I have an 100 year old brick house with four large high solid brick chimneys. The flue liners are in good condition with new individual hoods. Each chimney has a good concrete cap. We also have new flashing and a new roof. The brick is soft and in some areas the surface layer of brick has spalled off. We still have serious moisture problems in the house with interior plaster walls directly applied to the brick, and the outside brick continues slow efforescence. I have concluded that the rain is penetrating the soft brick and being wicked into the entire structure.
I have read that applying silicone is a poor practice since water will still pentrate the surface and then have difficulty leaving as water vapor, thus increasing the problem rather than solving it.
I have info on a product called PRIME-A-PELL, made by TNEMEC Company, which is supposed to repel water but still readily passes water vapor and thus allows the brick to dry out. The active ingredient is a modified Poly Siloxane.
Does anyone have any experience with this product or any other alternative products that would do this job?
Thanks.
Bob McCabe
Replies
I'm in the process of remedying the same problems with my 80 year old chimney and in a self serving exercise I looked around focusing on sealant.
A wealth of information is at bia.org. Sealants are addressed
http://www.bia.org/html/frmset_thnt.htm
I haven't digested the material, but it doesn't seem siloaxne is anything unique to any brand.
Maybe we can both get help from someone who knows from experience.
My customer/friend had the same problem, He had some leaks around the chimney. He asked some masonry how too solve the problems, they sayed "just get Thompson Water Seal and brush or pump (using garden pump) over the bricks" he did it and it worked.
I recently used that Thompson product on a customers chimney and we've since had quite a bit of rain.He reports no more leaks into his upstair bedroom ceilings.Very easy to apply,dries fast. good luck, george c.
A little bit of googling has confirmed the Sliane / Siloxane approach (watrer repellents) vs. sealers that don't allow it to breathe. Looks like there are a number of them out there.
I use something similar to seal the sand joints between pavers. It's called Surebond, from a company by the same name. They have a number of products but I couldn't access their web site tonight - http://www.surebond.com. Pricy - $50/gal - but does the job and claims a 10-year life.
Try calling your local masonry supply house.