basement walls waterproofing Q

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Garmo

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Last summer, I painted my concrete block basement walls with a waterproofing paint. I started by brushing them with a wire brush to remove ant dirt and loose pieces, washed them with a muriatic acid solution, let them fry for a few days and painted 2 coats with a day in between. This past spring, with the melting snow and rain, there were a few spots where the paint just popped off. Over the summer a few more areas popped loose. Not very big areas, most are half dollar sized areas. I am thinking to start by again bushing the areas for loose pieces, washing it again with the muriatic acids, and repainting, hoping for the best.
Any thoughts or experiences for me?
 
It sounds like the paint is not breathing adequately and vapor pressure is pushing the paint off.

It may be the wrong type of paint or too many or too thick coats that can reduce the ability of the paint coat to breathe.

Dick
 
I would agree that there is water pressure pushing the paint away from the block. maybe you need to look further to find your problem. Is there enough slope away from your foundation to keep the water from wanting to run back toward the house and down the outside of the wall? Do you have gutters and are they functioning correctly? Are your downspouts carrying the water far enough away from the house or do you need to add extentions to get the water away? It sounds like you have done the things required for painting. However, if you have to much water pressure you may never be able to hold the paint.
 
Just curious, have you done any tests to see what kind of moisture is coming through the walls? Some people don't properly seal them (from the outside) before placing the dirt around them, which could be causing you to wick too much moisture through the block. In such case, you might have a very hard time getting the paint to stick.
 
I remember an instance where we needed to install a rubberized floor in a gym... there was way too much moisture getting through for the adhesive to stick... there was some sort of special commercial sealer we had to use prior to putting down the adhesive... that's been about 8 years ago, and I don't recall the name of the sealer. I remember it was really expensive tho....
 
I am not a fan of waterproofing on the inside. Some claim success and good for them but it can't be more than a bandaid. But block walls that are not waterproofed on the outside will fill up with water to the level of the water table on the outside. I think at the bottom there would be plenty of pressure to force it's way thru any paint or sealer.
Choices are, dig down on the outside and waterproof the foundation and upgrade the perimiter drain with perferaded pipe and add a solid pipe to handle downspouts and drains.
or dig a trench around the perimiter on the inside add perferated drain and drill holes in the bottom of the block to allow the water to drain. Cover the entire wall with the plastic water proofing extended down into the trench and then fill the trench with gravel and repair the floor, oh ye, you also need a sump and a pump and a spare battery pump for when the power goes out
 
Thanks for all the replies. The main purpose is not to hold back water, but to help minimize dampness if that makes sense. I do have one wall where water does come in during the spring melt/rain storms, but the plan for later fall is to dig a trench and lay in plastic pipe to a dry well way from the house. Unfortunately down hill is closer to the sidewalk, which could be interesting in spring when it dips below freezing at night.
 
What about epoxy? I was considering this for my basement floor in case of dampness occurring. We think we have stopped the water but haven't gone through a spring yet. would epoxy help the floors or should they stay concrete?
 

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