Leaking Concrete Block Wall

dubturner

Hi
I have a shed and the back wall was the original garden boundary wall. Its made of 9" solid blocks un-plastered on either side but painted on the inside.
The problem is that it is leaking. It seem to be leaking through the joints and dripping down, resulting in discoloration of the paint, wet on the floor at the bottom of the wall and a smell of damp in the air.
I have no access to the outside of the wall - its in a neighbors garden.
Any advice on solving the problem would be much appreciated.

Tails142

dubturner wrote: »

Hi
I have a shed and the back wall was the original garden boundary wall. Its made of 9" solid blocks un-plastered on either side but painted on the inside.
The problem is that it is leaking. It seem to be leaking through the joints and dripping down, resulting in discoloration of the paint, wet on the floor at the bottom of the wall and a smell of damp in the air.
I have no access to the outside of the wall - its in a neighbors garden.
Any advice on solving the problem would be much appreciated.

You need to add a cavity and another leaf to the wall, also I'm sure your neighbour is delighted you're using the boundary wall for your shed

moonshadow

Cheapest option is to ask your neighbours permission to coat the wall with thompsons clear water seal or something similar.

dubturner

Thanks to you both for the responses.
Unfortunately neither is really an option - another leal will reduce the size of the dhed too much and access to the outside of the wall is no available
Thanks again
dubturner

iverjohnston

Is there a gutter above the leaking wall? Would it simply be blocked?

dubturner

Thanks for the suggestion but theres no gutter - its at the higher part of a flat roof.

The Concrete Doctor

A couple of things to look at. Is the top of the wall exposed? If so that is a problem. The most like reason for the water ingress is that block walls are like sponges, they soak up water. Treating with an invisible water repellant won't work. You can (a) treat the problem from the outside, by applying a waterproof coating or (b) remove the paint on the inside and treat it on a dry day.

dubturner

Thanks for the reply. When you say remove the paint on the inside and treat it on a dry day - what type of treatment would do the job for the inside of the wall as I have no access to the outside of it.

The Concrete Doctor

dubturner wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. When you say remove the paint on the inside and treat it on a dry day - what type of treatment would do the job for the inside of the wall as I have no access to the outside of it.

You need to remove the paint because if you try to stick a render or a slurry to paint, the treatment will be compromised and will probably come off. You can put a waterproof render on it, containing maybe an SBR , or else a good quality waterproof slurry. The earlier suggestion about putting another leaf inside with a cavity may work too, but that will take up a lot of space.

dubturner

Hi Concrete Doctor,
It sounds like I might be getting somewhere on this. The additional leaf on the inside would indeed take up too much space. I'd be OK with stripping the paint off and coating the inside then with a waterproof render or a waterproof slurry..
Do you know what product I should use then for this?
Many thanks
Dubturner

The Concrete Doctor

contact Parex UK. Look up "Eproseal". Get their webpage on line