Seal foundation at sidewalk?

[Puddin' Man]

Re: Seal foundation at sidewalk?

Greetings,

I inhabit a small brick bungalow, built in 1954, poured-concrete foundation, about 800 square feet. The front of the house faces north.

On the east side of the house they poured a small sidewalk which butts against the foundation. When I bought the house the juncture of the sidewalk and foundation was "sealed" with hideous black gook.

I found that the gook weathered pretty quickly. Water entered the basement thru cracks. For years I've been re-sealing the juncture by applying more hideous black gook (i.e. plastic roof cement from a caulk gun, Gardner non-fibered foundation and roof coating with a brush) 3-4 times a year.

Is this a 'gator that others have wrestled with? Is there a better way (for little $)? Failing that, are there foundation/roof sealers that last a long time? The Gardner stuff doesn't seem to hold up very long.

Thanx, Puddin'

[Joseph Meehan]

It sounds like the walk slants toward the foundation, or at least is flat. This is a no no. It must slop away from the home to direct water away. Sorry to say this, but the only real fix is to replace the walk or hope the mud jackers can adjust it.

[B]

Go to home depot for non-gooky sidewalk sealer and a caulk gun. $15 total.

[Dana]

Go to your local pool supply and get some elastic caulk that is used to seal the joint between the coping blocks and the concrete decks around pools. Inspector Dana

[Puddin' Man]

Thanks. Such caulk might be very good for the occasional sizable depression/break in the hideous black gook.

But mostly I need something that I can apply with brush or trowel over the old gook (maybe 10 square feetof coverage).

Cheers, Pudd>Go to your local pool supply and get some elastic caulk that is used to seal