Sealing a garage base to reduce compensation

Compensation? Good grief. Sorry about that...

Bert

Amusing. :-)

I got "bituminous" wrong, too...

Bert

You are either Count Arthur Strong or Hylda Baker &ICMFP!

Definitely NOT CAS - Bert made me smile.

Use the various garage floor paints but don't use bituminous paint as you'll be treading it everywhere for months and years. BP is great stuff in the right place, not as a floor top covering.

Ah, right, thanks. Is there anything to choose between the various brands and descriptions? B&Q do an own-brand "Paving Seal", a Cementone "Water Seal" and a "Pave Seal" from the same manufacturer, all at different (and rsing) prices.

Bert

On 31/12/2012 11:24, Bert Coules wrote: all at

Not having a good spelling day today? :-)

Apparently ton!

Bert

OK, having done a bit more research it seems that there are two basic varieties of paint-on sealant: solvent-based and silicone-based. Any views on the merits or demerits of either?

Bert

and underside.

It really isn't my day, is it? Still, at least I seem to have given people something to write about, even if it is my spelling rather than my friend's garage problem.

Bert

and epoxy, which is the best. But its price premium is probably not justified for home use.

NT

I am pretty sure the roof will still get condensation if the floor is dry.

The solvent in the former is just a carrier so you can get the resin/polymer/whatever onto the floor. It's the solids that do the job.

Silicone based just repel water, like Scotchguard, they don't seal as such.

Yes, I wonder about that, too. But would it be as bad? It is making the garage just about unusable at the moment, with drips coming from every square inch. I suppose the only way to find out is to try it.

Alternatively (or additionally, maybe) I guess that some sort of roof lining would help. My own sectional garage is completely lined and insulated - floor, ceiling and walls - and doesn't suffer from condensation at all, but that's further than my friend wants to go.

What about replacing the entire roof with, say, corrugated plastic sheeting? Would that make a difference?

Bert

Ah, so a surface coating wouldn't prevent water penetration from below?

I've just said in answer to ARW that my own garage, which is completely lined and insulated doesn't suffer from the problem, but that's more than my friend wants to do. Replacing the corrugated metal roof with something else (plastic?) might be a possibility, but would that make any difference to the condensation?

And a sudden thought: what about a thermostatically-controlled greenhouse-type heater? But wouldn't that be an expensive solution, in the long run?

Bert

How about trying a simple sheet of polythene across the floor for a time? If that works, then it would seem definitely worth using a proper sealant.

My feeling is that changing to corrugated plastic would mean getting a dripping plastic roof rather than a dripping metal one with only (at best) highly marginal change in quantity.

Corrugated plastic will have a similar problem. Horrid, nasty stuff anyway.

The multiwall stuff might be better;