Waterproofing membrane hype, I was a doubter until last month

Been laying brick for 16 years around Columbus and always figured the liquid membrane stuff was a sales pitch. My old boss swore by the tar paper and felt method, said anything new was just a way to charge more. Last month I did a retaining wall job near the Scioto River where the ground stays wet, and the homeowner insisted on the rubberized membrane. I grumbled through the whole install, charged them extra for the material. Three weeks of heavy rain later, the wall is bone dry on the inside while the neighbor's wall that I did last year with felt is sweating through. I had to eat my words in front of the crew. Now I'm wondering if I should redo my own basement wall at home, that thing has had a damp spot for years. Anyone else switch over from traditional felt after a job proved them wrong?

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johns1818d ago

Hell yeah, I felt the exact same way about that rubberized stuff. Did a commercial foundation repair two years back where the engineer basically forced me to use it. I was pissed about the cost. But that next spring, we had a record thaw and everything else in the area was weeping water. That one wall stayed dry as a bone. I went back to my own house that weekend and stripped the old felt off my basement wall, put the rubber membrane on, and I haven't had a drop of dampness since. It's a pain to install right, you gotta be patient with the rolling, but it beats digging your foundation up twice. Now I only use felt if the customer flat out refuses the upgrade, and I warn them every time.