How to seal garage wall and floor before painting?

mich1972

Good afternoon Workshop friends. We have cleared the shed.

I want to paint the walls and epoxy the floor.

What I need advice for first is - do we need to use a special waterproofing sealer on the bottom section of the wall because on the other side it’s raised up as garden ect.
I have added photos to show the walls and also the surrounding areas as you can see how it is different levels if that makes sense ? Thank you in advance 😀

Community manager's note: Check out How to apply epoxy to a garage floor for expert advice.

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Accepted answers

MitchellMc

Hi @mich1972,

Do you see water entering the garage in heavy rains? If so, that is an issue you'd need to address from outside the wall by digging down next to it and adding agline to remove the water. Then, you could paint the outside of the wall with the Crommelins Blackseal to stop water from penetrating it. Unfortunately, it is not suitable to be painted over, so you can't use it on the inside. The other issue is if water is coming up through the concrete slab, it could try and blow your epoxy coat off. Once again, you can't seal the slab inside, as the Epoxy paint needs to go directly onto the concrete.

The method of attack comes down to how much and how often water penetrates that wall. I can see the moisture line from the ground level inside, and Crommelins Aquablock might be enough to prevent moisture ingress if it's only a tiny amount. That would allow you to paint the walls. The Epoxy is another matter, and it's hard to tell if the moisture ingress would affect it. You might find that the paint adheres to the slab, and water weeps into the inside between the top of the slab and the bottom of the brick wall.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

All comments

mich1972

I saw this online, would it be the correct one to use ?

MitchellMc

Hi @mich1972,

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Dave-1

Afternoon @mich1972

Thats a nice garage! 🙂 Do you ever see any water at the bottom of the wall? I havnt sealed a concrete floor before (I didnt for my retro garage conversion) but if you see even a little water you may need to do what @MitchellMc is suggesting 😕 Not hard but def worth it. I didnt and I ended up digging out next to my garage to stop water issues lol

Scrolling through the photos again I can see some of the bricks have that whiteness line on them. Means there is moisture coming through at least slowly. It will actually push/flake your paint off the wall 😕

Dig and seal plus drainage is worthwhile 😕 Might add more to the project but really will make a long term difference.

Dave

mich1972

Hi @MitchellMc an @Dave-1

Thank you for your fast response.
Hubby and I had a bad feeling this was going to be a problem and that is why I wanted to ask here . Geez that’s a shame and I totally understand what you both are saying. I’m wondering if that’s why the previous owners of the house didn’t bother.
We certainly don’t want to paint the walls and epoxy the floor if it’s going to be an issue later on.
I don’t see water seeping in or dripping down the walls but there is no doubt it’s absorbing through, even slightly. Apparently the wall has the black sealer on the outside, I can’t really dig down as it is all paved.
Yes inside you can see the different colour of the wall, it’s about a metre from the ground. Yes you can see that white leaching at the base.
Also, when it rains, the water still pushes through the base of the roller door, even though there is one of those weather seals on it.
No , there is no drainage grates at the entrance or at the left hand side wall. What a bummer , but that’s how it is.
I appreciate your honest feedback and I will let hubby know.
Why I wanted to do this is , I want our shed to be more user friendly and easy to work in. It was a dumping ground and we kept chucking stuff in there, close the door and forget about it because we are busy and don’t have time.
We just recently emptied it right out, had a massive cull.
What my plan was , hubby turns 50 soon and I want to make the shed better for him, I wanted to paint the walls, epoxy the floor ( both now we won’t do )

Get some heavy duty storage racks, brand new tool boxes with benches ( he’s a heavy duty diesel mechanic ) peg boards ect , work station.
The concrete slab is stained over the years with oil stains and I was going to hire a concrete grinder to resurface the slab.
Now I’m not sure what to do.

mich1972

@MitchellMc I will buy the Crommelins Aquablock and paint that on the affected area inside. I assume it’s best to do it now before winter sets in and the walls are ‘dryer ‘

EricL

Hi @mich1972

I agree that this would be the best time to seal it. When the cold weather sets in winter the walls will always be damp and will be impossible to coat with the sealer.

Eric

mich1972

Hi @EricL Thank you for your feedback. I will seal the lower part of the wall and let you know how I go. 😊

Dave-1

Morning @mich1972

As I have a very similar garage issue and have fixed it plus am in that same age bracket 🙂 lol Take a look at these two projects around my garage. I have a feeling I may have linked them already in other questions.

Garage lining for stud walls stage 1 - If you look at my walls you can see some small spots that had that same leaching effect, One reason I went with plaster walls was to keep anything off the actuall wall. I didnt put insulation behind it as I wanted free air flow.

Fixing water ingress issues in garage - Very similar to how the soil was high against my wall as to your wall. I really didnt want to do it but had already put the walls and bookcase in the garage and "wanted" it fixed.

The floor in my garage was not sealed, I thought about it but there was never any actuall water pooling on it so decided to go with the carpet tiles as they have a rubber back.

Last issue for you with the water entering under the garage door, I have seen this product online and it seems to work well, Bunnings dosnt look like they have it tho I could be wrong as I dont know the various names. Universal Threshold Weatherproof Stripping Adhesive

Like you I was concerned about water before I started but figured ways around it. Possibly I should have put in airvents at the bottom of the wall to allow more ventialtion. There has been no signs of mould in the years since ive done this.

If the water/moisture issues seem to be daunting, break them down to particular areas/results. Your garage/workshop is definently high on the list of doable 🙂

Dave

mich1972

Morning @Dave-1 Im going to read through them now, even if I can waterproof the lower walls and then paint them, I would be happy with that. Dave , can I waterproof the concrete floor as well even if I don’t paint it ? I’m going with @MitchellMc advice about the epoxy, we definitely won’t do that.

Dave-1

Morning @mich1972

When I was considering what to do with the garage floor and knowing I wanted carpet tiles on it I did get asked about "sealing" the concrete.

I could put down a sheet of plastic across the whole floor and then carpet over that as the plastic would protect it from moisture. I chose not to as I wanted the concrete to breath.

Sealing it can be done but not sure what product I would use. (I am sure @EricL or @MitchellMc would know)

Note that garage floors may slope towards the garage door. (Mine has a fall of 2.5cm per meter I think?)

Dave

mich1972

Ok no worries. I had a look and read your post and your water problems were definitely worse than ours !!!!!! Thanks again for your help and advice 😊

mich1972

I purchased a Moisture meter and tested different spots of the lower wall and the concrete slab where it looks like damp absorbing.

EricL

Hi @mich1972

That's a very handy tool to have. I suggest having a look at the weather for the next two weeks and see which day is going to be the hottest. This would be the day where evaporation would be at its peak. This theoretically would be the time that your brick wall will have the least amount of moisture trapped in it. I propose sealing it on that day.

Eric

mich1972

I’m going to get up at 4am in the morning and start before the heat sets in. I was advised to apply this one @EricL 🙂

EricL

Hi @mich1972

That sealer should help immensely. It will reduce the amount of condensation you are getting from your brick wall.

Eric

mich1972

I’ve also got the roller door up to allow for good ventilation.

MrSober

Is that side of the wall just dirt up against the brickwork? that is what I am seeing from the photos.

I would have thought water proofing the inside isn't the best idea as that allows the water to still soak into the brickwork and will just mean it will soak further up the wall, makes me wonder if there are weep holes further down if it was done after building and if the damp course is under ground.

If it is just dirt straight up against the brick, I'd be looking at digging a trench next to the wall. Cleaning off the brick and letting it dry and then look at using the water proofing membrane on the outside. I would then also be looking at a way to draw as much moisture away from the wall, and then putting some sort of material that won't absorb as much water sitting against the brick like drainage rock etc.

I ran into a similar issue with my build when the brick layers thought it would be a good idea to put a weep hole below ground level as my house is split level. Water would pool where the garage wall sticks out further than the kitchen which is higher and would flood my garage when heavy rain.

mich1972

Morning @MrSober, the walls are old and dirty but definitely dampness there from winter. Certainly not bad like what I saw with Dave’s shed. I have applied the Damp Stop. From the readings on the moisture meter it’s not out of control. Thank you for your reply 😊 I appreciate it !!!!

mich1972

Got up at 4am before the heatwave started here in Perth. Two coats complete.

Checking the walls and slab again and now it’s 0% @EricL 😀

EricL

Hi @mich1972

Now that's what we're looking for! Fingers crossed that it is strong enough to repel the condensation when the heavy rains come next season. Nice work!

Eric

Dave-1

@mich1972

😲 Now that is impressive! I trully didnt think it would be that good lol I thought it would be low but nothing like that! Wow! 😀

Kinda wish I had done the same now 🙂

What is your next step?

Dave

mich1972

Thank you @EricL 😊 really happy with the result, it reminds of the Shower Plug I used to seal our tiles and grout in our showers. @MrSober I spoke with hubby and we will look into treating the wall on the outside as advised 😊

mich1972

Good morning @Dave-1 Thank you 😊 I purchased the undercoat ready to go. I was going to start painting at 4am this morning as I did with the Damp Stop yesterday morning BUT held back because Perth is forecasted with 40 degrees today and I was advised that it would be too hot to paint, so I don’t want to stuff it up. Just need to be patient and wait for the heatwave to pass.

Dave-1

Morning @mich1972

Yeah I know that type of recomendation lol (I had it for my concrete paint for my patio and even tho I started latter in the morning I was getting way to close to that 35degs that was recomended for the paint 😲 ) I have seen the recomendations for years and had never paid any real notice until you spend the $$$ and then it becomes imporatnt 🙂

As you said, patience is the key.

Dave

mikepilling2

Great thread to follow, good choice @mich1972 to avoid the high temp. I painted concrete while living in Broome, temp went up as the morning progressed, outcome was the paint flaked and I created myself a long and complicated reno job afterwards!! Lesson learnt to take note of the instructions on the tin and plan ahead 👍🏻

mich1972

@mikepilling2 Thank you 😊 it’s 10.30am and already 34 degrees so I’m glad I didn’t do it. I’m learning heaps from everyone in the Workshop, which gives me confidence to try and do it myself. I was going to epoxy the concrete slab but won’t now, so I’d like to paint it instead with a concrete paint. Just waiting for the heatwave to pass, hopefully start painting the walls soon !! 🙂

MrSober

Yeah it will be worth checking out when you get a chance, as dirt butted against brickwork just allows the moisture to soak into the brick from the ground. Never know it might have already been sealed on the outside as I would expect more water to come through when it rains.
Just curious on the outside of the garage is there weep holes visible above the dirt?

EricL

Hi @MrSober

Let me tag @mich1972 to make them aware of your question. If the seal cures properly and is not exposed to heavy moisture within the next few days, it should be strong enough to withstand heavy condensation.

Eric

mich1972

I’m not sure @MrSober @as it’s all paved on the higher level on the outside. Paved right up to the wall. No reticulation hits the area, only rain. My hubby thinks that black water proofing paint has been applied but not 100% sure. It’s applied to another small garden bed that is part of the house and you can see it.

mich1972

Complete !!!
Walls are Dulux Exterior - Vivid White.
Floor is Dulux Concrete and Paving - Timeless Grey.
Doors are British Paint - Night Sky.

If anyone is interested from start to finish I will do a separate post 😃

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