Dear Mark: I have been dealing with a firm in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, called Insulmastic (604) 522-2811 - that offers a product called "Aqua-Proof." This is a paint-on sealer that penetrates the concrete and precipitates silica crystals that are supposed to form a barrier against water migrating up from below the slab. It will also seal the concrete surface, thereby inhibiting the usual dust a cement floor continues to give off. I am just in the process of testinggg this product. I know it won't do any harm, and will at least provide a top seal. It looks like approx. $16 Canadian for 4 litres. Derryll ********************************* Derryll White Curator Fort Steele Heritage Town >Fort Steele, British Columbia VOB 1NO > email: [log in to unmask] homepage: http://www.islandnet.com/~bcma/museums/fsht/intro.html My question to the members of the list is: Will concrete floors (the >supposed moisture they absorb) pose a threat to books, works on paper or >even paintings if those items are stored up on the shelves? Are there any >special steps that would need to be taken? Do we need to cover the floors?-- >Again, I want to mention that the space is all on the ground floor, i.e. >above grade, but the concrete is (I assume) laid over the ground. Is the >moisture absorbed from the ground below, or the air above, the concrete >floor? Or have I been altogether misinformed about concrete floors absorbing >moisture? > >Mark > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > >Mark Ast, Ph.D. >Curator >Museum & Library of Barbizon > & Pre-Impressionist Art >The Schlesinger Foundation >email: Mark Ast <[log in to unmask]> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > >