Leaky garage walls- advice required
 

Guys/Gals

I have an old pre-frabricated garage, which is made up from pieces of
concreate. Over the years, it's started to leak through the gaps in
the concreate slabs which make up the walls. Instead of forking out 5
grand plus for a new garage, I was going to attempt to seal the walls
using an external waterproof sealant (Thomson waterproof concreate
sealant, etc) and for the gaps, something like UNIBOND waterproof PVA.
I was going to attempt to use a foam product (don't know which one)
but I think the gaps are too small.

Does this sound plausible?

Any advice would be helpful.

Freddie

FreddieLIVES wrote:
Guys/Gals

I have an old pre-frabricated garage, which is made up from pieces of
concreate. Over the years, it's started to leak through the gaps in
the concreate slabs which make up the walls. Instead of forking out 5
grand plus for a new garage, I was going to attempt to seal the walls
using an external waterproof sealant (Thomson waterproof concreate
sealant, etc) and for the gaps, something like UNIBOND waterproof PVA.
I was going to attempt to use a foam product (don't know which one)
but I think the gaps are too small.

Does this sound plausible?

Any advice would be helpful.

Freddie
Freddie,

Not sure about the seal situation but i have just been on an 'Asbestos
Awareness' course so i would urge you to make sure that your garage isnt
made out of asbestos cement... this was heavily used until the mid 70's
on as it gave a really high strength to the concrete without taking up
too much room like rebar does. Its no problem unless its broken or
chipped though. Better safe than dead in 20 years!!

Gerry

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Gerry ""gerry.mcallister\"@'remove
this'strath.ac.uk'remove this'" saying something like:

Not sure about the seal situation but i have just been on an 'Asbestos
Awareness' course so i would urge you to make sure that your garage isnt
made out of asbestos cement... this was heavily used until the mid 70's
on as it gave a really high strength to the concrete without taking up
too much room like rebar does. Its no problem unless its broken or
chipped though. Better safe than dead in 20 years!!

What a load of ********.
--

Dave

"Gerry" ""gerry.mcallister\"@'remove this'strath.ac.uk'remove this'"
wrote in message ...
FreddieLIVES wrote:

I have an old pre-frabricated garage, which is made up from pieces of
concreate. Over the years, it's started to leak through the gaps in
the concreate slabs which make up the walls.

A "Building Silicone" or a polysulphide sealant (toolstation sell both)
used with a mastic gun (they sell those, too) along the joints might be
the first thing to try. Seems unlikely that much is getting through the
panels themselves, so covering the lot with magic solutions is probably
a waster of money.


Any advice would be helpful.

Well, most advice...


Not sure about the seal situation but i have just been on an 'Asbestos
Awareness' course so i would urge you to make sure that your garage
isnt made out of asbestos cement... this was heavily used until the
mid 70's on as it gave a really high strength to the concrete without
taking up too much room like rebar does. Its no problem unless its
broken or chipped though. Better safe than dead in 20 years!!

Not a very good course, then, eh?


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***
Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote
| Better safe than dead in 20 years!!
| What a load of ********.

Yeah, I'd much rather be dead in 20 years. I think the knees will have given
out by then, and I don't have any pension. Also, I will *definately* have
read all the books in the public library.

Owain

Gerry wrote:
FreddieLIVES wrote:

Guys/Gals

I have an old pre-frabricated garage, which is made up from pieces of
concreate. Over the years, it's started to leak through the gaps in
the concreate slabs which make up the walls. Instead of forking out 5
grand plus for a new garage, I was going to attempt to seal the walls
using an external waterproof sealant (Thomson waterproof concreate
sealant, etc) and for the gaps, something like UNIBOND waterproof PVA.
I was going to attempt to use a foam product (don't know which one)
but I think the gaps are too small.

Does this sound plausible?

Any advice would be helpful.

Freddie

Freddie,

Not sure about the seal situation but i have just been on an 'Asbestos
Awareness' course so i would urge you to make sure that your garage isnt
made out of asbestos cement... this was heavily used until the mid 70's
on as it gave a really high strength to the concrete without taking up
too much room like rebar does. Its no problem unless its broken or
chipped though. Better safe than dead in 20 years!!

Gerry
Apologies for the seemingly senseless advice then chaps... I thought
that it might be a good idea to check it, thats all!! Obviously not.

The chap that ran my course did tell me that men quite like to be macho
about asbestos though, that lots and lots of people think that 'they
wont get affected'... breathe deep boys ;o)

Gerry

The chap that ran my course did tell me that men quite like to be
macho
about asbestos though, that lots and lots of people think that 'they
wont get affected'... breathe deep boys ;o)

More sales bull**** then. Hope you didnt pay for it.

Why not get informed:
http://www.asbestoswatchdog.co.uk
and especially
http://www.asbestoswatchdog.co.uk/ACM.pdf
Get informed or I'll conclude youre a shill.


NT

have an old pre-frabricated garage, which is made up from pieces of
concreate. Over the years, it's started to leak through the gaps in
the concreate slabs which make up the walls. Instead of forking out 5
grand plus for a new garage, I was going to attempt to seal the walls
using an external waterproof sealant (Thomson waterproof concreate
sealant, etc) and for the gaps, something like UNIBOND waterproof PVA.
I was going to attempt to use a foam product (don't know which one)
but I think the gaps are too small.

If the concrete panels were fine for years, why would they now need
coating in waterseal?

If there are gaps, it seems evident thats the problem to solve. Cement
mortar, or a tough sealant would usually be the thing.

Expanding foam can expand with huge force, enough to being walls down.
NT

In article , Gerry
'removet his' writes
The chap that ran my course did tell me that men quite like to be macho
about asbestos though, that lots and lots of people think that 'they
wont get affected'... breathe deep boys ;o)

I'm sure your advice is well meant but the risks associated with asbestos
cement really are minimal, as this quote from the paper (that's learned
study, not raging tabloid) that bigcat pointed to should show:

Second sentence sums it up.

"This paper is concerned solely with high density chrysotile products, their
manufacture and use and the health risks that have been associated with
these activities. The conclusion has to be that it is difficult to demonstrate
any health risks. The culture of fear that has grown up around all asbestos
products would be better focussed on the real dangers of the amphibole
materials and then the effective safety of high-density chrysotile products
could be realised. Demonising products that have no material effects on
the health and safety of the population is very expensive. Enshrining in law
practices based on a denial of scientific facts will cost every man. woman
and child in this country a small fortune. Examples are already appearing.
In not too long a time thousands of houses will be deemed worthless and
unsaleable; mortgages will be denied, insurance refused and small
businesses will be bankrupted."

Thanks to bigcat for the link with extra thanks for sorting out the google
posting.
--
fred

The garage has always leaked, but I have only been in the house for 3
years and I know, according to the neighbours that the garage has been
there for at least 25 years.

Anyway guys/gals. Thanks for the advice and I will get some sealant
for the gaps.

Regards

Freddie

snip

Thanks to bigcat for the link with extra thanks for sorting out the google
posting.

Thanks to bigcat and huge, the information you provided was both
sensible and useful.

The course that i attended was an 'Awareness' course, with no sales
pitch, it was free to me too! It was said that Asbestos cement was one
of the 'most' safe Asbestos product although if broken still can release
fibres. With this in mind I thought it may be worth telling Freddy as
his garage is probably from the Asbestos era.

Gerry

FreddieLIVES wrote:

The garage has always leaked, but I have only been in the house for 3
years and I know, according to the neighbours that the garage has been
there for at least 25 years.

Anyway guys/gals. Thanks for the advice and I will get some sealant
for the gaps.

I fixed my concrete sectional with stuff called trowel mastic I found at
thee back of a B&Q after advise in this forum. It's gritty and oily and
wearing gloves I pushed it by hand into the bottom edge of the walls and
partway up the gaps, smoothing it off like sealant. I needed 1 1/2 tubs
to do mine. It has worked well, for 18months. Recently one corner has
begun to leak again. Sod's law dictates it is the corner with things in
that are difficult, or problematic to move. I shall wait for warmer
weather before tackling it though.

My garage sits on a concrete pad and in places (like outside this
problem corner) it slopes inwards towards the walls so that rain pools
there and so is free to work its way under the walls. It may be that I
have to fix that problem for the internal repair to last longer.

Peter

--
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