# Drylok used without etching



## GoodPainter (Apr 23, 2006)

I had a customer call that I went to check out.

He had a problem in his basement with moisture seeping thru his
cinderblock walls.
Well the builder of the house actually came out and threw Drylok on the walls
and We dont think he did any acid wash.

the wall is 7.5 ft high and about 85 ft long

Many places the drylok is "bubbling" and "growing", what I guess
the effloresence "hairy, fuzzy" stuff.

The builder is out of the equation now after doing "tough-up work"
And the customer wanted me to do more touch-up work but scrape 
and then acid wash the bad areas(about 50% now). I told him that 
new spots will definatly show in the future and any work I could not 
warranty. Prob not the best thing for the money.

I told the customer that he is in a tough spot, but I would check with 
my contacts for a solution. 

What i thought was: Strip all Drylok covered area, Acid wash all, then rinse,
dry and then Drylok or coat with Ben Moore/Coronado industrial equivilent.

I quoted him a price of $2500 to $3k for that job.

My question is there any easier way to fix the horrible nightmare of
this problem for him?
I was thinking possibly belt sanding all to scratch the surface and then use 
a product to penetrate to etch the cinder block rather than a mess
with stripper.

OR

maybe a special epoxy coat over all of wall to seal 100% tight and leave the problem there.
I dont think this can be done, but It may be a cheap fix for a few years 
or something--unless there is a product that is out there for this
purpose???

By the way we beleive the Drylok was the waterbased, if this helps any

Please any feedback you can give

Thanks


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## Paintpimp (Nov 15, 2006)

I just read something that drylock has a new product that may work, check your local dealer and SW has a new product called Shercrete that may work as well.


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

Anything you do on the inside is a band aid. Seal the outside (sub terrain) and make sure it has a proper drainage system. :thumbsup:


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## dougchips (Apr 23, 2006)

I used the oil based Dry Lok in my basement 6-7 years ago. The only surface prep that I did was brushing the walls to remove dirt and dust. We have not had a leak since and none of the product has failed yet. I might add that I re-graded my property at the same time so water does not flow toward my house.

If you use the oil base stuff you might want the HO to move out until the project is done. I got rather dizzy while using it and had to hire someone to finish the project.


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## plazaman (Apr 17, 2005)

skyhook said:


> Anything you do on the inside is a band aid. Seal the outside (sub terrain) and make sure it has a proper drainage system. :thumbsup:




X2 .... proper drainage first. Water will find its way through some nook or cranie some where some how.


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## Wolverine-Eric (Apr 9, 2007)

The drylock is made from cheap acrylic... (that's not really a bad thing)... Typically... it works. You typically don't have to do alot of prep on block because it is so porous. The idea is to force a bunch of filled acrylic into the pours and let it get hard. I might guess that the contractor rolled it on... Typically, the stuff really needs to be put on with a paint brush to force it into the pours. If you don't get enough product in the pours you lose adhesion.

OK... all of that said... I'm curious to see some pictures... Do you have a mold issue? Also are there any bubble... and... if so... do they stink when you pop them?

Last, there are epoxies out there that will seal a wall from the inside... I'm 100% certain of it. However, the water is going to go somewhere... it typically ends up as hydrostatic pressure on the floor... 

I'm too tired to keep going... Gotta go...


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## GoodPainter (Apr 23, 2006)

Ok Thans for the replies.

I maybe can take pics in the future.

Yes the builder rolled it on.
There are bubbles, but I did not pop and sniff(yet)

We can probably assume the builder did not do any prep at all,
as far as wire brushing or cleaning any way.

The house was built with "french drains" said the HO.
and there is also a sump pump that was installed recently


+++I do know and already told the HO that it should have been 
sealed on the outside(Ilearned that from here) but he said "He asked
I they were going to 'tar pitch' it and they actually 'sprayed' on a 'clear'
sealant of some sort"-- well that could have been true, but who can
be sure that it cover 100% of the block and there were no pinholes 
for water seepage.

Anyway, the problem has to be solve i think by getting to the block
to acid wash.
If this can be done by beltsanding and acid washing great!
or
If this "Drylok" has to be 'stripped' then acid washed fine!

just want to properly do it and effiently for the HO so he can have it fixed

Thanx


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## Brushslingers (Jul 28, 2006)

Hey Rob.... your solution is Ph, the blocks are prolly highly acidic, cheap testers are available, so nothing short of epoxy will actually seal .. however, also sounds like alot of water (and the HO knows it) has already seeped into this area, and may continue.... go to a candle store and buy a wick... tie it to a nail about three feet off the floor, test the BARE block for acid and revisit in two weeks... if the wick is wet, you have seepage. Nothing you can do without digging outside and recoating, etc... if the wick is dry and a re-test of acidic levels is lower, it's simply drying... may take awhile. Other than that... bandaide is epoxy two part, but will still bubble if there is seepage. Luck to ya!


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## PARAFUN (Jul 15, 2009)

*Mark*

Hey Man, I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I am refurbishing my grandparents 1946 brick house with 1/3 basment that has been vacant for fifteen years. the basment/foundation was layed 3 brick thick -no cinder blocks back-in-the-day? "not sure" and the basment had always been wet natured. I steam genied the walls and floor for over ten hours, coated the walls a section at the time with muratic acid and rinsed with high pressure cold water, allowed to dry and coated with Sacrete bonding cement --white
' or I think they have gray in color-- It's kinda expensive at almost 20 bucks for a bag that roughly covers a hundred sq feet and laborius/heavy on the wrist to apply, but I love the stuff, you cannot hardly chisel it off and the fibers strenghten the wall like crazy! Now I am applying Drylok oil-base over the Sacrete as well as gutters, french drain and some soil/drainage improvements. I am not sure if this would work for your particular problem, but thought I would suggest it anyway... Good Luck, mark













GoodPainter said:


> I had a customer call that I went to check out.
> 
> He had a problem in his basement with moisture seeping thru his
> cinderblock walls.
> ...


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