waterproofing 10 yrs old concrete floor
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HI I LIKE TO KNOW BEST WAY TO WATERPROOF OR SEAL 10 YRS OLD CONCRETE FLOOR IN GARAGE. I AM TRYING TO CHANGE THAT GARAGE INTO STORAGE RM.(my wife has tooo many clothes) SOME SAY HYDRALOK IS GOOD FOR OLD CONCRETE. BUT IT ONLY WORK FOR NEW CONCRETE ? I AM CONFUSED. PLEASE HELP
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The only way I know of to waterproof a concrete floor is when it is being built. After the fact, it is pretty much impossible, for any length of time. You can't apply most finishes over anything but a dry floor, so doing a damp floor won't work. Start looking at what makes the floor wet first. Fix that and you may not need waterproofing. The first place to look is properly working gutters/downspouts.
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thanks for your response. floor itself is not wet or damp. i'd say surface is pretty dry. my concern is moisture coming up from concrete floor. so, just seal with regular sealant and reaply every 5-6 yrs ?
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Test for hydrostatic water pressure. Take a piece of plastic or aluminum foil about 12-16" square and tape it to the floor, seal all sides. after a few days see what is underneath. If dry, you can do what you want with the floor. If damp, most sealers will not work for long. If WET, forget it, you have water under the slab pushing its way up thru the concrete.
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Do you have proper drainage? You should know the lay of your land and provide at least 8 ft. of drainage from your gutters in all spots. Sometimes you have to go farther.
You can used a bitimous clay product such as Ugl. It is a paint that seeps into foundation walls and creates a perment seal against ground water. It is rated at 4lb per sq. Ft. Create proper drainage use a bitimous clay product or similar and you should be ok. ~ Rob
You can used a bitimous clay product such as Ugl. It is a paint that seeps into foundation walls and creates a perment seal against ground water. It is rated at 4lb per sq. Ft. Create proper drainage use a bitimous clay product or similar and you should be ok. ~ Rob