-sealing upon water contact

• Conforms to irregular surfaces

• Easy to install (can be glued or nailed)

• Provides active sealing (expands to fill gaps)

• Works in both horizontal and vertical joints

Installation Tips:

• Apply on dry concrete only premature contact with water may cause it to swell too early.

• Protect during concrete pour to prevent displacement.

• For high water pressures, use with PVC or metal waterstops as a secondary barrier.

• Some products come with a delayed swell time to avoid early expansion.

Types of Swellable Water Bars:

Example Products (brand types vary by region):

• SikaSwell (Sika)

• Hydrotite (Adeka)

• GCP Swellseal

• Fosroc Supercast SW

Would you like help picking a brand, getting datasheets, or installation guides? I can also help you compare types based on your project (e.g., tunnel, tank, basement).