Replies

1. 
   cpcf250 | Jul 17, 2003 08:10pm | #1

   Look at the WR Grace website for structural waterproofing products. They have a product called hydroduct which is a plastic dimmpled sheet (4' high?) that can be used to channel water away from the structure. I think putting on bituthene or a rubber coating will be a pain (or not adhere well) unless you really clean up the concrete foundation first

2. 
   Piffin | Jul 18, 2003 07:11am | #2

   Odds are good that with a house that old, you have cracks in the foundation wall that are letting the water in. Not only do you need to dig around to redo the perimiter drains, but before coating, you should fix the cracks. There are Epoxy infill systems to weld things back together. Abatron is one. They advertise in FHB.

   Youy'll need to be sure the concrete in the crack edges is clean or it will be like sewing a patch on the knee of old bluejeans. It'll fecture right off again.

   There are also hydraulic cement patching products like Waterstop that expand when curing to pack themselves tight and seal against water.

   If the foundation were rubble stone or concrete block instead of poured, you could either parge coat it with a stucco mix and/or paint it with a slurry of Thoroseal, which is a fine granuled cement made to mix to a creamy consistency and roll, trowel or paint on the surface. It fills small crevices that collect water to deliver to the interior. now that I think of it, Thoroseal would likely do you good. Older concrete foundations were ofeten mixed by hand and you could have a lot of beehive surface showing once you open up.

   Keep in mind that this is all without seeing your job, but based on the age and my assumptions, you will want to.

   Fill larger craks with epoxy patching compouinds

   Seal other cavities with Waterstop

   Coat entire wall with Thoroseal.

   Now you are ready for waterproofing because you have a wall with some integrity that can hold onto it. Any roll on Asphalt foundation coating should do it.

   Then place you drains in sleeves and stone and backfill, grading to slope away from the house.

   The whole idea is not to focus on making the wall so waterproof that you can't force water through with a jet, but to give the water someplace else to go, working with gravity, and to not invite it in with cracks and holes in the wall.

   This can be a lot of work. There is also spray on rubber coatings that are impressive, from having seen them in shows, but i have no idea of the cost.

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   olsh | Jul 18, 2003 07:40am | #3

   Thanks, Piffin.

   This is exactly what I needed to know.

   I gather that one asphalt coating is pretty much the same as another.

   I've seen photographs of that sprayed-on rubber foundation coating you mentioned in the pages of FHB. I think it's probably overkill for my little project, which suddenly doesn't seem so little anymore.

   Wish there were something I could help you with, since you give of your time and knowledge so generously on this site. Well, maybe there is something. If you ever feel like writing a novel, I might be able to help you out. I've got some experience in that.

   Thanks again,

   Olsh

1. 
   Piffin | Jul 18, 2003 08:12am | #4

   I like writing but I'm afraid that I'm not wildly interesting enough for writing novels. I'm only novel enough to be mildly interesting..

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   olsh | Jul 18, 2003 09:25am | #5

   Word play is its own reward...

   Actually, you're on to something. Many writers are deadly dull. A vivid life of the imagination is often an indicator of an unsatisfactory experience with the Material World.

   You, on the other hand, are clearly a master of the material world, or at least the world of materials.

   There are interesting parallels, I think, between the construction of a house and of a story, particularly for those of us with an exacting disposition. But the two kinds of work seem to be mutually exclusive. At least they are for me. I haven't had very good luck writing when I'm tackling a construction project; or, for that matter, working with my hands when I'm fully engaged with a story. I've learned to take turns.

   I do appreciate fine building, though, almost as much as I appreciate fine writing. And fine writing about fine building--well, that's as rare as a good novel.

   So I offer kudos to you.

   --Olsh

1. 
   Piffin | Jul 19, 2003 03:39am | #6

   Thanks. Those are good points that I will take to heart.

   Your exclusive participation in the two mental modes is because of the dual hemispheres of the brain. You are not integrated. I have the same problem, focusing on one to the exclusion of the other, until I remind myself to step back an view myself or my current activity objectively and globally.

   Constructing a story according the similar methods employed in building a house involves -

   Planning,

   Details,

   Timeline,

   Details,

   Goal (plot)

   Details

   Organization,

   Details,

   Discipline,...

   I think I've got it

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   toast953 | Jul 19, 2003 09:26am | #7

   I was always under the impression that Throseal, was/is a "stand alone" water proofing product, without the need for any additional materials. Note; 1- not including wall prep prior to appyling Throseal. 2- Protecting wall with Celelose. Hmm, I just might read whats on the bag next time I 'am at the lumber yard. You All be safe out there, Jim J   ps,, I second the ideal of a book, written by the guy with the Photo graphic Memory, I'll even loan you the use of my setting chair.

3. 
   Piffin | Jul 19, 2003 02:19pm | #8

   It is supposed to be waterproof on its own but aspaht over for below grade in wet soil makes it sure. It takes perfect application over good substrate to have a perfectly waterproofed wall. I think of it as finew for above grade as a stand alone product to keep rain and snow out.

   and - it won't fill larger cracks, say over an eighth of an inch, so the hydro patch is needed there..

   Excellence is its own reward!