Block foundation walls will provide only a weak barrier against capillary water seepage and water vapor.
How to seal a concrete block wall.
Push the cement into the cracks and crevices making sure to pack and seal.
Cinder blocks are classified as permeable to water and water vapor 10 perms.
Step 4 paint on two coats of concrete block sealer to the interior of the block.
Most concrete block or cinder block walls stay as is if used as retaining walls or foundations but some serve as a finish wall as well.
Heavyweight concrete blocks are semi permeable 5 perms and less so when the hollow cores are filled and packed with a slurry mix of concrete about 2 perms.
Distribute the tar evenly across the wall leaving no more than a 1 16 inch thick coat.
A great newly concrete poured wall with 8 10 inches thick is considered impermeable.
It can also develop small pinhole openings that act as capillaries for water transmission.
Standard concrete block is semi permeable 5 perms.
Some tests show 4 8 perms for hollow concrete blocks and 2 4 perms when the blocks are filled with a slurry mix of concrete.
How to seal corners and slab penetrations.
A cinder block is much more porous compared to a standard concrete block or poured concrete.
If the conditions outdoors are cool allow the bucket contents to sit in the sun for an hour to loosen the contents.
Patch any holes in the basement cinder block wall with your hydraulic cement.
Water moves easily through porous concrete so sealing interior walls is necessary to prevent moisture from seeping in promoting mold growth and that cold damp basement feel.
Use a masonry sealer such as thoroseal that also patches cracks 35 for a 50 pound bag.
Why cinder block walls leak.
Preventing resultant creation of acidic conditions in the concrete which in turn will cause rusting of all steel reinforcement.
Allow the cement to dry before proceeding usually 24 hours.
Concrete blocks commonly begin to show signs of dampness or worse leak water soon after exterior waterproofing.
This sealer will penetrate the block pours sealing them off.
Concrete is a porous material when fully cured.
Garage walls are a perfect example of this.
The cement becomes hard quickly so be time efficient.
Seal the entire concrete wall with a waterproof masonry.