Drylock for cement floor?UPDATE

[Mattemma]

I am thinking about using drylock on the cement floor to stop moisture. Has anyone used it?

I have my hens in a metal shed that is over cement. I have had problems with major moisture along the edges. I tried caulking the inside and outside.Even added cement on the outside.Will tar the top of the shed just in case there are any leaks there too.All I can think of now is that the water is seeping through the cement,so I thought drylock would be good. Just worried it will peel and the hens will eat it.Not sure if I should paint the whole floor or just the inside/outside along the edges.

Anyone have water problems along the edge,if so what did you do to correct it?

Update 5-17-10:

Yesterday I found some liquid sealer(thompsons?) in the garage,and noticed it could be used on cement.Since I just cleaned the shed I went ahead and put the sealer on the outside of the shed on the concrete,and lower portion of the shed.

It has been raining all day,and I just went to the shed.No wet pine shavings yet along the edges! I hope it holds.It was stinky watery stuff,but atleast I did not have to buy anything.I never got around to doing anything inside the shed to seal it better.I am glad I tried the sealant.

 

[Texasboy4ever]

From my experience as a contractor you probaly have moisture on the floor. Because when they poured the concrete they did not put plastic down under the concrete. The plastic is a moisture barrier. They normally put the plastic in slab foundations for homes but not carports garages and out building unless you ask them to. You probably have the problem on days of high humidity more than any other time. I don't know what effect the drylock would have on the chickens but I would put it on a small spot first and test it. I would also use pine shavings on the floor to absorb any moisture that is there if you don't want to put drylock down

 

[patandchickens]

If the moisture is only around the *edges*, I would suspect that the problem isn't so much moisture coming up through the floor as moisture coming under the walls.

Is this shed by any chance on a slab that is bigger than the shed is (so that slab sticks out around outside edges of shed)? That arrangement would definitely result in water coming in under the walls, unless you use one of the special sill gasketing products that are sold.

If the slab does not protrude beyond the walls anywhere, make real, real sure that moisture is not tracking down *in* the walls to come out at the sills. It could be entering from roof leaks, inadequate roof overhang, window installation issues, gaps in siding, etc.

Also, is the slab definitely higher than the surrounding ground, or does water pool a little bit right at the edge there, when you have heavy rain. If that is the case, the solution is to regrade and/or use a trench or french drain to lead water away.

I would betcha that the solution probably lies somewhere in the above items.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Mattemma]

Thank you for the responses!

I have an old metal shed that is on a concrete slab that is larger than the shed. The slab is higher than the surrounding ground. The moisture is along the edges.Was worse before I added caulk and cement on the outside.The floor slants just enough so that when I clean the water runs out a small gap in one corner that I did not caulk up.

I think I will work on the roof and try the drylok on the outside before adding it to the inside.Made it can be used on the metal outside.I will look into that too.I use pine shavings,and remove the wet stuff before it can mold.In the winter I kept black rubber mats at the edges,and straw bales over those.Now that it is getting warmer the straw and mats are out.

Thank you again.Lots for me to look at and do with my dinky shed.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Well, there's your problem then.

You can almost certainly quit fooling with the roof (unless you have *evidence* it's leaking) and probably skip the drylok as well... I will bet you dollars to donuts that what's happening is that water that hits the outdoors part of the slab is sneaking under the sills. This is really, really common with that kind of setup.

Your major two choices are either a) jack the shed up and insert sill gasket material underneath it (which would work, assuming you get it installed correctly) or b) goober enormous amounts of really sticky caulking all around the outside where the sill meets the slab. While it might seem logical to use that black urethane-foam-y "roof repair" caulk stuff for this, since it is quite sticky and waterproof, I would advise *against* that because it will dry out and resume leaking after a year or three. Use regular caulk, applied to surfaces as dry and CLEAN as you can possibly get 'em, and you may have some chance of at least decreasing the problem. Honestly, sill gasketing would be your better bet, though.

As a practical matter, if you choose an approach that does not really fix the problem, consider buying a few of those 2x2 tiles that are meant for basements etc. They are tongue-and-groove OSB with a dimpled-out black plastic liner on the bottom. (Or you can DIY if you have scraps of osb or plywood plus some scraps of dimpled foundation waterproofing stuff). Lay that down, cut to fit exactly, to create a new floor for the shed. I would suggest priming and painting the OSB surface. Now, even when water sneaks in below, your bedding will not get wet. (The reason I am not suggesting this as an ideal fix is that it leaves your shed sills soaking in water still, so they will tend to rust if metal or rot if wooden. But, it is a lot better than soaked bedding!

)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat