waterproofer to seal basement walls - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

flashme18 · 06-22-2008, 04:55 PM

My parents house..cinder block walls ...seepage and efflorescence is the problem..im going to seal the big cracks with cement...can use a suggestion on cement(hydraulic?) and the type of cement crack caulking as well for the tiny ones.

the biggest question is what type of sealant to use to paint on the walls. Drylock states that it can only go on over unpainted cement.

the cinder block is already painted..at least 30-50 years ago.

Once the walls are sealed. insualtion, sheetrock and paneling are going back up(i hate paneling, but stubborn father!)

What can i use over painted cinder block? I am not using tar and im not stripping all the paint off. So...suggestions please

**genecarp** · 06-22-2008, 08:27 PM

If You Are Seeping, Understand That You Will Not Correct The Problem From The Interior, It Will Be A Temporary Fix At Best, I Dont Care What The Products Claim, The Only Way To Stop Seepage Is From The Outside, Sorry.

neolitic · 06-22-2008, 08:33 PM

Do everything you can
with down spouts, gutters, grading,
even if it means trenching pipe,
in order to keep the water away
from the house in the first place.
It's always the cheapest alternative.

Like Gene said, you can't keep it
out from the inside.

Chris Johnson · 06-22-2008, 09:00 PM

Working from the inside out is a temporary solution for a permanent problem

I recommend you excavate all the way to the footing, use a drain board, perhaps new weeping tile, gravel and fill it back up

flashme18 · 06-23-2008, 01:52 PM

thanks for the exterior input and i already am in the process of taking care of that....i need to do the inside as well...so can ya'll answer my original questions. thanks

welovepainting · 06-23-2008, 05:53 PM

Maybe Loxon XP would work for the interior walls. The sales rep at Sherwin Williams says you can paint a slightly damp surface with it....

neolitic · 06-23-2008, 06:00 PM

Not sure, but I think the LoxOn is like the
UGL...only works for unpainted surfaces.
To the OP,
The above mentioned are two of the best
because they penetrate the block or
concrete to form a resistant barrier.
As long as you insist on going over paint
you'll never get any better than the paint
you are going over.
I understand the answers you want.
I'm afraid that anyone who will tell you
what you want to hear will be lying.

OCRS · 06-23-2008, 06:15 PM

If you're covering with studs & drywall, don't bother painting. Re-mortar/cement the joints and leave air space with vents at the ends. If you try to seal it, moisture escaping will blow everything out, again.

tyler durden · 07-07-2008, 11:28 PM

hot mop outside wall and slope

Frankawitz · 07-08-2008, 05:07 AM

I'm doing a job right now for a customer who is trying to sell their mother's house since she died in Dec 07. She hired a a company to dig out the outside of the house and they did their thing, I started to paint the basement walls and the next day I come in to put a second coat on the walls when I found water was still coming in cause we had a down pour the night before, So yesterday they showed up to dig it all out again, I talked with the guys and they said being it's all clay which is soaked. I will be going over there today I hope I can paint, But for what you have I wouldn't worry about painting it if your going to cover it up. But if your Dad wants it sealed just use Benjamin Moore's Fresh Start it covers real good.

flashme18 · 07-08-2008, 03:27 PM

what about using the tar/rubberized masonry and roofing sealers. I think its made by blackjack. All of the ones i looked at said exterior only. I have heard of people sealing their interior walls with tar and painting over it.

In the past 3 weeks there has been a near record amount of rain and the walls in the basement show no signs of anything more than a little mositure on the lowest 2 levels of cinder block. It has shown up through the hydraulic cement though which i was surprised. I havent even regraded the dirt outside against the foundation yet. Definitely strange that the water never showed its ugly face again even after a lot worse rainstorms. Like every day or every other day for a month!

neolitic · 07-08-2008, 03:42 PM

Water will push anything off the inside
wall.
Rubber and tar are for the outside...
like a raincoat?
If you aren't digging it up to waterproof
the exterior, You have to keep the water
away from the wall...Run downspout
extensions, re-grade, etc.
The only thing that even helps inside
is something like the UGL that penetrates,
bonds, and seals the pores in the walls.
Sad but true...facts don't change cause
you wish them to.

cleveman · 07-08-2008, 09:25 PM

I've often wondered if a guy had moisture problems and didn't want to dig next to the house (expensive), why he couldn't get a deep trencher and just trench around the outside, say 8' feet away, down 6" deeper than the basement floor, install tile lines and a pit with a sump pump and keep the basement dry that way. There would also be a lot of applications on larger lots where the tile could run out to daylight.

MALCO.New.York · 07-08-2008, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashme18

thanks for the exterior input and i already am in the process of taking care of that....i need to do the inside as well...so can ya'll answer my original questions. thanks

It is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

novicepro · 07-08-2008, 10:31 PM

If you're in the process of taking care of it then you really should just paint the walls with regular paint because it will work just the same when water comes through from the outside.

**genecarp** · 07-09-2008, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleveman

I've often wondered if a guy had moisture problems and didn't want to dig next to the house (expensive), why he couldn't get a deep trencher and just trench around the outside, say 8' feet away, down 6" deeper than the basement floor, install tile lines and a pit with a sump pump and keep the basement dry that way. There would also be a lot of applications on larger lots where the tile could run out to daylight.

because the basement would still leak