John Aldrich1
clangr, perhaps the waterproofer was thinking that a concrete floor was not poured because of economic reasons in the dirty thirties, during the depths of the Great Depression. I assume that the “masonry foundation” is a cement block wall. If this is the case, then I would definately not mess around with Bentonite clay with the intent to save some money. The cement block wall will not resist the transverse load (horizontal pressure) that a poured concrete wall will resist. As the soil outside of the wall becomes saturated, the hydraulic head pressure increases. If the Bentonite clay is effective in sealing the leaks, then there is just that much more water pressing on the wall. The increased transverse load may collapse the block wall.
bozo wrote:
As I said it worked for me .Been about 12 years since I used benonite and havent had a single drop of water in the basement.Go ahead and spend alot of money if you want,it is your money.
Well bozo, nothing is as convincing as successful personal experience. I am thankful that I have not been plagued with a “Mystery waterfall in my basement.” However, my brother-in-law, back in Connecticut was faced with this very problem, and he also wanted to solve the problem at the least possible cost, and with the least possible effort. Well to make a long story short, he used too much Bentonite, and/or improperly applied it, and caved in the cement block foundation wall, causing some structural damage to the house, and broke a couple of windows.
oscar wrote:
I have used benonite two times ,on 2 seperate basements and it worked just fine.You have to be careful because it expans, as mentioned.I would not hesitate to use it again if needed.Anyone out ther ever used it too?
oscar, you are a two time winner in life’s lottery when it comes to the use of Bentonite clay to waterproof basement walls. You and bozo must be blessed with the skill of using Bentonite clay. However, it seems to me that it would be better to properly drain the intermittent storm water away from the foundation so that it does not have the opportunity to invade the basement.
