ᐅ Miracle solution Xypex or just marketing—any experiences?

Hello,

I heard for the first time yesterday about a product called Xypex, which can be added to concrete to reduce the risk of water damage. Apparently, it has been used for a long time in tunnel construction and underground car parks, among other applications.

Since the basement of our single-family home will definitely be below the groundwater level, this definitely caught my attention!

Does anyone have (long-term) experience with it or have you heard about it? Also, how does it look in terms of cost?

Thanks for your answers and experiences!

bwollowb schrieb:

Since the basement of our single-family house will definitely be below the groundwater level, I’m naturally paying close attention to this!

Is it even necessary to build a basement with high groundwater levels?
If so, should it be a waterproof concrete tank (also known as a "white tank") or a bituminous tank ("black tank")?
No special concrete additive can guarantee watertightness for 50 years.
At the North Sea, there would be druids with little bags standing by the concrete mixers.

bwollowb schrieb:

Since the basement of our single-family house will definitely be below the groundwater level,

... isn’t a waterproof concrete shell ("white tank") already going to be built with waterproofing sheets anyway? So why use a miracle product then?

nordanney schrieb:

Why bother with a miracle cure then?

I’m not claiming that it’s a miracle cure. I’m just asking if anyone has heard of it or has personal experience. As I said, it is supposedly used extensively in other fields for a long time.

I have never come across that before. That’s all there is to say.

There are so many products and systems in construction that even as a building specialist, you almost certainly can’t know them all. As a layperson, it’s even more difficult – until recently, I didn’t know that basalt reinforcement for concrete exists. Had I known back then, I would have asked my structural engineer and basement builder about whether we could use it.

As a general rule, you should locate the official building approval certificate (such as a building permit or planning permission) for these products and read it carefully. Often, it already outlines certain limitations or conditions explaining why a specific product cannot or should not be used exactly as you might want.