Solovino?...Salitre?

Looking for the step by step process to dealing with salitre. Some was fixed before we moved in but we have found more. I realize that this should be dealt with by a professional but I would like to understand the steps involved first.
I keep getting told that this is normal/can be fixed/but will come back... which makes me wonder how we got so lucky to live in Mexico full time for fifteen years and have never had to deal with it until now.

What is salitre, if you don't mind?

This link provides the best explanation that I have come across...and it is written by Brad Grieves, a home inspector in Ajijic.
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/478-salitre-a-form-of-masonry-cancer

I have found the source of the water for the salitre repairs that were made to the guest room. The main entrance to the house has a ledge which inclines back to the house and not away from the house. My solution, as a renter, is to caulk the edge where the ledge meets the wall with a wide bead of exterior caulking. Input on this proposed solution would be appreciated.

If you can't change the angle of the ledge by adding on one side or chipping out the other I doubt anything will last for long. If the surface is clean (down to brick better) you might try sealer before the caulk. Water based sellador (sealer) is not expensive, easy to use and absorbs well.

Moisture seeps so make sure it's not ground water

It is hard to say without seeing the conditions but obviously eliminating the source of the moisture (if possible) is the cure. When you say there is a ledge in front of the main entrance, how wide are you talking about and what is the purpose of this ledge?

The ledge is about 18 inches wide and supports the three stairs into the house...there is also a "ledge" on the parking area side supporting the other side of the entrance stairs. There are three plants with saucers under them on the ledge.
I'll try and take some pictures to make it clearer.
Until I get the pictures, is anyone going to tell me the process for removing the salitre in another area of the house...master bedroom on the wall that the shower backs onto. Yeah, I know, the shower walls were put up before the shower floor tiles were put in...DUH! Going to caulk that too.

If I understand correctly the problem is in a shared wall between bathroom and bedroom. Since you won't have a problem on the tiled side of the wall it is showing on the BR side. I would check around the floor drain in the shower. That is a common place for water to leak and cause problems. Also check the grout along the floor next to the shared wall. If that is the problem do not caulk it but use a cement slurry or grout to close off any cracks or open spaces .

Once you remove the source of the moisture the salitre will eventually stop. It can be neutralized if you can get a product such as fin salitre absorbed into the wall. It doesn't penetrate very well through painted surfaces but if the salitre has caused the stucco to deteriorate and crumble then it works in those areas. Do not use a vinyl sealer when repainting. The moisture is trying to escape and this only traps moisture inside the wall like the tiled wall is doing now.

Solovino - I had a conversation with my contractor about 2 weeks ago regarding salitre inside a friends house. I need to get it fixed for him as he's in Canada and only here 10 weeks a year. My excellent contractor with 26 years experience told me there is a new product out made by FESTER. I would suggest on his advice to use that instead of Sin Salitre.

Obviously finding and fixing the source of the problem is better.

What's the new product called John? I followed your advice about Fester products when we did our roof in San Pancho...the contractor who did the work said it was the best product he'd ever worked with...'course you need a good person to apply it properly.
Finding the source of the moisture is like playing detective. I remember my parents' having a bad water problem in the basement and no one could figure it out. I went outside and noticed that an eavestrough was inclined the wrong way...away from the downspout. Over the course of 25 years, that trough overflowing had eaten away the mortar on a chimney and allowed the water to flow down into the basement and under the sub floor. So easily corrected once found but an awful lot of damage was created before that fact.
So, why are windowsills flat here and not slightly inclined away from the house?

ferret quote - "So, why are windowsills flat here and not slightly inclined away from the house?"

Because Mexican builders don't think? When my contractor sees that he tapers the sills away from the house.

I had a salitre problem with a rental house. The courtyard was small and could not hold all the roof run off water so some water would fill up the courtyard until it could drain. I got salitre on the inside of the ledge meant to hold the water back. Went to Jara hardware store - near the Telmex office and they told me the process. They had a product or two, told me how to apply it - took several applications. Then I re-painted the area. I did not have a problem the following year, but then moved so don't know how long it will last.

So I would recommend talking to someone in the hardware store - in this case it was one of the owner's daughters who runs the store.

Thank you Caroline!

So what are the steps to repair the salitre "damage" in the concrete?

So far we have:

- Find and eliminate water source

Then what?

I am assuming:

- Chip out affected concrete
- Apply fin Salitre
- Repair damaged area with pre-mixed concrete
- Use a primer on new concrete
- Repaint

Sound about right?

Are you repairing concrete or masonry walls with cement stucco?

If you have eliminated the source of moisture then make sure you allow whatever moisture is still contained in the wall to completely evaporate before sealing it. One you're sure that has happened then the rest of the post is pretty close to the procedure. But I am assuming the problem is in the wall (crumbling stucco?) so you won't be using concrete but cement mortar. Ask your maestro what proportion of cement/lime/sand they use for stucco. And use an additive such as Niasabond to assure a better bond. Add some to the mortar mix and paint a little on the area being patched.

Yes, I am repairing masonry walls with cement stucco. So I want to be using cement mortar? I didn't really want to ask the maestro as I am finished the major renovations and want to carry on with the smaller stuff on my own. What would you recommend as a cement/lime/sand mix?

BTW....I assume Niasabond is that white bonding liquid?

CanuckBob wrote:Yes, I am repairing masonry walls with cement stucco. So I want to be using cement mortar? I didn't really want to ask the maestro as I am finished the major renovations and want to carry on with the smaller stuff on my own. What would you recommend as a cement/lime/sand mix?

1:2:9 if using arena de rio. 1:2:5.5 with arena amarilla. Substitute Niasabond diluted at a 1:3 ratio of Niasa/water for part of the water in the mix. Go easy on the water. If your sand is wet, use less water. If you find the mix hard to work, increase lime by a little. Have fun.

Perfecto. Will do.

Where I came from, I would have just grabbed a bag of "pre-mix stucco blend" from Home Depot and added water and bonding agent......jajajaja.

CanuckBob wrote:Perfecto. Will do.

Where I came from, I would have just grabbed a bag of "pre-mix stucco blend" from Home Depot and added water and bonding agent......jajajaja.

You can buy a sack of mortero which is a cement/lime mix but I have found we either add cement or lime to it depending on what we need. A little more cement for laying brick and more lime for stucco. For us, it is just easier mixing from scratch.

Wouldn't that need sand too?

I am going to pick up the 3 ingredients (cement/lime/sand) and learn to mix it myself.

When in Rome...........jaja.

If you are stuccoing rather than filling holes we used mortar and marmolina (not sand). #1 gives the finest finish .... up to maybe 3 or 4. Marmolina (marmol) is ground marble

sparks wrote:If you are stuccoing rather than filling holes we used mortar and marmolina (not sand).   #1 gives the finest finish .... up to maybe 3 or 4.  Marmolina (marmol) is ground marble

Marmolina is used for the final coat if you want a texture that is called fina. Prior to that the walls receive 2 coats (scratch coat and leveling coat) with a mix using sand.  Using marmolina for the base coats will add considerably to the cost. Then if you want fina you use a mix made with marmolina. This basically fills the pores left in the prior coat. You can also use finely sifted sand but the cost is pretty much the same as marmolina.

I figured if all he is doing is cleaning up an area with salitre there is hardly any mortar missing. Maybe he went down to brick? And how large of an area is he working with?

sparks wrote:I figured if all he is doing is cleaning up an area with salitre there is hardly any mortar missing.  Maybe he went down to brick?   And how large of an area is he working with?

He'll need to match the texture also so it depends on how coarse or fine an aggregate he needs to use.

While we are at it .... my guys did Marmolina #2 inside because they thought gringos liked 'rustico' ..... me not knowing the difference. I ended up sanding all inside walls as high as I could reach to knock off the grit. #2 is like sand paper if you rub against it just working around the house or in your sleep. It goes away after many coats of paint but this is new house

sparks wrote:While we are at it .... my guys did Marmolina #2 inside because they thought gringos liked 'rustico' ..... me not knowing the difference.   I ended up sanding all inside walls as high as I could reach to knock off the grit.  #2 is like sand paper if you rub against it just working around the house or in your sleep.   It goes away after many coats of paint but this is  new house

I'm sure that looks lovely.