My exterior walls are 100+ year old cast stone. Cast stone is hollow concrete block with an exterior face that looks like cut sandstone.
My problem is water soaking in when it rains. The water sometimes finds it’s way in above a few windows, and at the top of the poured concrete basement wall. The morter is in good shape, and the windows are well sealed. The water seems to soak through the porous block and run down the cavities.
What can I coat the block with that will soak into the porous block and seal it? I need a product that is clear, not a surface sealer paint, as I want to maintain the grey stone appearance of the block.
Thanks In Advance for any Help
Replies
I'm no expert. Maybe someone else will chime in that has more knowledge. But, We just had our brick apartment building done. Where there was mortar that was loose they cut it out and re-applied it. Tucking it like the old style.
Then they applied ( what I think was ) an acrylic sealer. Acrylic is a high quality product that is clear. This is just off the top of my head though.
Do you have a supply house/yard near you that specializes in concrete,stone, and masonry products? I would go to one and talk to them about what you want to do. They have ALOT of products for this. Some of them aren't cheap. But I would go with a quality product. They aren't just sealing the stone and mortar. This should make the mortar last a lot longer. Because the mortar will degrade over time.
I did a Google on the words stone sealer and this site was listed. http://www.aldonchem.com/section-products.htm
There is a fair amount of info there about stone and sealers.