Walls are supposed to be waterproof! Right? Can we all agree on this?
In most normal circumstances the purpose of a wall doesn’t end with “hold up the roof” and “keep the dog inside”. We could use a few columns and a beam and maybe a little bit of wire fencing to do those jobs. Walls are also supposed to keep the bad weather out, and the good weather in!
Unfortunately, things don’t always work out this way. Sometimes even a solid wall can let the weather through. This is especially true with unfinished masonry walls such as brick, stone, or concrete block. It can be pretty frustrating to walk into a garage, workshop, or basement and find the wall soaking wet on the inside!
That’s the very situation I faced recently. I moved into a new workshop space and man I was pumped! It has offices, places to hang out and chill, and cool spots for all my big toys, er… I mean tools.
It also has an ample supply of second level air-conditioned storage above the offices. Everyone knows you can never have too much storage. (I’m not actually convinced on that… but it is the popular consensus nonetheless).
Just one problem… when it rains, the bare concrete walls in the storage area get damp wet drenched. The moisture then spreads throughout the area creating a humidity problem leading to mold, mildew, and the other usual suspects.
Drylok Extreme Waterproofer to the Rescue
Very fortunately for me, I had already been approached by UGL, the makers of the Drylok line of waterproofing products. They wondered if I had a project that might provide a good example of the pure awesomeness they knew lived inside each can. Now I did!
I went with Drylok Extreme in Bright White. The other walls and the ceiling in my shop already had a light coat of white paint, so I figured I’d stick with the white. But you can get the Drylok Extreme in a few standard colors, or have it color matched by an authorized dealer to almost any custom color.
Drylok Extreme is perfect for interior, exterior, above or below grade masonry walls, basement walls, retaining walls, foundations, landscape walls, cinder blocks, concrete blocks, bare concrete swimming pools, stucco and brick.
I can see why they use the word “extreme” in the name because I was extremely impressed with the level of waterproofing provided with two simple coats. You can see in the pictures and the video that after two coats the wall, which had been made up of very porous concrete block, was totally sealed without a single hole to be found anywhere. No moisture getting through that!
Brush, Roll, or Spray Application
I chose to use the Drylok Brush for the entire project and I felt like it was a good call. The Drylok Brush is of course the perfect stiffness and size for Drylok Extreme and using the brush allowed me to get material into every nook and cranny the first time around.
If I was doing a much larger project such as an entire basement or garage, I think it would be faster to roll the material on, but even then I would have needed to go back and “back brush” while wet to make sure material was forced into the holes and cracks in the masonry and mortar.
The Drylock Brush worked perfectly!
A professional could also spray the material, however due to the thickness of Drylok Extreme I wouldn’t suggest trying to spray it with your average “homeowner grade” spray equipment. Spraying something thick like that requires a strong pump and the right spray tips.
For most projects, use the brush. It works great and goes fast. I did about 100sf per hour per coat, but I didn’t have to worry about drips where I was working, so I could go fast without moving drop cloths.
When I Say Waterproof, I mean WATERPROOF
Let me put it this way… Drylok sent me a few more gallons than I needed for the project and now every time I look at it I keep thinking “swimming pool”! I’m not kidding… you can actually build a pool out of concrete blocks or poured concrete and finish the inside with Drylok Extreme. It’s that waterproof.
Maybe I’ll stop short of a pool and do a water feature or something like that, but still that’s just so cool. The Drylok website says the product is rated for 15 pounds of Hyrdrostatic pressure, equivalent to a wall of water 33’ high!
Moisture – BLOCKED!
At the end of the day my problem was solved. No more wet walls in the storage area means I can safely store things that I care about. (aka, things my wife cares about… like kid stuff, and old photo albums… important stuff!)
Now when it rains the wall is dry.
Another job done, thanks to Drylok Extreme.
Learn more at Drylok.com
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of UGL. The opinions and text are all mine.
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