Concrete Sealer

What is the best procedure to remove leached minerals from surface of newly laid brick?

I had to soak these very porous Mexican fired adobe brick before I could mortar them in place, or else dry, they would immediately suck all the moisture out of the mortar. Here is a picture of two brick columns I’ve finished. The one in the background was the first one done and is showing the most leaching of minerals/ salts.

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo140/iseebeauty/mineralsinwaterleachedtobricksurfac.jpg

I called the building supply place I bought the brick from and they said apply an 8:1, water: muratic acid, wash with a bristle brush, and wait for bubbles to stop.

My questions are,

1) How long to I have to wait to apply the muratic acid wash? Until the bricks dry?

2) I have not filled the core with concrete yet. Should I wash the brick before or after I fill the core with concrete?

3) After the bubbles stop, do I then rinse the muratic acid compound off with a water hose? This seems to make sense, because I will be applying sealer to the brick after they dry and cure, and maybe traces of the acid remain if I don’t rinse?

Thank you for all your help!

It’s called "efflorescence." Fill it with concrete first then acid off the efflorescence and hose the whole thing off. Wait for a bit so that it can dry, then seal it.

We are closing on a house tomorrow. It is raining extremely heavily (already 4+" in the past 24 hours) and expected to rain through Sunday.

We just noticed our basement is leaking, up through the floors. We have lived in this house since December and haven’t had this problem yet — even our last heavy rainstorm.

Now, I read somewhere that if it’s leaking up through the floors, you can use Concrete Sealer to seal all cracks and solve the problem. The issue is, half our basement is finished and it’s leaking on the finished side — not carpet, but TILE.

What can we do to fix this? We DO NOT HAVE GUTTERS and our yard has HUGE puddles right next to the house.. we are installing gutters and downspouts the next day it’s dry. Will they help enough??

Is it worth backing out of the sale and our contract to avoid having to deal with this??

Gutters will help your situation but you still need to move the water out away from the house as far as possible. This could be done with field line pipe without the holes in it running at a slope to insure sufficient drainage away from the house. Some landscaping can help your situation too by bringing in topsoil to slope the ground from the house outwards to help move the water away from the house.

The topsoil can also help cover any gutter drainage pipe more easily with less trenching. This will also cure the problem of puddling water standing next to the house. As for the basement, are you sure that the water is coming from the floor? This can sometimes be deceiving in exactly where the water is entering the basement. Depending on how the basement walls are finished, it would be wise to determine how the finished walls were installed. Such as, are they 2×4 framed walls at the block? Just firring strips nailed to the block? I have even seen drywall glued straight to the block wall.

Waterproofing the floor is a good idea and making sure that the walls are not part of the leaking problem is another. Without finding the area or area’s of water entrance and getting that treated and stopped, One instance of basement flooding proves there will be another if action is not taken.

It is hard to advise on whether to back out of the closing or to press on with repairs. Each leaking basement is different in ways but also similar in others. The amount of work and expense to dry up a problem basement can vary greatly depending on the actual cause of the problem. Just from the sound of your situation it would seem that some gutters and landscaping can greatly improve your chances of success, although some inside work will also need to be evaluated and performed. How much remains to be seen.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

On the surface, concrete looks like an indestructible material. For this reason, many people choose to ignore the protection of concrete. But despite it’s tough exterior, concrete actually degenerate over time. The degeneration can be caused by oil spills, rust from water, dirt and grime, etc.

The solution to this problem, is to seal the concrete surface with sealers. While the sealer cannot offer full protection against malicious contaminants, it helps to lengthen the life span of the concrete surface. Here are some benefits of protecting concrete with sealers.

Preserve outer appearance.

The physical appearance of the concrete can be stained by oil or other substances. When a coating of sealer is applied to the surface, it actually helps to prevent the harmful substance from penetrating too deeply into the concrete. When concrete comes into contact with such substances, cleaning should be carried out as soon as possible. This will help prevent the substances from eroding the coating of sealer, and ultimately damage the concrete.

Enhance outer appearance.

In addition to preserving the concrete, a coating certain sealers can also help to enhance the overall appearance of the concrete. When applied onto concrete, the sealer gives the surface a “wet” or “shiny” look. It looks almost as if somebody had polished the surface.
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In the same way, sealers can also be used to restore old concrete surfaces. Concrete surfaces that look dull due to weathering can now be restored to look like new.

Protection from spalling.

When concrete is exposed to changing temperatures, it may expand or contract accordingly. This causes damage to the internal structure of the concrete. In other words, chunks of concrete may be separated because of temperature changes. A coat of sealer will help prevent this from happening. This is because sealer has an elastic quality to it. When exposed to higher temperature, it can actually stretch a little, thus absorbing the potential damage that may be inflicted on the concrete.

Protection from water damage.

Perhaps the most common liquid that concrete is exposed to is water. Concrete is exposed to water when it rains, or when someone gives it a washing. That means concrete can be exposed to water almost every day. Although water seems like a harmless liquid, constant exposure to water can actually cause the concrete to weaken. Water can seep in between cracks, and loosen sand within the concrete. The process is almost like cancer. It destroys the concrete slowly, until someone discovers that huge damage has already been done.

Therefore, concrete should be protected with a coating of sealer. The sealer helps prevent water from penetrating concrete blocks and weakening its structure.

Protection from winter salts.

Winter salts resting on concrete surface will cause damage to the surface. The surface will start to erode when left untreated. A coat of sealer can help prevent this from happening.

Gen Wright
http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/why-seal-concrete-675964.html

Acid stain concrete is an old technique that has recently seen a resurgence in popularity. Concrete floors are known to be durable, low maintenance, and incredibly ugly. If you learn how to acid stain concrete floors you can keep the durable, low maintenance surface while turning your ugly gray surface into a beautiful work of art. Most acid stains are going to be earth tones. This includes many shades of browns, dark reds, and greens. These earth tones will give your floor the look of expensive stone or marble, for significantly less.

If you are not the do it yourself type of person you can hire a contractor to do your acid stain concrete job. For a basic job you will most likely pay around $4 per square foot. If you want a more detailed and intricate pattern (multiple colors and designs) it will cost you anywhere from $4-$10 per square foot.
If you just want a basic job done it is suggested that you do a do it yourself. Instead of paying a contractor $4 per square foot, you can get it done for $.50-$1.00 per square foot, and it will only take a few hours over two days to complete the job. Even if you are a DIY novice, you should be able to handle this type of project. Here are four steps on how to acid stain concrete.

Get Your Materials

You need to make sure that you have all the materials necessary before starting the job. Since you will be working with a weak acid it is essential that you protect yourself fully. This means wearing long sleeves and long pants, protective eye wear, a face mask, and gloves. Other materials necessary include: Acid concrete stain, sealer, concrete cleaner, broom, wet vac, sprayer, paint tray, and a roller.

Prepare The Surface

Since the acid stain is semi transparent any blemishes or cracks on the concrete will show through. Hairline cracks can give your acid stained floor more character, by anything else should be repaired. You will need to clean the concrete to the best of your ability, the better you get it to look now the better it will look after you apply the stain.

Apply The Stain

There are a few ways to do this step, but I prefer to use an all plastic sprayer. One person should spray on the acid stain to the concrete while the other follows behind and brushes it in with a broom. This will leave brush strokes so the sprayer should go over the area again. Repeat this process until the whole floor is covered.

Wash The Floor

After the floor has had the proper time to react it is time to wash the floor with a baking soda and water solution in order to neutralize the acid concrete stain and remove any excess residue. You should go over the floor with this solution at least twice.

Apply The Sealer

Once the floor is completely dry you should apply 2-3 coats of sealer with your paint roller. As soon as the final coat is dry you can begin using your beautiful new floor.
This is a simplified guide on acid stained concrete floors. Click this link for a complete, detailed, step-by-step  guide on how to stain concrete floors.

Joel Jamison
http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/how-to-acid-stain-concrete-740790.html

There are many benefits that are tacked to Concrete Sealers. When applied on a regular basis, concrete sealers help protect the concrete surface, as well as the internal structure of the concrete. There are many different types of concrete sealers available in the market. One of the most commonly seen sealer, is the solvent based sealer.

When considering buying or using a solvent based sealer, the first thing that you need to take note of is whether the sealer is VOC compliant or not. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. Some solvents are actually harmful to the environment. To prevent harmful solvents from being released into the environment, solvent based products such as sealers have to comply with strict legislation. This is to ensure that all solvents used in the sealers are environmentally friendly.

So, how can solvent based solvents be beneficial to concrete?

Beautifying the surface.

When a single coating of solvent based solvent is applied to concrete, the surface of the concrete starts to look glossy. The glossy look gives the same feeling as that of a well polished floor. The overall look and feel is one that is clean and well maintained.

Ease of maintenance.

Speaking of maintenance, a coat of sealer makes the concrete easier to maintain. It acts as an external layer of outer covering that protects the concrete from water, oil, dirt, grime and other harmful materials. When such materials come into contact with the concrete surface, they can easily be cleaned off with some warm water and detergent. This will help prevent grease or grime from entering the insides of the concrete and damaging its internal structures.

Protection from unwanted plants.

Unwanted plants such as weed tend to grow in unprotected concrete. As dirt, soil, grime, etc starts to accumulate in cracks or holes, this gives weeds an opportunity to grow on the surface of the concrete. The roots from the plants can actually grow deep into the concrete, further weakening its structure. This may be a slow process that often goes unnoticed. Cracks within the concrete starts to widen as the roots force its way through. In severe cases, the affected area needs to be completely replaced with new concrete.

Solvent based sealers can help prevent this from happening. Firstly, it helps to prevent cracks and the accumulation of dirt and grime. Without the proper conditions, weeds cannot grow. Secondly, the inherent properties of the solvents actually help discourage plant growth. Plants don’t like the chemicals!

Solvent based sealers can come in different finishes – semi-gloss, gloss, or matte. You will need a concrete sprayer or a half inch roller cover to apply the sealer. Avoid using thin plastic sprayers, as they may react in a negative manner with the solvents. They come in cans of 1 gallon or 5 gallons. Usually, you will need 1 gallon for every hundred feet.

Gen Wright
http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/voc-compliant-solvent-based-concrete-sealer-675966.html