Public Storage – Denver, Colorado

A Flexible Waterproofing System for a Moving Concrete Deck

Public Storage in Denver contacted us after experiencing persistent water intrusion through the concrete floor of its second-story storage facility. During the winter months, vehicles brought snow and moisture into the building. As the snow melted, water found its way through cracks in the concrete deck and leaked into the storage units below.

Previous attempts to solve the problem with epoxy coatings and other repair systems had failed. The underlying challenge was movement in the concrete. Rigid coatings could not accommodate that movement, allowing cracks and leak paths to return. The resulting water intrusion made affected lower-level storage units difficult or impossible to rent.

The Dura-Rubber High-Build System

Rather than simply coating over the existing cracks, the project used a multi-layer system designed to create a continuous, flexible waterproof membrane over the concrete deck.

The concrete was first properly prepared and primed to promote adhesion. Existing cracks and problem areas were repaired using Dura-Rubber Patching Compound, creating a sound surface for the waterproofing system.

A Dura-Rubber base coat was then applied, followed by Dura-Rubber High-Build to provide the heavier flexible membrane needed across the deck. Unlike rigid epoxy systems, High-Build is designed to remain flexible, allowing the coating system to better accommodate normal substrate movement while maintaining its waterproof barrier.

The system was completed with a Dura-Rubber color coat for the finished appearance and an acrylic sealer as the final protective layer.

Built for More Than Appearance

This project demonstrates why High-Build is particularly useful where a conventional floor coating isn't enough. The objective wasn't simply to make the concrete look better—it was to create a flexible waterproofing system capable of protecting occupied space below the deck.

For the Denver facility, that meant addressing cracking, concrete movement, winter snowmelt, and recurring water intrusion with one integrated coating system:

Prime → Patch → Base Coat → High-Build Waterproof Membrane → Color Coat → Acrylic Sealer

The result is a seamless protective system designed to keep water on the surface instead of allowing it to migrate through the concrete into the storage units below.