The article describes unbiased comparison between two different methods of building protection against subsurface water and moisture – the foundation structure of waterproof concrete and waterproofing envelope based on the bitumen or plastic continuous sheet water proofing. The confrontation of properties and risk factors of the methods is made from the perspective of waterproof concrete structure which is the main content of the article. The comparative analysis is supplemented with the photos from field surveys and the results of independent laboratory tests.