How do I seal a very damp weeping concrete basement floor?
Hi.
Is it possible to somehow seal a concrete basement floor that every now and then gets very damp and moist from moisture that seems to be migrating up to the surface. It doesn’t form puddles and there are no leaking plumbing or drains under the floor. It just gets very damp in spots. And it comes and goes regardless of the weather outside. This basement is in a rowhome in Philadelphia semi below grade maybe 3 feet max.
I’d like to seal it somehow, but with what and how? Does any one know of a technique and /or products I may use that, after drying, you can subject it to foot traffic.
I’ve use Dry-lok very successfully on walls after properly prepping the wall (cleaning, brushing, with a stiff bristle brush, vaccuuming then painting) BUT Dry-lok says on the can , I believe, that it is not for floors and cannot sustain regular foot traffic.
Any suggestions?
Thanks to everyone in advance. Much appreciated.
Replies
Are you sure
it's coming from below and is not condensation instead?
Not sure. It could be both.
Try this.
Take a decent sized pc. of visqueen and tape it all around on a spot in the floor. Should show water on the underside if migration from below.
It should show water droplets on the topside if from warm moist air condensing on the cooler concrete.
Water coming from below. Let's move from the subject of where the dampness is coming from, I already know that.
All I need to know is what coating I need to buy to seal the concrete floor i.e. damp proof it.
It seems very difficult to find a consumer product that will achieve this. All of my searching so far on the internet reveals products that are only available to the professional contractor for some reason. Its as if they don't want this magical elixir to get into the hands of the ordinary homeowner. Try it. Try searching for "concrete floor damp proofing", no one give or offers a definitive answer, product solution etc.... or its all for the professional contractor. Oh, yeah, many focus on WALLS, I need a flooring solution, that can take foot traffic.
Why is this so difficult? This can't be the first time some homeowner is looking to do this.
Also, it seems that most of the places that sell this stuff are based in the UK, or Ireland, or Australia.
I just want a couple of 5 gallan buckets of it. Geez.
Surely there must be some contractor out there who can say "Buy this (name of product here)..."
Sigh...
Maybe I just haven't hit on the right search words.
Then lets move back to the subject......
if there's water coming up from and out the slab-good luck finding something to paint on there that will stay there-foot traffic or not. Moisture pushes off a lot of things.
best of luck.
You can get epoxy-based concrete floor paint, but you could end up with a mess -- with the stuff peeling off from the moisture.
I've used DryLok on a concrete floor without problem. Where's theres regular foot traffic, I simply put down some old carpet runner to protect the coating from wear.
sealing a damping weeping basemnet floor
Thanks, I think I'll try the Drylok too.
Try using a penetrating concrete sealer on your floor -- DryLok and other coating paints will not be enough for the wear and tear they'll be under. I've attached a picture of a floor with a waterproof paint applied -- it's obvious where it's been peeling off.
A penetrating sealer may also be able to resist any stains from spilled materials on the floor, and will make the floor a lot easier to clean. It's durable and shouldn't come off under normal wear and tear conditions. It also shouldn't change the appearance of your concrete floor, and it will keep it looking good for a long time.
ray
Tell us how your sealer keeps the weeping concrete from releasing moisture up through the slab.
thanks
here you go
http://www.sanitred.com/BasementWaterproofing.htm
Sanitred is a great product with lots of testimonials.