Thorocoat Yes or No?
We had a peeling stucco layer on our back brick wall and some eroded pointing. The price for re-pointing are very high, so we are considering a bid to repair and recoat. The estimate says they are using a product called “Thorocoat.” I’ve read previous threads about the potential dangers of Thoroseal… and an architect…
We had a peeling stucco layer on our back brick wall and some eroded pointing. The price for re-pointing are very high, so we are considering a bid to repair and recoat. The estimate says they are using a product called “Thorocoat.” I’ve read previous threads about the potential dangers of Thoroseal… and an architect friend once explained to me (persuasively) that you should NOT seal brick walls.
Is Thorocoat ok by this measure?
Are there reasons to NOT use?
When we priced repointing it was $20,000+ and this job will be $7,700 including repainting the fire escape.
If I learn it’s a real error to recoat, maybe we’ll consider a loan for repointing.
thanks all previous replies a huge help in our process.
By the way, “Tuckpointing” is a very labor intensive repair method. Typically, this requires expertise in the removal process to eliminate &/or greatly reduce damage to the brick!! How much mortar gets removed? That’s also critical, otherwise, you could have settling or structural failure of the brick wall itself!!
Replacement of the masonry grout is important too. Recognize, the appropriate portioned amount of sand, cement & water play a key role in the durability of the grout joint. Too much or too little can create poor joints which could crack, shrink, dust, etc. All of which defeat the purpose of tuckpointing or repointing the joint. It’s typically not the brick that is causing the problem of water infiltration but rather, the grout joint. Water enters through small, hair line cracks & the amount could be substantial.
With the above in mind, this is very time consuming & tedious work which should be done by highly trained / experienced mechanics knowledgeable in tuckpointing.
As a point of reference, you wouldn’t want a mechanic trained in fluid replacement doing transmission work on your car!!
Below is a great link on the Masonry Advisory Council’s website.
http://www.maconline.org/tech/maintenance/point1/point1.html
I’ve sold Thorocoat for going on 15 yrs. It’s an excellent product. While it passes the wind-driven rain test at 98 mph to prevent “bulk water” from entering a structure, it is also “breatheable” & allows moisture in the form of vapor difussion to escape & “breathe” through the coating. The Perm Rating on Thorocoat is 13.
You can either click or “cut & paste” the following link to take you directly to the Thorocoat Product Data Sheet for your review.
Also, it should be noted, Thorocoat is a 100% acrylic coating designed to be used above grade. Thoroseal is a cementitious waterproof coating designed to be used to provide a waterproofing in below grade applications subject to hydrostatic pressure both on the positive & negative side.
Rob Flynn
Coastal Construction Products, Inc.
http://www.coastal-fla.com
http://www.buildingsystems.basf.com/p02/USWeb-Internet/buildingsystems/en_GB/function/conversions:/publish/content/microsites/buildingsystems/products/items/docs/tct_tdg.pdf
smokey – CHDB not ringing any bells so safe to say they did not do the reno. Are you asking if there was a resolution regarding the mis-matched brick? Answer is no. They told me upfront there would be some collateral damage. Some things you just got to roll with – its the back wall for crying out loud; best remedy is to sit looking at my garden, not staring at the wall…
Depending on the current condition of your back wall, it may or may not be possible to remove the existing stucco. Bring in several masons to give you estimates/opinions. As posters have indicated above, removing the stucco can damage the brickwork so much that it’s not worth doing. Then some kind of breathable cementitious coating is your only option. However thorocoat is not the only product out there so ask what the options are.
Our back wall had a lot of old coating on it and I was pleasantly surprised by how much our mason was able to remove when he repointed. It’s not perfect but it looks infinitely better than before. If memory serves, it was about $8k to clean and repoint (+ epoxy and paint the window frames) our 4-story rear wall about 4-5 years ago. Cecil King of Bed-Stuy did the job. I believe this is his # (718) 455-6458.
thanks FLH my email is sarah_11215 (at) yahoo.com
though we may be SOL on the DIY since the worst spot is near the roof nowhere near the fire escape…
I’m so glad I posted this Q, this has been a very helpful thread. Thanks everyone for thoughts and advice. I love brooklyn busybodies, and am proud to be one.
Sarah
“Also, my DIY bill (minus labor, obvs) came to about $400 for materials. Thorocoat is about $135/5 gal bucket, and two covered the whole back wall nicely.”
how much for the explosives? 😉
wyckoff – Did CHDB do your initial reno? How did you resolve it?
Also, my DIY bill (minus labor, obvs) came to about $400 for materials. Thorocoat is about $135/5 gal bucket, and two covered the whole back wall nicely.
You need to be careful either way about who you hire, and if you do that it probably doesn’t matter.
I had my back wall stripped of stucco during our initial renovation. It took forever, cost a fortune, and half the bricks ended up needing replacement because the fired surface got ripped off in the process of stripping. It’s pretty hard to match old old brick, assuming whomever you hire even tries – many masons won’t even bother to do that — and so visually you won’t be sure what’s coming out the other side of the job.
In contrast, if you choose to re-do the stucco (and hey, that technology goes back to the Romans, and many of those brick/stucco buildings are still standing), and you hire idiots, they won’t properly re-point where needed, and your new coat could peel off after a couple of good winters and you WILL have a bigger problem down the road.
(BTW, unless you throw a lot of foam parties or have an indoor pool, you can ignore Brooklyn Butler’s comments. Pretty much guaranteed that the moisture in your house doesn’t pick the 6 inch thick brick wall as its first way out…..)
I agree with Fred. You can do it either way and your wall is unlikely to explode.