Hi,

First post here and I don't know much about construction. My old 80 year old building has a brick support wall on its side. Recently a contractor poked a hole on the side of the brick wall in order to feed a cable but took out a considerable amount of brick out from the wall, which is probably size of a 2 mcdonalds chicken nuggets out from the wall, exposing the brick.

I then use some Thoroseal and sealed the hole without much problems, but I did not any acryl 60 like what they recommended. Are there going to be problems if I don't use acryl 60? Thanks.

Another question is the durability of Thoroseal. About 4-5 years ago, I had some contractors who painted on the side of my brick wall probably using thoroseal with acryl 60, but I just noticed some it started to fade. On my parent's place, they painted the whole wall with a generous amount of thoroseal 10 years ago but with no acryl 60 and the wall held up pretty well. So back on the wall of my house, do you think the wall started to fade because they did not use enough thoroseal or if acryl 60 is a factor? Thanks.

 

Thoroseal has be used successfully for decades to repair and preserve concrete materials. Using it for brick requires total attention to details because it in not a paint-type material.

Using Thoroseal to repair a hole you described is not appropriate, but other Thoro products may be more applicable. From your description Thorosplug (actually hydraulic cement) might have been better to use to fill and small gap you described.

A latex additive like Acryl 60 is always good to increase the bond of materials. Often, especially with concrete, it is suggested that the surface be moistened to insure a better bond. Clay brick is different and has wildly different properties depending on the type and manufacturer.

Dick

 

Thanks for your quick respone. Well I already did it so unless it falls out again, I will do as you suggested. So I would use acryl 60 to pre-apply on the exposed brick first then use Thoro's hydraulic cement?

Does this acryl 60/hydraulic cement work for sidewalk concrete spalling as well? Thanks.

 

Hydraulic cement is not meant to be used as a coating. It is mixed quite dry and packed into a void and expands slightly (not shrink like normal cement) to plug a crack. It just is called Thoroplug because it is a part of the Thoro product line and the name Thoro was probably attached for marketing purposes, but is probably just hydraulic cement. It is not a coating like Thoroseal or similar materials. In most cases, a latex additive works for good or bad, since latex can make grout clean-up difficult because of the adhesion. - Just follow the instructions for the product you use.

Dick

 

Thoro is a brand name. The company has been bought and resold at least twice since I sold a million pounds of their product a year.

Thoroseal is basically pool plaster with some admixtures to allow it to be broomed on. It is a very good product when used correctly. You can probably get away without the acryl60, but that is not advised on a high fired (hard) brick. It is definitely not to be used at thicknesses over 3/8" (single coat) or as a repair mortar.

The proper sequence is to use a repair mortar to fill large gaps (and Thoroplug may or may not be appropriate, but usually is), then Thoroseal is applied over the patches to waterproof the area.

 

I will probably use Hydraulic cement next time. I'm curious, what is the consequences of using thoroseal in this kind of manner? Will I see that chunk of stuff fall off in a few months? BTW, both of you are of great help.

 

possibly faded because of exposure to sun,,, no colors are are fade-proof forever however there are uv-resistant sealers that can be applied but, like anything else, this becomes a maintenance item..