Zinsser Watertite - anyone used and recommend?

[dpm_dpmartin]

I'm thinking of buying 10 litres of this to paint the walls of a cellar that are kinda damp. Not streaming with water, but certainly not bone dry. It has bold claims and it'd be over £100 to purchase this, so I just wanted to ask the folk on here for opinions.

I was going to place a dehumidifier in there for a few days then slap the paint on the walls... just over all the other stuff already on there (something white, but obviously not waterproof... any more, at least)... good plan?

 

[Chri5]

If it blocks the water, you might well get rising damp since the water will still be behind the paint film and it wont have anywhere to go.

 

[DavidSWP]

You need to identify what is causing the damp walls. It could be entirely condensation, penetrating or rising damp or a mixture of all of them. If its cold down there it might all just be condensation due to relative humidity and the dew point in which case waterproofing the walls will make no difference and you would need to insulate it, heat it or increase air circulation and ventilation or a mixture of all 3. If you stick a heater in there for a day or 2 and keep the room temperature above about 16c does the problem go away?

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Thanks, but... can I ask why I need to do this? Isn't it slightly damp because it's underground and it rains a lot? I'm happy that the cellar isn't a habitable room, I really just want to tart it up a bit... I've painted the floor with garage floor paint and that looks good, now I just want the walls to look neater and feel more dry. That's what this paint is designed for, I feel. Am I wrong or incorrectly believing the hype?

I have faith in Zinsser products, but this is a serious outlay for some white paint. It is cold down there, but it's a cellar... I mean, I don't know what I expect, I just hoped I could put some magic paint on and it'd feel less wet???

 

[DavidSWP]

If its cold down there with little air circulation you are going to get condensation. That may be all you have already.

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

I have bought some of this Zinsser Watertite, almost £60, to give it a go anyway. The paint down there needs freshening-up and the premium to pay for this made me think it was worth a go to see how it works. I'll do one wall and assess. I do like Zinsser products in the main.