Here are a few commonly known facts about concrete and moisture.
- Water is an essential ingredient of concrete.
- Hydration and evaporation control is fundamental to the concrete curing process – both moisture related.
- Concrete dries at about 25mm per month from the later of: concrete pour OR the last time it was wet.
Thinking about the moisture exiting the concrete during the drying process – what happens if it is trapped under a floor coating or membrane?
If not controlled, it causes havoc with coatings and membranes. This is a very real concern where waterproofing membranes buckle and fail… ironically due to moisture movement in the concrete which the membrane should be protecting.
SO – Can concrete moisture be controlled?
YES, the answer is found in a catalytic hydrogel treatment.
This removes the need for a surface sealer or waterproofing membrane. Surface membranes do nothing to control the moisture internally, trapping the moisture into the slab. Membranes, in fact, are faced with multiple possible reasons for failure.
Spray-applied hydrogel treatment penetrates deep into the concrete’s porosity, transforming free moisture in the concrete into a hydrogel, preventing its movement into, out of, or within the concrete.
In the Aged Care and Healthcare construction sectors, this can be used to prevent biofluids and food spills from both damaging the concrete matrix, and causing bacterial odours.
In house slabs and other projects where rising damp has been associated, this system when applied to the whole slab during time of concrete cure, will prevent moisture from traversing the top 150mm – effectively stopping it from appearing at the surface and causing havoc.
This simple and cost-effective treatment has other benefits too:
- Applied at concrete pour provides curing equal to 14-days water curing.
- 10,000,000m2 track record in New Zealand and Australia – your confidence.
- Protects the reinforcing steel for the long-term, by preventing the ingress of moisture-borne contaminants.
- Hardens the concrete, and prevents dusting, by reducing carbonation.
Talk to the MARKHAM team today about the concrete in your construction project.
Find out how your own teams can install permanent moisture-barriers effectively themselves!
