Your Home Improvements

Hi Robert,

I love reading your column! I am glad you have returned to The Signal.

A few years ago we remodeled our master bath. When I asked my contractor about sealing the grout he raved about the grout he used and said there was no need to seal it and it would never stain.

My question to you is, is this really a thing? And any ideas as to what I may be doing wrong since it is not working for me? Thank you! -Carol

C. Carol,

The grout you’re talking about is a stain-resistant grout. This does not mean it won’t fail to standard wear and tear or certain stains from chemicals that may be introduced to it.

It’s been my experience after 35 years in this industry, that most everything needs maintenance. It sounds like he misled you and should have been more forthcoming about what the product can and can’t do.

I recommend that you clean the grout using a grout cleaner, so as not to damage the pigment in the grout, allow it to dry and then seal it. Best of luck Robert

Robert,

I live in Canyon Country and the way our house is built, we have a partial subterranean garage.

One-half of the garage wall is under dirt/concrete, and the upper part is wood framed.

I’ve attached some photos, you can see that the part where it is buried and is concrete, the paint is flaking and there is white powdery substance.

About three years ago we tried a product called Dry Lock. We used it on the inside of the garage wall and it worked for about three years.

I recall you mentioning another product for this type of thing but I’ve been online and nothing rings a bell for me, and reminds me of what product you were talking about.

Can you please help?

-Gina D.

Gina,

The product you are talking about is called Xypex.

What needs to be done to utilize this product correctly, is first to sandblast the wall. Pressure washing alone will not do the trick, you MUST start with sandblasting.

I recommend that you hire a licensed and insured contractor for this, as this can be a dangerous job if not done with

extreme caution.

Once that is done, you can pressure wash it thoroughly, making sure that you end up with an extremely clean surface. Let this dry thoroughly using commercial fans, if necessary, depending on air flow and temperature. You want this area as dry as possible prior to applying the Xypex.

Apply two heavy coats of this, using any method you choose, but make sure they are good, heavy coats.

After a day or so, wet this down again, to slow the curing process.

After about 72 hours you’ll be able to paint it if you wish, most people paint it white but you can leave it in its natural state also, which is a bit of an off-white, egg shell color.

At the cold joint, which is the point at which the floor and wall meet, you may have static pressure pulling water up that way. Make sure that this is also cleaned during the sandblasting and pressure washing time, then use a product called Sika Flex.

Sika Flex is a single stage urethane that you can purchase at any big box store, and you’ll apply this to the cold joint. This will keep the water from coming up, and all of this process is called negative waterproofing. It is never a guaranteed fix, but done correctly it is quite successful for a long period of time, and can save a large amount of money.

The permanent fix to a situation like this is called positive waterproofing, and this is done from the outside. It is much more costly as it involves excavating down to the foundation, and a similar waterproofing process applied from the outside, followed by the installation of protection board.

Exterior waterproofing would solve the problem permanently but it is much more costly so most folks go with the negative waterproofing and at least give themselves much more time to prepare for a future permanent fix.

I hope this information is helpful to you, good luck.