Permanent Basement Waterproofing Sealer - Ghostshield Concrete Sealers

Basements

Basment waterproofing sealers

Nothing is worse than walking down into a basement to find the walls or the carpets wet. Basements are prone to flooding since they are the lowest level of a building built in close proximity to the water table. The most vulnerable basements are located fully below ground with no way for water to drain away from the house. Moving water seeks the path of least resistance and finds its way through small cracks, and voids in the concrete or cinderblock foundation.

A lot of times basements will not completely flood but they will have seepage. Seepage occurs when water creeps in through the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete thus soaking into the finished walls and carpets. Seepage usually occurs through small cracks in a basement foundation or through extremely porous concrete blocks.

In order to waterproof a basement you first must determine how much moisture is in the concrete. This can be determined through a Calcium Chloride Test. Once the moisture has been determined you can then choose one of the following products:

Vapor-Tek™ 440

Best used on concrete floors with a high moisture content (up to 20lbs/24hr/1000ft) or prior to installing wood, carpet, tile or epoxy flooring

Ghostshield Cryli-Tek 5505 Concrete Sealer

VIEW VAPOR-TEK 440

If the concrete basement floor has a high moisture content the Vapor-Tek 440 is the product to use. This two-component epoxy coating is designed to reduce moisture vapor emission rates of up to 20lb/24hr/1000ft. If you are going to be installing carpet, tile or wood this is the product to use to prevent any moisture from traveling and dis-bonding the flooring. It is also an excellent choice to use the Vapor-Tek 440 as a primer before installing an epoxy floor.

Each gallon will cover up to 100 square feet at 17 mils thickness and will leave a clear, gloss finish. Part A is mixed with Part B prior to application and installed with an epoxy glide roller. The Vapor-Tek 440 will stop dusting, can be applied to concrete as little as 10 days old and only requires one coat.

The Vapor-Tek 440 does have a short pot life which means once Part A and Part B are mixed together it needs to be applied within 30-40 minutes. Once the pot life has been reached the product can no longer be applied. The Vapor-Tek 440 is dry and ready for foot traffic within 24 hours and fully cured in 3-7 days.

LITHI-TEK® 4500 &
ISO-TEK™ 8540VOC

Best used on concrete floors with a low moisture content (less than 4%)

VIEW LITHI-TEK 4500

VIEW ISO-TEK 8540 VOC

If you are experiencing some dampness or light moisture it is best to use the Lithi-Tek 4500 primer followed by the Iso-Tek 8540VOC. The Lithi-Tek 4500 is a penetrating concrete densifier designed to fill in the smallest pores and voids in the concrete with CSH (calcium silicate hydrate, a byproduct of cement hydration.) Five to seven days after the Lithi-Tek 4500 has been used the Iso-Tek 8540VOC can then be applied. The Iso-Tek 8540VOC is a 55% actives solvent based, VOC compliant silane that will impregnate the concrete making it water repellent.

Lithi-Tek 4500 is concentrated and needs to be mixed with distilled water prior to application. One part Lithi-Tek 4500 is mixed with 3 parts water. One coat is applied with either a sprayer or roller.

Iso-Tek 8540VOC is ready to use and can be applied with a solvent resistant sprayer or roller. Two coats are applied wet-on-wet (the second coat is applied immediately after the first coat while the first coat is still wet). If the Iso-Tek 8540VOC is not within your budget the Siloxa-Tek 8500 may be used as a sealer after the Lithi-Tek 4500 primer.

LITHI-TEK® 9500

Best used preventatively on concrete floors without any moisture

VIEW LITHI-TEK 9500

The Lithi-Tek 9500 is best used on new concrete or used preventatively on concrete that has never had any moisture issues. Lithi-Tek 9500 is concentrated and needs to be mixed with distilled water prior to application. One part Lithi-Tek 9500 is mixed with 4 parts water. Two coats are applied wet-on-wet (the second coat is applied immediately after the first coat) with either a sprayer or roller.