The Effectiveness of Waterproofing Coatings, Surface Grouting, and Tuckpointing on a Specific Project

Water leakage in a building gave the authors an opportunity to try a variety of widely used procedures to improve the watertightness of masonry walls.

The water permeance of the masonry walls in their original condition ranged from 11 to 60 L/h. Three types of clear waterproofing coatings, two types of surface grout, and conventional tuck-pointing were tested. Each procedure was applied to two wall areas. Water permeance tests were performed on each sample area in accordance with a field-modified version of ASTM Test Method for Water Permeance of Masonry (E 514). Sample areas were tested prior to repair, after repair, and in some cases after weathering through one winter.

The tests relate to one type of brick and mortar on one specific building. It would be unwise to extrapolate our findings to other buildings, but the results are interesting, and we believe they contribute to a growing wealth of experience.