Would you recommend the product DRYLOK to stop water leaking through cinder block basement walls in heavy rain storms
Our Answer
No and maybe. Here’s why. If your basement walls leak after a heavy rain, DRYLOK is only a very small part of the solution.
Basements that leak after with heavy rain (or even melting snow) do so because their roof and surface drainage is not working. For example, clogged gutters, gutters that discharge too close to the house, gutters that are undersized, grading around the foundation being too flat, and a host of other conditions we outline in this post – need to be fixed first!
Once that happens, the very last step could be to apply a water-proofing paint like DRYLOK, not to stop the leak, but to reduce the transfer of moisture to the basement resulting in high humidity.
No matter how many coats of paint you put on your walls, the house won’t float and water will find a way in! Fix your drainage problems first and most if not all of your leaks will go away, event without using DRYLOK.
Tom, I did a major renovation on the house in 2015 after I retired from the fire dept. The foundation was replaced with 10″ concrete approx 7′ h. There is 2″ rigid foam board on the outside. I would like to insulate the inside with same board, particularly on the north side , add studs and install cabinets for storage. I painted all around with Dry lock. Can I do this without causing myself moisture problems ? I
Jeff, I think so but be careful to leave space between the studded wall and the concrete. It needs an air space to vent any accumulated moisture. Use a pressure treated lumber for the sill plate to avoid feeding termites or build the wall out of steel studs.