Water Seeping Thru Concrete Wall

[fred110]

My balcony has some spots where water comes thru in a hard rain. There is a decorative ridge out there that may be causing the problem. Is there a sealer I can use outside over existing emulsion paint? It would be hard to get to and remove the old paint as it is the 4th floor balcony. If I seal inside do I need to wire brush the old paint off first? Thanks.

[elkangorito]

My balcony has some spots where water comes thru in a hard rain. There is a decorative ridge out there that may be causing the problem. Is there a sealer I can use outside over existing emulsion paint? It would be hard to get to and remove the old paint as it is the 4th floor balcony. If I seal inside do I need to wire brush the old paint off first? Thanks.

I think you'll find that if you seal the inside without stopping more water from seeping into the concrete (the source of the leak), the water will eventually lift the sealer (paint).

[Tony Clifton]

How about ceramic tiles?

[peterjackson]

Hey

There are two types of concrete sealer you can buy. They both contain PVA.

The first is applied to 'raw' concrete and they after it has dried, you can paint, but use a primer first.

The second is applied over a pre-painted surface. The only drawback with this sealer, is that you can't repaint afterwards. It also includes a UV inhibitor so the pre-painted surface won't fade as quick as usual.

Kind regards

Peter

[chownah]

It is not clear to me exactly what your situation is but sometimes leaks can be easily fixed by applying asphalt emulsion....it is like tar but is water soluble....it is ugly but if the leak can be stopped by applying a sealer in a place which is not visible then it is often a fast and effective fix. The leak might reappear in a year or two (or it might not) but if it does you can often just go give it another coat of the emulsion in the problem spot.

By the way, I've seen it in small plastic tubs (about one litre) and in one gallon cans (3.785 litres approx.) and it comes in black or in white (although I've never seen just how "white" the "white" is) and it seems like the gallon was about 200 baht.

In using its probably best to remove loose paint but if you can't then a thick coat of the emulsion can often bridge over loose areas and glom it down fairly well.

Chownah

Edited March 23, 2007 by chownah

[fred110]

It is not clear to me exactly what your situation is but sometimes leaks can be easily fixed by applying asphalt emulsion....it is like tar but is water soluble....it is ugly but if the leak can be stopped by applying a sealer in a place which is not visible then it is often a fast and effective fix. The leak might reappear in a year or two (or it might not) but if it does you can often just go give it another coat of the emulsion in the problem spot.

By the way, I've seen it in small plastic tubs (about one litre) and in one gallon cans (3.785 litres approx.) and it comes in black or in white (although I've never seen just how "white" the "white" is) and it seems like the gallon was about 200 baht.

In using its probably best to remove loose paint but if you can't then a thick coat of the emulsion can often bridge over loose areas and glom it down fairly well.

Chownah

Thanks all. I will look for the sealer, apply it outside thickly, the outside of the balcony can hardly be seen anyway as it is the 4th floor.

[ProThaiExpat]

There are emulsions or mixtures of paint, cement and sealers used to render a flat roof surface leak proof.

However, the sad news is that one must get to the original building material, ie concrete, brick or whatever. Adding any waterproofing material on top of a deteriorating or failed paint job just won't work unless it is a tar compound which is unsightly.