Drylok Basement Waterproofer Application Masonry
Recently I decided to paint my basement walls with Drylok Basement Waterproofer.
I didn’t choose this in order to waterproof my basement walls. I mostly chose it because in addition to covering up the stains it would also add the waterproofing. That way the walls are protected just in case. Overall my basement is fairly dry. I just thought, “Well, while I’m doing this…”
Applying Original Drylock Masonry Water Proofer
The main reason for this post is to describe the application process.
First of all, let me tell you, this product is heavy. It will be especially heavy on a 4 inch brush that they recommend:
In retrospect, using a roller for the first coat would likely have been easier.
Also, it is very thick. It is easy to get drips falling on the floor when over loading the brush.
The first coat took quite some time. The concrete absorbs a lot. Also, extra will be needed to fill every little hole in the blocks.
That is the bad news.
Now for the good news.
The second coat is much, much easier to apply.
Now that all the voids have been filled the first coat will have created a good barrier. The second coat will “skim” on top as you would expect when applying latex paint to a primed wall board.
You also don’t need to load the brush as heavily the second time around. Again, making the job more like applying standard latex paint to a wall.
How Many Gallons of Drylok Waterproof?
The can says it covers about 75-100 square feet.
I found this to be accurate. I had about 300 square feet to cover in my basement.
However, it did take all of 2 gallons to finish the first coat. At about the midway point of the second coat I had half a gallon left. And at the end I had used all of the 3 gallons completely. I had just enough.
At about $25 a gallon you could err on the side of caution and get 4 gallons if you have 300 sq ft. Some of my walls were already sealed with a layer of paint so it may not have absorbed as much as bare cinder blocks would. On poured cement with a smooth surface it would probably use a little less.
End Result?
(Note: the texturing on some walls was already there. Not sure what material the previous home owner used for the texture. The Drylok just has little grains of sand that give a little texture. They also make the product that is smooth with out the sandy texture.)
For my purposes this product worked well. Like I mentioned earlier I wasn’t using it for waterproofing per se. I was looking to cover any stains and have the additional benefit of the waterproofing.
I’d say it covered about 99.5% of the staining. There is one place under a window well where even after 2 coats a little yellow is peeking through. If I wasn’t out of the paint I may be able to put a couple touch up coats to get it completely invisible. But, it’s good enough for my purposes as is.