Brick/Mortar/Concrete sealant and water proofing.

[Tornado]

Hello folks. I'm looking to find a product to seal a brick exterior wall and concrete patio from rain and water penetration. Ive researched several options that seem good, but thought I'd post here and see if others may have some suggestions or prior experience with a specific product.

Here is the issue I have: Directly behind my house is a brick "cook house" that is bricked up about 3 feet high then is screened in the rest of the way up to the ceiling. I've kinda despised this structure since I bought the house, as its extremely close to the house (The roof of this thing is so close to the back window you can reach out the window ant touch the shingles) I've struggled to find a good use for this structure. It has a brick barbecue built into it with a chimney, but the way its built has never made sense to me. If you build a fire in the firebox the smoke just fills the room up - the chimney is too far back and to low to the ground. The main issue with the building too is that when it rains water seeps in all around the edges and corners, despite the fact that its all concrete and brick. The bricks are all mortared right on top of one big concrete slab. My only guess is that water is just being absorbed into the mortar and finding its way in - there are no holes that I can see. This causes this little structure to often stay damp, and the interior wood that runs along the bottom 3 foot stays wet and mildewy. Ive finally decided to try and put some work into this building and do something with it. So far it has just been used as a makeshift shed for storing lumber and PVC and other random stuff. Part of that is dealing with the water seepage. So Im looking for something to spray and/or paint onto the exterior bricks and concrete to prevent the water penetration. Ive found some stuff that looks promising online and have been researching but does anyone have experience with a good product for concrete, bricks, mortar, etc?

 

[motionclone]

If there are no holes or cracks in the mortar a sealer may help. I use a product called Comproshield MX from Comproco. Its a penetrating type sealer specific for masonry. Water will bead off the brick if applied correctly and you wont be able to tell anything is on it. It doesnt discolor or darken most masonry products. Its $55 per gallon locally.

It wont seal up cracks in the mortar joints though, that needs to be addressed separately.

You may be in a different geographic location to me where this product isnt available though. Im in North East.

BTW, Im a Mason Contractor in Maine . In business for 22 years now.

 

[Tornado]

If there are no holes or cracks in the mortar a sealer may help. I use a product called Comproshield MX from Comproco. Its a penetrating type sealer specific for masonry. Water will bead off the brick if applied correctly and you wont be able to tell anything is on it. It doesnt discolor or darken most masonry products. Its $55 per gallon locally.

It wont seal up cracks in the mortar joints though, that needs to be addressed separately.

You may be in a different geographic location to me where this product isnt available though. Im in North East.

BTW, Im a Mason Contractor in Maine . In business for 22 years now.

Thanks for that recommendation. Ive seen this product online in my research. There are lots of options on Amazon. One reason I decided to make the post is because of all the many options available. Im in Florida

 

[motionclone]

Thanks for that recommendation. Ive seen this product online in my research. There are lots of options on Amazon. One reason I decided to make the post is because of all the many options available. Im in Florida

Basically you want a penetrating type sealer on brick rather than a paint but my expertise comes from our harsh freeze/thaw cycles up here and you have a completely different climate.

If you have a local Masonry supplier near you (not big box store) they would know what the local masons use and may give you a recommendation over the phone.

 

[Tornado]

Basically you want a penetrating type sealer on brick rather than a paint but my expertise comes from our harsh freeze/thaw cycles up here and you have a completely different climate.

If you have a local Masonry supplier near you (not big box store) they would know what the local masons use and may give you a recommendation over the phone.

Well most of the products ive been seeing are ones you spray/paint onto the bricks and/or concrete. It then forms a barrier as you mentioned and causes water to just beed up and run off. The problem with this little structure as well is that all the water that runs off my roof tends to puddle against the outside wall of it. Ive thought of getting some concrete and putting in a slight little ramp at the base of the outside bricks to keep the water back from the building. Ive also thought of just tearing the whole thing down and doing something else with the concrete slab, but the little building is fairly well built, and has a full on brick chimney coming off the barbeque thats inside. I would like to find a use for it. I just scratch my head at the location and why the folks who built this house had this thing built where it is.

 

[BigG]

The first question is can you redirect the water coming off the roof of both the house and the shed to go away from the base of the shed. Gutters and down spouts or a french drain? Step back from the area and check for drainage toward the shed and alter the lay of the yard. Second is the area covered with trees? the leaves that often build up around things would hold the moisture giving it time to soak into the shed. I dislike the way they build houses here with the slab on grade. I will never have another house without at least one step up.

 

[Tornado]

The first question is can you redirect the water coming off the roof of both the house and the shed to go away from the base of the shed. Gutters and down spouts or a french drain? Step back from the area and check for drainage toward the shed and alter the lay of the yard. Second is the area covered with trees? the leaves that often build up around things would hold the moisture giving it time to soak into the shed. I dislike the way they build houses here with the slab on grade. I will never have another house without at least one step up.

I already have gutters on the house here, and it catches a lot of water but still, there is open air between the house and this little structure, plus if it ran's super hard water runs off the roof and over the top of the gutters. The water that puddles is only like an inch at most on the concrete slab, but that's all it takes sitting there for hours then on the inside of the building, which sits on the same slab, you can start to see the concrete getting wet, and the wood along the wall starts to absorb water. Ive always assumed the water is just leeching into the mortar/bricks and getting through, as the water isn't like running, its just a slow wetness creep in the concrete, and there are clearly no holes in the wall or anything, but yet all along that whole wall water seeps in at the base. It just makes the building unpleasant, uninviting. Ideally it would be a nice little enclosed screen porch. I am finally deciding to try and do some fixin up on it and find some use for it.