NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REPORT

WATER PERMEABILITY TESTS OP THREE TRANSPARENT

WATERPROOFING MATERIALS APPLIED TO CONCRETE MASONRY WALLS

by

James 0. Bryson

Report to

Department of the Air Force
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NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REPORT

NBS PROJECT NBS REPORT

1000-30-4801 July 29, 1957 5414

WATER PERMEABILITY TESTS OP THREE TRANSPARENT

WATERPROOFING MATERIALS APPLIED TO CONCRETE MASONRY WALLS

by

James 0. Bryson

To

Department of the Air Force

IMPORTANT NOTICE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF ST/

intended for use within the ( to additional evaluation and r( listing of this Report, either i the Office of the Director, Nat however, by the Government ; to reproduce additional copie:

Approved for public release by the

Director of the National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST)

on October 9, 2015.

rogress accounting documents

mally published it is subjected

leproduction, oi' open-literature

ion is obtained in writing from Such permission is not needed,

arepaied if that agency wishes

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

WATER PERMEABILITY TESTS OF THREE TRANSPARENT

WATERPROOFING MATERIALS APPLIED TO CONCRETE MASONRY WALLS

by

James 0. Bryson

Abstract

Three transparent waterproofing materials were tested for water permeability as coatings applied to concrete

masonry walls. These materials were

Shure-Ceel No. 5» Porr-Kloz, and S. K.

Laboratories Acrylates. The three concrete masonry walls tested prior to application of the coatings were rated as

"Very Poor". They were retested after

application of coatings and were given

a rating of "Very Poor" based on the

following criteria: time to failure as

indicated by appearance of first damp

spot, first visible water and maximum

rate of leakage during the first 24 hr

of test.

1. INTRODUCTION

At the request of the U. S. Air Force, three samples of

transparent waterproofing materials were tested to determine

their effectiveness when applied to permeable masonry walls

in resisting the penetration of wind-driven rain.

The transparent waterproofing materials tested were ShureCeel No. manufactured by Erlen Chemical Company, Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania, Porr-Kloz, manufactured by Malntcorr, Inc., Wash.,

D. C. , and S. K. Invisible Clear Primer and Invisible Top Coat,

manufactured by S. K. Laboratories, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland.

The three samples were donated for testing by the respective

manuf a c ture r s

The samples were tested by applying them to the faces of

test walls of known permeability. After the coatings were
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2 . applied the permeability of each test wall was again measured

The performances of the walls before and after treatment were

compared to measure the ability of the coatings to resist the

penetration of wind-driven rain. Each sample was applied to

a wall in accordance with the procedure recommended by the

manufacturer.

The testing procedure and the performance ratings are

described in Building Materials and Structures Report BMS95.

2. TRANSPARENT WATERPROOFING COATINGS

A sample of each waterproofing material was subjected to

a laboratory examination to determine its density, non-volatile

content and vapor permeance.

The density was determined by weighing a known volume of

the material at a temperature of 84'' - l^’F. The non-volatile

contents were determined by drying the material to a constant

weight at 108*^0. The vapor permeance determinations were made

at 73°^ and 40 percent R.H. and in accordance with ASTM Specification C 354- 44T 5 desiccant method.

2.1

Shure-Ceel No. 5

A one gallon can of Shure-Ceel No. 5 was received for testing. The laboratory examination showed that the material had a density of 6.7 Ib/gal, a non-volatile content of 22.41 percent

and a vapor permeance of O. 3 I perms.

2.2

Porr-Kloz

A one gallon can of Porr-Kloz was received for testing.

The laboratory examination showed that the material had a density of 6.4 Ib/gal, a non-volatile content of 14.94 percent and

a vapor permeance of 0.09 perms.

2.3

B. K. Primer and S. K. Top Coat

A one gallon can of S. K. Primer and a one gallon can of

S. K. Top Coat materials were received for testing. The laboratory examination showed that the S. K. Primer, and S. K. Top

Coat had densities of 8.8 Ib/gal and 7.4 lt>/gal, and non-volatile

contents of 44*57 percent and 23.69 percent, respectively. The

vapor permeance of both the primer and the top coat coating was

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3. MASONRY WALL SPECIMENS

Three concrete masonry test walls were constructed to test

the waterproofing materials. The concrete masonry units used

in constructing these walls were nominal 8- by 8- by l6-ln.

units and were supplied by the McGuire Air Force Base.

The test walls were approximately 8-ln. thick, long

and 50-in. high. They were constructed by an experienced mason

and were similar to the concrete masonry test walls described

in Report BMS95 j "Test of Cement-Water Paints and Other Waterproofings for Unit-Masonry Walls." The mortar contained 1:3

parts by volume of type II masonry cement and masonry sand.

3.1 Application of the Coatings

The waterproofing materials were applied to the walls in

accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations. The faces

of the walls were clean and dry before the materials were applied. Wool rollers 7-in. wide were used in spreading the

materials over the wall faces. Each coat was allowed to dry

for 21; hr before applying the next coat.

The Shure-Ceel No. 5 material was applied to wall CW-1 in

two coats. The first coat was applied at a rate of approximately 86 sq ft/gal and the second coat at a rate of approximately 134 sq ft/gal. The Porr-Kloz material was applied to

wall CW-2 in three coats. The rates of applications for the

first, second and third coats were approximately I 6 O sq ft/gal,

260 sq ft/gal, and 26l sq ft/gal, respectively. The S. K.

Primer material was applied to wall CW-3 as a first coat and

the S. K. Top Coat material was applied as the second coat. The

rates of application for the two coats were approximately 14?

sq ft/gal for the first coat and 1?6 sq ft/gal for the second

coat. The treated walls were stored indoors in a well ventilated

room for a minimum of six days before they were tested for permeability.

4 . WATER PERMEABILITY TESTS

The test exposures were as described in Report BMS95 and

simulated an exposure to a heavy rain driven by a ^0 mph wind.

The walls were tested before and after they were treated with

the waterproofing materials.
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4.1 Test Apparatus and Use

The exposed face of the test wall formed one side of a pressure chamber. Water at the rate of [[.O gal/hr was applied

to the top of the exposed wall face from a tube containing a line of small perforations spaced 1 in. apart. The air pressure on the exposed wall face was maintained at 10 Ib/ft^

above atmospheric pressure, which is equivalent to a hydrostatic head of 2 in. The tests were continued for a minimum

of one day.

4.2 Ratings of Wall and Coating Permeability

The water permeability test ratings are listed below and

are similar to those described in Report BMS95.

Excellent (E).--No water visible on back of the

wall (above the flashings) at the end of 1 day. Not

more than 25 percent of the wall area damp at the end

of 3 days. No leaks!/ through the wall in 3 days.

Good (G).--No water visible on the back of the

wall at the end of 1 day. Less than 50 percent of

the wall area damp at the end of 1 day. No leaks

through the wall at the end of 1 day.

Pair (P).--No water visible on back of the wall

during first 3 hours, but visible at end of 1 day.

The rate of leakage through the wall less than 1

liter/hr at the end of 1 day.

Poor (P). --Water visible on back of the wall in

3 hr or less and at the end of 1 day. Rate of leakage

less than 5 llters/hr at the end of 1 day.

Very Poor (VP). --Rate of leakage through the wall

equal to or greater than 5 llters/hr at the end of 1

day.

']J Leaks are defined as follows: A leak is a flow of water

from one or both flashings, the total rate of flow being

equal to or greater than 0.05 llter/hr.
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5. RESULTS

The test data and ratings for the three walls, both before and after they were treated with the waterproofing materials, are given in Table 1. The three test walls, untreated,

received ratings of Very Poor and performed similarly under

test except that wall CW-2 had a lower maximum rate of leakage

than both wall CW-1 and wall CW-3* However, the ’’time to

failure” for all three walls, as indicated by dampness on

back, visible water on back and flashing leak, was about 2 min.

The treatment of Shure-Ceel No. S on wall CW-1 made the

wall highly repellent at the start of the test and the water

ran down the exposed face in separate streams. However, dampness appeared on the back of the wall in about 33 rnln and visible water was observed shortly thereafter. The maximum rate

of leakage for this wall after treatment was 26.2 llters/hr.

The Shure-Ceel No. 5 coating was rated Very Poor.

The Porr-Kloz treatment on wall CW-2 allowed the wall to

become damp in 3 niin after the start of the test with visible

water appearing in 9 min. The maximum rate of leakage for this

wall after treatment was 7.2 llters/hr. The Porr-Kloz coating

was rated Very Poor.

The treatment of S. K. Primer and S. K. Top Coat on wall

CW-3 caused the water to run down the face of the wall in

separate streams at the start of the test; however, a rapid

break down of this repellency was observed and the back of the

wall became damp with visible water in 8 min. The maximum rate

of leakage for this wall after treatment was 15.3 liters/hr.

The combined coating of S. K. Primer and Top Coat was rated

Very Poor.

All three waterproofing materials failed to prevent the

leakage of water through the walls, although in each case the

treatment reduced the maximum rate of leakage. All test walls

were rated Very Poor before and after they were coated.
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1.

Water

Permeability

Test

Data. 6 P p p p

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X! -P cti -P ft 1—

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k- t- 1 cm ft lA o cm

O 0 >s P p O O O vp o ft p ^ OT ^ p • • • • to p CCS bO CCS O ( 1 o o o o

rH T3 rH P 0

•H 0 P *H rH a -P ^ W' W' ^ 4.' to- to- to- to- W> to. to- to- Ch OJ 0 P cm I>- cm LA cm cm O rH CD p o 1A o 1—

o t—

O »H ^ P CCS p • • • • • to -P np •H 0 rQ o O o O o o b W +C) 0 *H •iH CCS P B > |3 O

•H ra ^ ^ to- to- to- to-' to- EH as P. P cm LA cm LA cm cm e c p o LA o O o 1—1

CCSO CCS

p • • • • • to P o O oto- O o O 1

CCS

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p P o m p 1—1 1 i 1—

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ccS -p P o p P Ap

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NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

A. V. Astiii, Director THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

The 8Cope of activities of the Nationat Bureau of Standards at its headquarters in Washington,

D. C., and its major field laboratories in Boulder, Colorado, is suggested in the following listing of

the divisions and sections engaged in technical work. In general, each section carries out spe- cialized research, development, and engineering in the field indicated by its title. A brief

description of the activities, and of the resultant reports an«l publications, appears on the

mside front cover of this report.

W ASHINGTON, D. C.

Electricity and F^leclronics. Resistance and Reactance. Electron Tubes. Electrical Instruments. Magnetic Measurements. Dieleetrics. Engineering Electronics. Electronic InstrumentationElectrochemistry.

Optics and Metrology. Photometry and Colorimetry. Optical Instruments. Photographic

Technology. Length. Engineering Metrology.

Heat and Power. Temperature Physics. Thermodynamics. Cryogenic IMiysics. Rheology

and Lubrication. Engine Fuels.

Atomic and Radiation Physics. Spectroscopy. Hadiometry. Mass Spectrometry. Solid State Physics. Electron Physics. Atomic Physics. Nuclear Physics. Radioactivity. X-rays. Betatron. Nucleonic Instrumentation. Radiological Equipinent. AEC Radiation Instruments. Chemistry. Organic Coatings. Surface Chemistry. Organic Chemistry. Analytical Chemistry.

Inorganic (Tieinistry. Elect rodeposition. Gas ('hcmistry. Physical Chemistry. Thermochemistry. Spectrochemistry. Pure Substances.

Mechanics. Sound. Mechanical Instruments. Fluid Mechanics. Engineering Mechanics.

Mass and Scale. Capacity. Density, and Fluid Meters. Combustion Controls.

Organic and Fibrous Materials. Rubber. Textiles. Paper. Leather. Testing and Specifications. Polymer Structure Organic Plastics. Dental Research.

Metallurgy. Thermal Metallurgy. (.Chemical Metallurgy. Mechanical Metallurgy. Corrosion.

Metal Physics

Mineral Products. Engineering Ceramics. Glass. Refractories. Enameled Metals. Concreting

Materials. Constitution and Microstructure

Building Technology, htructural Engineering. Fire Protection. Heating and Air Condi

tioning. Floor, Roof, and Wall Coverings, Codes and Specifications.

Applied Mathematics. Numerical Analysis. Computation. Statistical Engineering. Mathematical Physics.

Data Processing Systems. SEAC Engineering Group. Components and Techniques. Digital

Circuitr), Digital Systems Analogue Systems. Application Engineering. • Office of Basic Instrumentation • Office of Weights and Measure.-

BOULDER, COLORADO

Cryogenic Engineering. Oyogenic Equipment. Cryogenic Processes. Properties of Maleiial."

Gas Liquefaction.

Radio Propagation Physic.s. Upper Atmosphere Research, lonosphem Research. Regular

Propagation Services Sun-Earth Rt lalioMt-hips.

Radio Propagation Engineering, Data Reduction Instrumentulioii. Modulation Systems.

Nfiwigation Systems Radio Noise I’ropospherie Measurements. '1 ropospherir Analysis. Radio

SysJ' nis Appliealion Engineering.

Radio Standards. Radio Freqiieneies Microwave Frequencies. High Frequency Fleet riea

Siiudards. Radio Broadcast Service High Frequency Impedance Staiulards. (.alihration

renter Micn>Have Physios. Microwave C.ircuil Standards.