# waterproofing metal pan concrete deck



## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

" I was sold an acrylic concrete modifier that is supposed to increase the strength of the concrete."


That's what modifiers do, is there some reason that you think the deck is not strong enough,pan decks as a rule are extremely strong,and carry quite a load.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

your best bet is a polymer-modified cementitious overlay after properly prepping the existing conc,,, we just finish'd 180 decks like this but none will be wtrproof as conc doesn't bond to steel nor should that be expected,,, that's a job for a proper joint sealant installed in the correct depth:width ratio,,, we sealed the decks w/ ' CSS ', a 100% solids acrylic-modified methylacrylate conc sealer we cut w/zylene so its workable & can be applied w/18" ( or 9" ) roller,,, acrylic modifiers are for h/o's & masons to buy & apron/vest stores to sell,,, no decorative conc artisan needs 'em OR would use 'em :no:


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## fatboyelroy (Mar 5, 2011)

I wasn't clear in my earlier post, I am not overly concerned with the strength in terms of being able to carry a load. My concern is the decorative concrete overlay cracking and delaminating. I was told the modifier would alleviate this as well as make the concrete waterproof/ resistant.



Canarywood1 said:


> " I was sold an acrylic concrete modifier that is supposed to increase the strength of the concrete."
> 
> 
> That's what modifiers do, is there some reason that you think the deck is not strong enough,pan decks as a rule are extremely strong,and carry quite a load.


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## fatboyelroy (Mar 5, 2011)

Is it common practice to apply an elastomeric over a cementious overlay to achieve some type of protection against water?



itsreallyconc said:


> your best bet is a polymer-modified cementitious overlay after properly prepping the existing conc,,, we just finish'd 180 decks like this but none will be wtrproof as conc doesn't bond to steel nor should that be expected,,, that's a job for a proper joint sealant installed in the correct depth:width ratio,,, we sealed the decks w/ ' CSS ', a 100% solids acrylic-modified methylacrylate conc sealer we cut w/zylene so its workable & can be applied w/18" ( or 9" ) roller,,, acrylic modifiers are for h/o's & masons to buy & apron/vest stores to sell,,, no decorative conc artisan needs 'em OR would use 'em :no:


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

I've used this system when I've had metal pan/concrete decks with living space underneath. So far no issues ......

http://www.schluter.com/7_2_troba_plus.aspx


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## fatboyelroy (Mar 5, 2011)

In the sense that I don't have the access to all of the products I did while living in the states I am a little jealous.  I wish I had option to use something like this. But here in Costa Rica things like that are far and few in between or extremely cost prohibitive. 



GBrackins said:


> I've used this system when I've had metal pan/concrete decks with living space underneath. So far no issues ......
> 
> http://www.schluter.com/7_2_troba_plus.aspx


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## GBrackins (Apr 26, 2012)

where I"m located we have a freezing environment, in fact we are in the middle of a blizzard (50-70 mph winds & about 24"-36" snow). We have to be concerned about water freezing should it become trapped beneath the finish floor.

Check on their site and see the supplier for your area, the company is headquartered in Germany I believe.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

any wtr trapped 'tween the conc deck & pan naturally will freeze & we face the same problem here in atl albeit not as severe nor as long,,, however, once wtr freezes, further lower temps do not cause it to freeze more or expand larger,,, that's why proper sealants are necessary - to prevent wtr intrusion.

delamination isn't an issue provided the installer properly bonds the o'lay mtl to the conc's surface.

i'll check eliteCrete & see how close the nearest distributor is to you - think we have 1 in honduras,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, or somewhere in the carib

h/d sells schluter far's i know so ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well, most of you know what i think of apron/vest stores


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## fatboyelroy (Mar 5, 2011)

Elitecrete was actually one of the options we were considering. We ended up going with Kemiko. The name of the modifier they sold me was AcriBond. FYI I will be the installer. My understanding from Kemiko and the instructions on the product is that the AcriBond is the bonding agent as well as the modifier for the overlay. 

naturally will freeze & we face the same problem here in atl albeit not as severe nor as long,,, however, once wtr freezes, further lower temps do not cause it to freeze more or expand larger,,, that's why proper sealants are necessary - to prevent wtr intrusion.

delamination isn't an issue provided the installer properly bonds the o'lay mtl to the conc's surface.

i'll check eliteCrete & see how close the nearest distributor is to you - think we have 1 in honduras,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, or somewhere in the carib

h/d sells schluter far's i know so ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well, most of you know what i think of apron/vest stores[/QUOTE]


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

kemiko does make acid stains but, as far as i know, nothing else,,, some pro's use kemiko but a small minority,,, k's market was largely h/o's, diy-er's, & general contractor wanna-be dec conc artisans who thought they could save $ by doing it themselves :laughing:

in my experience, most sellers/distributors are ill-informed about actually using their products other than what they received in classrooms & reading pamphlets/viewing cd's,,, they have little or no dirty hands/worn knees experience so, when the user has trouble, they can't help other than recommending the cd again,,, good luck nevertheless !


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