Situation: 70-year old house, poured foundation. Certain walls have
moisture issues; seepage, deterioration of concrete; other walls are
fine. Gutters drain into underground (cast iron) pipe; I've closed a
couple of those off and no longer use them. Gutters in decent shape,
grading OK -- but I don't have mulch down in the beds near the house
for fear of artillery (shotgun) mold. I've only been in the house for
9 months; water has been an issue for a very long time w/certain walls
because there is evidence of previous owner repair. Overall, house is
in good shape for her age.
Decision: I'm planning on sealing 2-3 of the more troublesome walls
from the inside w/RadonSeal Plus (
www.radonseal.com). My friend used
it on his basement slab. I'm in the process of removing old paint and
prepping the walls for application (lots of paint scraper blades being
dulled down!).
Question: Do you have any experience with this product? Do you think
this is a good idea? RadonSeal claims to penetrate up to 4" (oh -- I
don't have an issue w/Radon levels -- it just seems like the best
product for these particular walls). Supposedly, it penetrates the
porous concrete and fills the gaps and hardens (after purging foreign
matter to the surface for removal). You simply spray it on with a
garden pump-type sprayer. Key is surface prep. After that, I plan on
fixing any cracks (injection and/or epoxy), then smoothing out rough
areas with a skim coat. Once that has cured, I'll either apply more
RadonSeal Plus -- or use another of their products, IonBond (more of a
surface sealer, although this supposedly penetrates up to 2").
Finally, I'll finish w/waterproofing paint.
Does this sound like a good plan to you? Yes, it's hard (and dirty)
work -- but I want to try what I can inside before any excavation
outside. On a good day, I can already get the humidity level down to
40-45%; on a bad day, it can hit the mid-to-high 60% range.
Concerns: is it OK to use such a product? Will the fact that it
doesn't reach all the way through to the outside cause more pressure
to build up? I also plan on sealing all the outside masonry (brick on
top of poured foundation -- it's a Tudor Revival), so that should also
help.
Any guidance, suggestions, or alternative solutions are very much
appreciated.
Thanks!