URGENT CONCRETE ADVICE NEEDED!

[James Varty]

I'd planned so spend this weekend painting 2 coats of Thorseal concrete based membrane onto my garage floor before a mate who's a floor layer comes to screed over it with self levelling compound on Monday night - he's going away for 2 weeks on Tuesday morning.

When I came to prepare the floor for painting, some large chinks of concrete came away, so I've had to patch the holes up before I do anything else. I used a 3.5 to 1 mix, and I'm assuming that it will take a few days to dry. What would happen if I painted the Thorseal on tomorrow, irrespective of the concrete not being fully set? Do you think I'll get away with it to keep on schedule?

Cheers

James

[Weatherlawyer]

Idiot! What the hell was the self leveler going to cover? You should have just painted it. Paint it anyway and don't waste time or wait and have him put the floor layer on another time.

Do try to think a little next time.

[James Varty]

"Weatherlawyer" ranted

Insults. Nice.

The damp proof membrane which I am going to paint on

The damp proof membrane wouldn't have worked if I had painted the floor whilest it had large holes in it. The paint permeates the concrete, sealing it to form a waterproof barrier. Given that some of the holes no longer had concrete in them, simply painting in the holes would have defeated the whole idea of this project

I am working on an extremely tight schedule that I dont want to disrupt unless I absolutely have to, which is why I posted in here, in the hope I'd get an intelligent, informed response instead of ramblings from an ignoramous

Do try and resist the urge to be offensive next time, and perhaps only replying to posts if you have anything useful to say would be nice?

[Steve Walker]

I don't imagine that the relatively small amount of moisture from the repairs would cause widespread problems, but you might find that the Thorseal didn't bond well to the unset areas (then again, if it's cement-based it might actually prefer a slightly green surface). If your mate is then screeding over the top, a small area of poor bond shouldn't be a big problem as long as the waterproof 'membrane' remains unbroken.

But, I'm merely a slightly-skilled DIY'er - you'll get better advice before the night is out. Good luck!

[James Varty]

Cheers Steve, I thought the same but just wanted someone else to reassure me before I went ahead.

[Rob]

Hi

Used to be able to get bags of rapid setting concrete, just add water. Sets in 15min. Try the Local DIY store. Failing that Post Fix??

Rob

[Merryterry]

You will have to let the patches fully cure before the Thorseal will bond. Also you will have to get rid of the Laitence, i.e. the weak layer of cement that sits on top of the fresh concrete. Coat on top of this and it will not bond. Get rid of it by acid wash and then wash with clean water. Better to miss the schedule than have problems after. I would not consider putting any coating on top of cementitous material for at least 8 days. I have been in the coatings business some 20 odd years and have seen major problems caused by not following the instructions on the Data Sheet.

Remember? If all else fails read the instructions.

[david lang]

I completely agree James.

Dave

[Steve Walker]

Hmmm - going by Merryterry's reply, my advice is probably encouraging you in folly. Good luck with it, whatever you decide to do.

[James Varty]

I know.. Looks like he's pissed on our chips good and proper! I think I may go ahead with the self levelling screeding on Monday anyway, but not paint the membrane on first. I'll paint the Thoroseal on top of the screed coat at the end of the week. If anyone thinks that's a stupid idea please tell me!

[James Varty]

Cheers! You've undoubtedly stopped me from making a costly mistake. Incidentally, the data sheet wasn't very comprehensive - it did mention to remove laitence though, but I glossed over that bit cos I didn't know what it meant.........