Workshop brick work water proofing - almost OT

I used Bondcrete on the Hardiplank walls of my old house in Golden Bay, worked for me.

Where are you ?

Alan

Hi Alan, thanks for the reply. I'm in Perth. So putting the bondcrete on the Hardiplank seemed to stop the moisture getting in? Sounds like I might be on the right track.

cheers k.

I've used a product called "Drylok" availabe in the US at HomeDepot. What you have may be similar. It sounds like you have a really extreme case though. I wonder if you cut a hole through your slab and dug a pit, how much water you could collect in the hole. If you got a bit of it you could pump it away from the building. I would suspect that it's coming through the floor, but that's from my own experience. I'd probably be running the ventilation fan all day, but maybe you're concerned with your electrical budget.

Kelly:

I have something on another computer which can be had later for you dealing with brick and mortar chimneys.

But there are other questions. What is the exterior exposure and siting of your shop? Is it basement level? Do you have an exterior drainage setup of any kind? If there is any earth -to-wall contact where moisture is trapped, there are other procedures you would wisely take before any interior approach.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

"Denis G." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@j8g2000yqd.googlegroups.com:

I'd agree on the floor, especially if the soil is clay or something else prone to hydrostatic pressure. Try taping a couple foot square of some polyethylene vapour barrier plastic to the floor for a couple days. If it's got condensation on the underside then moisture is coming through the slab. Do the same test on your walls to rule them out.

And if it is, forget about sealing it until the underlying problem is fixed. 15 yrs. ago or so at work, I had a very expensive high build epoxy floor poured in a lab I built in an old warehouse. The floor was about 5 ft. above grade. Nevertheless, the coating failed for the same reason, moisture (or something) coming up through the floor. pH was about 11 or so, whether from the concrete or something else, I never found out.

Pete Keillor

Hi Edward, its ground level, no drainage problems etc. All of that is pretty much ok.

I'm pretty sure the floor is fine. Its been sealed with Bondcrete and then later painted with paving paint. This hasn't bubbled or anything.

I run the fan during the afternoon when the humidity is typically lowest to try to "dry" the insides of the workshop.

Kelly:

Youire in the antipodes. My references are all American. If you have a suitable international calling service or Skype, calls across the distance can be cheap. Privately email me after decoding the posted address and I can later dispatch a larger file, the chemical conclusion of which is you might want to focus on silane-siloxane compounds either mixed or separately. Many of the formulations are named in said file and the manufacturer's names and numbers given for contact and reference to distributors that may be out your way.

A URL you will want to see is:

A basic approach would be to attack the problem at the entry point instead of its exit: you need to figure where the water is coming in and address that surface because water traveling through brick/mortar will deteriorate the wall. If your mortar is failing or the brick spalling/deteriorating/ cracking, you have that as a fundamental problem. Mortar repointing is the straightforward remedy for mortar problems. And I must insure you it is a time-devouring and filthy job when carried across a large surface. Files and personal experience can advise on that.

Good on ya and let me know.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey