Resurrection of a CFEI 100 KVA Induction Furnace

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awemawson:
Yes Matthew I'm utterly fed up with the whole business :(

Very difficult to take decent pictures of the issue but these give you an idea of the extent of the wetness.

This equipment should have been in use MONTHS ago - everything works but I daren't use it in full flow pouring metal when things are as damp as they are.

I do occasionally run up the generator and switch on the induction furnace driver and get something glowing to try and keep the internals from getting too damp but that's a different ball game from pouring metal.

Pete.:
I'm afraid that I would be forced to just 'put up with' that given that the damp is in the slab not on it. The benefits don't out-weigh the effort involved IMO. The weather is seldom as wet as it is right now, it might just be that the ground is so sodden that no soakaway is going to work. That's bound to bring the damp up through.

Muzzerboy:
Well, a land drain trench around the slab might at least lower the water table under the slab. That way at least you wouldn't have water wicking up from below when it rains.

I have reinforcement and DPC under my slab but I have a different issue. The cowboys who laid it either levelled it off too much or did it when it was pissing down. Consequently there was standing water on the surface when it was trying to set, so the surface has no strength and has a cratered surface. Really not what I was planning and made the surface paint laughably pointless. I was in China at the time otherwise I might have twigged WTF they were up to.

Murray

hermetic:
It could be condensation dripping off the underside of the sheets and then soaking in to the floor, maybe best to go in there when the temperature drops at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and check for moisture on the underside of the sheets. You would have to cut the concrete at the edge of the walls to put a membrane in, but what a pain! Could you dig (though it is hardly the weather for it) an exploratory tunnel under the concrete to see if there is a membrane. I think that it is very unlikly that the water has come up through the concrete overnight, when it was previously dry, but I do not know your local conditions as to water table height, and also how well the concrete was tamped. Still, I think if it was coming up through the concrete, your yard would be virtually under water! Have a good Christmas, it will soon be time to put all this behind you, fill your glass, and put your feet up! All the best Andrew, hope you get it sorted, as I may have a little commision for you!
Phil

vtsteam:
Portland cement neat is waterproof. I have a 3000 gallon above ground cistern that does not leak weep, or get damp. the inside and outside are painted with a heavy coat of pure Portland mixed with a small amount of sharp sand to increase coating thickness and give tooth to any needed subsequent coats.

If it was me, I'd paint the floor with a heavy coat of pure Portland and a little sand, then while wet, put down reinforcing steel mesh and add another 4" of very rich concrete over. I'd skip membranes, as yes, you'll get no bond at all , and it's just wasted plastic technology BS. You'll just have a layer of water between. Raising the floor 4" will help with drainage, too.

4" minimum over and yes, reinforcing, so nothing moves or cracks ever again. When semi cured, I'd hit the top surface with one more coat of Portland and sand. This whole will be waterproof.

Drainage won't stop a permeable pad with water under. You want impermeable, and made out of like materials. Forget plastic miracles. Sure, improve drainage, but a spongy concrete slab is just that, a sponge.

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