Cover for Concrete Walls

[ron9876]

I have a concrete shearwall with one wall on the exterior of the building. The wall will be coated with stucco and paint. Is this considered exposd to weather per ACI 318 Section 7.7.1?

 

[JAE]

I wouldn't think so. As long as the exterior finish is maintained you could consider it as NOT exposed to weather.

ACI commentary - for section 7.7, says, "The condition 'concrete surfaces exposed to earth or weather' refers to direct exposure to moisture changes and not just to temperature changes."

 

[civilperson]

Yes. Stucco is not water proof and neither are most paints. Moisture will flow through the concrete toward the cold side.

 

[youngstructural]

I do not know the ACI code all that well, however I would think that you will need to consider it as an exposed condition. If anything paint can make deterioration occur faster, rather than protect the wall. I often use ACI reports in my work, even though I do not use the ACI code, and I believe two of the reports touch on these issues. See Concrete Durability and Inspection of Concrete in Service reports from ACI; I believe they are R204 and R530 (pretty sure those are the right numbers-Sorry I can't be certain as I'm at home, not the office).

Hope that helps,

YS

B.Eng (Carleton)
Working in New Zealand, thinking of my snow covered home...

 

[NS4U]

I don't think so... mainly because depending on what the owners do with the building the stucco and/or paint could be removed in the future... thus making the wall exposed to weather

 

[unclesyd]

Have you thought about using a standard type concrete coating or stain?

http://increte.doublematrix.com/default.aspx