Case study of performance evaluation of watertight of mortars and water repellents - Part I

ABSTRACT One of the agents that trigger pathological manifestations in buildings is the entrance of fluids and salts into facades degraded by the absence of maintenance throughout their useful life. The present study evaluates the watertight performance of eight mortar coatings, two of which are dosed in construction and seven in-dustrial-ized, and four film-forming water repellent coatings used for the recovery of humidity degraded fa-cades. In situ tests were carried out on a facade degraded by humidity in the city of Santa Maria/RS, perme-ability to liquid water, empirical absorption and evaporation of water, infrared thermography, and tensile adhesion strength. It was concluded that water repellent coatings presented greater efficiency of watertight compared to mortar coatings, when used for the recovery of humidity degraded facades.