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ir_boston

Where to Buy Crystalline Waterproofer in Mass, USA

ir_boston
15 years ago

Hello,

I have read a number of threads recommending a crystalline waterproofer for interior basement walls. I would like to purchase one for my old stone and brick foundation, either online or in the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts.

Can anyone point me to a dealer?

Many thanks!

Comments (4)

  • worthy
    15 years ago

    Crystalline waterproofing, available from Xpex and Permaquik among others, is designed solely for concrete, not natural stone or brick.

  • ir_boston
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you for the reply. What product would you recommend then, for stone and brick?
    Do you have an opinion of Sani-Tred products?

  • worthy
    15 years ago

    I have owned a number of Century homes with brick foundations that experienced no leaking. If the wall is not leaking, I wouldn't touch it.

    These old foundations were never meant to enclose conditioned living space, so are very difficult if not impossible to properly insulate and waterproof. Now that I think of it, I owned one 1880's home that was atop a new block and poured foundation. Maybe for that exact reason.

    Any product that seals the inside of a rubble stone/brick foundation leads to a buildup of water vapour in the walls and the rapid deterioration of the foundation materials. Foundations should be waterproofed from the outside, not the inside. But here's the rub: brick and especially rubble foundations are not particularly stable through deterioration and the way they were often built, where the backfill that provided the drainage also provided support for the wall. And, as the photo below illustrates, even newer block walls can collapse when support is carelessly or inadvertently removed.

    {{gwi:1381496}}
    Woops!

    Sani-Tred purports to waterproof from the inside, which is not acceptable.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Waterproofing Company Collapses Wall

  • worthy
    15 years ago

    Bob Villa shows an interesting approach to creating a dry basement space in a parged rubble foundation basement. (See Link below.)

    First, the contractor put in a shallow interior perimeter drain leading to a sump. Then he covered the walls in a vapour barrier called Cleanspace, which is dimpled to the wall side. This still allows vapour and water moving from outside to inside. But it is channelled to the drains and away.

    This system seems logical. But, as my previous post shows, you have to be very careful when you excavate inside. An old home may have very narrow footings, or even none at all.

    On one old home I renoed, the previous owner had lowered the basement floors below the footings. The footings were simply bricks set perpendicular to the wall and were so loose you could pull them out by hand. (In that case, I built an engineered retaining wall around the entire inside perimeter.)

    And I have also seen warnings that below slab interior perimeter drains can end up removing the soil from underneath the footings, thus undermining the structure.

    An outside approach to waterproofing is illustrated in George Nash's Renovating Old Houses, where he suggests excavating, then sistering a new wall onto the foundation. (This presumes the rubble wall doesn't fall down in the proces first!)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Basement Waterproofing

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