Moisture in concrete steps

[adamunited]

Hi all a customers of mine has some external concrete steps which he wants tiling as soon as possible. I went down to have a look last week and the moisture content was very high so i told him it could not be done yet. He now wants me to look into possible ways of tiling asap and so i am looking for a bit of advice really. I thought about some kind of liquid epoxy membrane and was wondering if this would do the job or is there any other way? Any advice appreciated many thanks Adam.

 

[DHTiling]

Hi Adam.. Are these newly laid steps..?

 

[adamunited]

thanks for replying dave. they were newly laid about 2 months ago but the moisture level was still very high whether this has anything to do with the terrible weather we have had i dont know as they are not covered.

 

[DHTiling]

Ok.. They will be cured but as you say lots of rain and those steps will be holding water..

It has got to be really sunny this week, so ideal to get them dry and tiled.. but depemds on how thick they are ...

You could use a green screed type adhesive , how large are they.. just trying to figure what mass of area you have.?

 

[adamunited]

cheers dave. there are 5 steps 1 metre wide then a bigger platform 1600 x 1200 then another larger platform 1500 x 2000 approx. Is the green screed adhesive expensive and where would i get it?

 

[DHTiling]

It is expensive.. my concerns on the larger bays is curling and cracks with it being new.. small areas would be fine IMO ...


On the larger sections you could use anti crack matting.. but hard to give info without actually seeing what you do..

 

[adamunited]

thanks for your help dave the larger areas weren't too bad actually it was the steps that seem to be holding the water so ill give it this week with the good weather predicted and then if needs be i will use the green screed adhesive. ive been looking it up and it seems to be about £30 for a 15kg bag. Thanks again dave your advice is very much appreciated.

 

[DHTiling]

I think the hot weather predicted will help a lot...

You can get it cheaper than that... Look at Mapei Ultra flex mono S2... on special at CTD..