tropics surfer
Member
Probably been discussed a zillion times...concrete block construction, blocks filled with cement, and now a year or so after finishing, moisture is lifting the paint off the walls, where the basement is in the hillside.
At first, it was only in a small area and I thought it was residual moisture inside the blocks left over during construction. It rained "a little" during construction.
We get about 6 feet of rain a year here.
So, now it's breaking out like ebola, lifting the paint, primer, etc., and I have no idea how to treat it. The wall exteriors are now buried in the hillside and backfilled with a rock/sand-like mixture that supposedly drains well, and the soil in the hillside, everywhere around us actually, has a high clay content that when dry season is here, is like concrete.
So, I've read about stripping the walls and using barrier paints, and understand that epoxy paints are good, but would we need to sandblast all the latex off the walls first? That would be a monumental task. My hope is that there is a water based barrier paint that would work.
This is what my wife calls "charms and challenges", living in the tropics--you get both.
And, we're limited by what HD, Sears, etc. carries in stock, and newer products you find in the States take a long time to reach us.
Thanks for any ideas, Buzz
At first, it was only in a small area and I thought it was residual moisture inside the blocks left over during construction. It rained "a little" during construction.
We get about 6 feet of rain a year here.
So, now it's breaking out like ebola, lifting the paint, primer, etc., and I have no idea how to treat it. The wall exteriors are now buried in the hillside and backfilled with a rock/sand-like mixture that supposedly drains well, and the soil in the hillside, everywhere around us actually, has a high clay content that when dry season is here, is like concrete.
So, I've read about stripping the walls and using barrier paints, and understand that epoxy paints are good, but would we need to sandblast all the latex off the walls first? That would be a monumental task. My hope is that there is a water based barrier paint that would work.
This is what my wife calls "charms and challenges", living in the tropics--you get both.
And, we're limited by what HD, Sears, etc. carries in stock, and newer products you find in the States take a long time to reach us.
Thanks for any ideas, Buzz