The authors wish to express their appreciation to the Malaysian government for the research grant (72215), Petro-Pipe Concrete Piles Sdn. Bhd. for the technical support, Ban Heng Bee Rice Mill (1952) Sdn. Bhd. and Evergreen Fibreboard Sdn. Bhd for the contribution of RHA and TIA and Testmate (K.L.) Sdn. Bhd. for jointly developing the water permeability test system.