Sealing a block wall on one side

irishbuzz

I built a wall recently around the boundary of my property. The wall is LARGE (60m) and tall (1.7m) so in order to save on costs, I only rendered my side of the wall and I intend on painting it over the summer.

On the far side of the wall is a farm so aesthetics are not too important and it is fine to remain as exposed blockwork.

My main concern is that when it rains against the wall the water will seep through the far side and eventually start knocking my paint off the wall. To avoid this I would like to seal the far side but in a cost-effective manner. I'll never get it completely sealed but something to prevent most of the ingress while remaining breathable.

I was looking at Thompson's Water Seal but read reports of it not being near as effective since it switched from solvent-based to water-based. Does anyone have recent experience with this product? Is there anything else you would recommend?

All suggestions welcome. Thank you.

irishbuzz

Is anyone able to provide any advice on this?

Fine Cheers

A waterproof PVA might be cost effective ?

irishbuzz

Would PVA leave the wall a bit tacky?

con747

Did you look into whitewashing/lime washing it? Should be cheap enough.

policarp

Grow a hedge.
In a few years it will protect your wall and give you more shelter.

Fine Cheers

irishbuzz wrote: »

Would PVA leave the wall a bit tacky?

Not if diluted as per instructions.

Lumen

Is the wall capped?

irishbuzz

Apologies for the delay in replying

Lumen wrote: »

Is the wall capped?

Good question. I actually avoided including that information in the OP as it's a little complicated. The wall is in two parts.

The part of the wall along the front garden has coping on it and piers that will eventually clad in stone (on my side) and also capped with stone.

The part of the wall along the side and back of the house has no capping. It has piers hidden on the far side. The face of the wall is rendered and I have had the top of the wall rendered too with a slope off the back. The main reason there is no coping here is that I intend to install timber screening directly above the wall.

I'm afraid hedging is not an option as essentially a lane that runs along the far side of the wall.

Here's a picture that may or may not provide some idea of what I'm working with.



I will look into the PVA and whitewash suggestions. Thanks for providing them.

I have already mentioned Thompson's Water Seal but I also wonder would a good lash of stabilizing solution and then eventually a coat of Sandex might be sufficient.

Lumen

OK, well in my inexpert opinion you don't need to do anything to the face of the wall if the top is protected from water ingress.

Any penetrating water on the exposed face will just evaporate back out again.

sniperman

i sealed a brick wall about 4 years ago useing oil based clear varnish and thinned it with white spirits until it was like water,i put it on with brush and roller, picked up a 5 ltr can of varnish in a car boot sale cheap,leaves a bit of a shine,but seems to have done the job so far,rain just runs off it

irishbuzz

Thanks again for the replies. It's good to know at least that I'm possibly just overthinking this. One last thing I should disclose is that the first 2 sections of the wall on the farm side are actually rendered (in keeping with the local planning requirements). This picture shows when rain is coming from the east it comes through along the mortar lines where the wall is not coated.



My original fear is that this might be enough to push some of the paint off. So perhaps it's overkill but I think I'll take some action even if it only gives me a little peace of mind.

If I get a chance over the coming weeks I might do a couple of tests as per suggestions and see how it holds up to the hose afterwards. I will let you know how it goes.