Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
cjoy_gw

dry lok paint in basement

cjoy
17 years ago

i want to paint my unfinished basement. floors are concrete slab and walls are cinderblock. have no leakage/flooding problems but there is a bit of seepage on the walls themselves in heavy rain. my question is what the best way to paint is. i've seen others mention using dry lok but am wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether it really makes a difference or if a regular concrete paint will do the same job. thanks for an info.

Comments (18)

  • asm198 - Zone 6a (MO)
    17 years ago

    We did our entire basement floor and garage floor. I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but we did it just in case.

    We used several paint rollers and kind of dumped it on the floor, a section at a time, and rolled it on rather thick. I believe we did two coats, letting them dry in between.

  • steveinboston
    17 years ago

    When you did the garage floor, was it new concrete or old and maybe dirty? Did you have to prep it at all in the second case? How has it adhered with the wear and tear of cars, etc?

  • schreibdave
    17 years ago

    I have drylocked by basement floors. Not as a moisture barrier but for appearance. Very happy so far.

    For those who have painted an older garage floor, I would be curious how they dealt with the oil stains, etc. I am concerned that I wont be able to get those stains up well enough for the paint to adhere.

  • blue_fastback
    17 years ago

    The floor must be free of grease or the paint wont stick. Muratic acid to clean the concrete would be best.

  • sweet11395
    17 years ago

    thanks for the personal input everyone!...but is there anyone else who specifically used it on the basement walls for "sweating/leaking walls"?? how did it fair? did it stop water infiltration and for how long? did it peel or flake?

    Thanks

  • scotslassie1959
    17 years ago

    I know this is alittle after your posted question but here goes... we have used Drylok in two previous basements, one cinder block and one poured. They both had minor water seepage in only two or three small areas.The drylok stopped the seepage. We were in each house about 4 years after using the paint and in that time never had any flaking or peeling. But remember, the product will only adhere as well as what is under it... scrape off any loose, flaking paint which may already be on the walls.
    Hope this helps.

  • Pipersville_Carol
    17 years ago

    I had good luck with Drylock. 100+ year old house with parged stone basement walls, seepage coming through in one specific area. Enough to create a small stream on the floor during heavy rain, flowing down to a natural drain.

    I regraded outside the house a little, upsized a leaking gutter, and painted drylock on all of the interior basement walls. Problem fixed.

    Every couple of years the seepage area would flake a little bit, and I'd scrape and recoat with more Drylock.

  • uncledave_ct
    17 years ago

    We just applied Drylock to our basement walls, and it seems to be making a difference with the humidity. We used to empty our dehumidifier once a day, but now it has been three days and it's not full yet. Our weather has been a bit dryer, so that obviously helps, but even last winter we would empty it twice within a 3-day period. I think it's helping somewhat. We only brushed on one coat also, not two.

  • lisalm
    17 years ago

    I'm trying to figure out if it's a no-no on floors. Sounds like it works well on walls.

    We've had a slight dampness in one spot after serious heavy rain. It's only happened twice. So we will use carpet tiles, but I just wondered about painting something on the floor first. It seems like an area of debate!

  • cheerful1_gw
    17 years ago

    I want to do my basement walls in the latex Drylock. Anyone know how much a gallon really covers? I wanted to buy a 5-gallon can for each of the four walls.

  • cjoy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Update=it's been a long time since my original posting but I did end up using dry lok and it's worked quite well. The old concrete walls were vacuumed (possibly with a steam cleaning vac)(the walls are 80 yrs. old and previously untreated). Dry lok was applied directly to the cinder blocks, I believe they required at least 3 coats due to absorption. The paint made a HUGE improvement just in appearance and definitely seems to work on moisture. it feels much cleaner and dryer and there is significantly less moisture seepage. There are still a variety of patches where you can see some sweating but probably one more coat would solve that. I used regular concrete paint on the floor and it made an amazing improvement in appearance. The floors were vacuumed, i think with a steam cleaner, prior to painting. The floors are 80 yrs old but in a basically unused (except for flooding) basement, so no issue with oil stains etc. I run a dehumidifier down there all the time-that combined with the painting has seriously made this almost feel like a finished space (and it started out basically disgusting)! Hope this helps!

  • xantippe
    17 years ago

    Thanks, Cjoy, for posting an update! We are thinking about doing Dry Lok in a basement that sounds very similar to yours--80 years old with, unfortunately, lots of weeping. Having read your post, I can't wait to get started.

  • edj_121_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    Really glad to hear all the posts from everyone. In the same position as everyone else but not quite as old a house (55 yrs) but ugly basement, concrete floors, block walls. All have been painted before & sealed but still weepy over time. Going to do a revamp again after 12 years since last and looking for a product for the walls & floor. Thanks for all the info, it's really helped in making a decision!

  • Nateholton_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    Dri lok is good stuff, but you have to fix the exterior problem before you paint the inside. We did my buddy's garage before he dug a French drain or added gutters and the stuff peeled within a few months, but he had alot of water coming in. Dig exterior dirt from walls, clean and paint and backfill. You do this right And you won't need to do the interior.

  • toriat
    12 years ago

    I had my basement painted with this. There were concrete walls and put white dry lock paint on them. Put tile on the floor. Its an easy cheap way to improve the looks of the basement so it can function as something short of putting up dry wall, etc.

  • mpmayer2_hotmail_com
    12 years ago

    my basement had old drylock that didnt work. i pressure washed it and applied AMES blue max along with some of there seam sealing stuff..they are very helpful if you call them.It is liquid rubber and it doesnt leak!!!

    Here is a link that might be useful: ames paint

  • peegee
    12 years ago

    I don't recall if I noticed my problem with Dri-Loc when this thread originated, but for what it's worth, I'm generally satisfied except for one issue, and I no longer remember how long after applying, but seems it was no more a few years when I first started noticing the problem.
    Should note did extensive prep all per manufacturer's recommendations, including thorough wire brushing all surfaces, working the product into the solid concrete walls with a stiff brush, etc. I believe there was one coat of top paint. In probably a couple dozen random spots on mostly two of the three walls there are nickle to quarter-sized "eruptions". They are very ugly, and more than Bumps", as the center of the eruption is broken through. I always meant to call the manufacturer, but never did. The walls look better painted than they did when old grey concrete, but I am very disappointed by the nasty blemishes, considering the maker's claims about the product being effective enough to hold back water. My basement has not had any water, and I run a dehumidifier to manage condensation in the summer.