# Need to Waterproof Concrete Retaining Wall



## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

L.Stein said:


> I've got this retaining wall that runs the length of my front yard and when it was initially installed back in dark ages, they didn't ever waterproof the rear side of the wall (the side that abuts the yard), so as you can imagine, moisture is coming through and puckering the paint and the wall looks like poop.
> I'm not all that handy, but I had an idea and wanted to know what the chances of success were.
> My plan is to rent a high powered pressure washer and pressure wash all the old paint off (by the way it's stucco on the vertical side and paint on the horizontal side...take a look at the pictures). I'm assuming I'm gonna have to do quite a bit of scraping also. Once I've got all the old paint off I was gonna then use a waterproof primer to paint the wall, let that dry and then paint it back the original color...with a goal of keeping the moisture at bay for a little longer.
> Sounds simple, but I know it's peppered with problems that I haven't thought about yet.
> ...


I have used the Flexyl product manufactured by STO Corp. it work very well also have used the Xypex water proofing product as relater to Stucco both will require a surface with no loose material on the surface.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Is this a drain? Does water come out of it?


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## L.Stein (Jan 27, 2012)

ClarenceBauer said:


> I have used the Flexyl product manufactured by STO Corp. it work very well also have used the Xypex water proofing product as relater to Stucco both will require a surface with no loose material on the surface.
> View attachment 660091


Thanks I'll check out the Flexyl.


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## L.Stein (Jan 27, 2012)

Nealtw said:


> Is this a drain? Does water come out of it?
> View attachment 660093


That is a drain...and there are a number of them along the bottom of the wall. I don't see much water coming out of them though...actually we don't get much rain out here in SoCal, so let's just go with "no water". I think the majority of moisture is coming through the dirt that is packed behind the wall. The bubbling of the paint on the wall is a very typical problem, which is why my house painter does NOT guarantee any work done on retaining walls.


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## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

L.Stein said:


> That is a drain...and there are a number of them along the bottom of the wall. I don't see much water coming out of them though...actually we don't get much rain out here in SoCal, so let's just go with "no water". I think the majority of moisture is coming through the dirt that is packed behind the wall. The bubbling of the paint on the wall is a very typical problem, which is why my house painter does NOT guarantee any work done on retaining walls.


If you elect to go with the Flexyl product they also make a finish that can be applied over it & you can select any color you would like.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

L.Stein said:


> That is a drain...and there are a number of them along the bottom of the wall. I don't see much water coming out of them though...actually we don't get much rain out here in SoCal, so let's just go with "no water". I think the majority of moisture is coming through the dirt that is packed behind the wall. The bubbling of the paint on the wall is a very typical problem, which is why my house painter does NOT guarantee any work done on retaining walls.


that is why they should put water proofing on the dirt side.


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## L.Stein (Jan 27, 2012)

ClarenceBauer said:


> If you elect to go with the Flexyl product they also make a finish that can be applied over it & you can select any color you would like.


Great, thanks!


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## L.Stein (Jan 27, 2012)

Nealtw said:


> that is why they should put water proofing on the dirt side.


Yes...agree, I don't think the people who installed that wall in the 60's were thinking about the big picture and how it would effect my life in 2021...which seems pretty selfish. I guess the question is, if I coat the exterior of that wall with a waterproof primer, and then paint over it, will it keep the moisture leakage to a minimum?


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

L.Stein said:


> Yes...agree, I don't think the people who installed that wall in the 60's were thinking about the big picture and how it would effect my life in 2021...which seems pretty selfish. I guess the question is, if I coat the exterior of that wall with a waterproof primer, and then paint over it, will it keep the moisture leakage to a minimum?


So allowing it to breath would be better, The people who built it likely never thought it would be painted. 
The Perfect Paint For Masonry | ROMABIO


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## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

No coating/paint will ever keep water from coming out of a concrete wall that is not properly waterproofed and drained from the back side. This will be especially true if this is a secondary attempt at finishing the wall (such as removing the existing paint/stucco and trying a new product).


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

^^ This. You will only be repeating this process in a few years. But maybe you plan to move in a few years, so that's long enough for you.


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## L.Stein (Jan 27, 2012)

Nealtw said:


> So allowing it to breath would be better, The people who built it likely never thought it would be painted.
> The Perfect Paint For Masonry | ROMABIO


Hmmm...so are you saying that applying a waterproof primer will cause me problems with the cement? Just trying to figure out how to keep the paint from puckering from the water that comes through the cement over time.

Thanks.


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## L.Stein (Jan 27, 2012)

L.Stein said:


> Hmmm...so are you saying that applying a waterproof primer will cause me problems with the cement? Just trying to figure out how to keep the paint from puckering from the water that comes through the cement over time.
> 
> Thanks.


Also, when they backfilled the wall the last time they put what sort of looks like a styrofoam board between the wall and the dirt. I think the idea was that it would keep the water from coming through, but as you can see, it's not working. 
Thanks.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

L.Stein said:


> Hmmm...so are you saying that applying a waterproof primer will cause me problems with the cement? Just trying to figure out how to keep the paint from puckering from the water that comes through the cement over time.
> 
> Thanks.


Stopping water from coming thru concrete is done on the side with the water in your case the dirt side. A water proof paint would stop rain water from soaking in the face where it is painted but there is no stopping water from coming thru so you need a paint that will allow moisture to wick thru from the back.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

L.Stein said:


> Also, when they backfilled the wall the last time they put what sort of looks like a styrofoam board between the wall and the dirt. I think the idea was that it would keep the water from coming through, but as you can see, it's not working.
> Thanks.


A couple things they do on the dirt side of a basement foundation wall. 















Do you know what the wall is, concrete or block or?


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

Youtube, mike haduck, easy masonary repairs that are realistic and don't claim to be repair to a bunker standards. Search "why retaining walls fail". One option for you is to cap the top with stone that will not need paint. Regrade so water is easily drained off the slope rather than being stopped by the wall. Scrape off the loose cement, patch and paint. Otherwise, it will be very expensive to "recondition" that wall to longer term finish. #2, power washer will NOT remove the paint unless it is very strong pressure. At those numbers, water will gouge even the concrete surfaces which simple paint will not cover. If must, hand held concrete grinding cups may work.


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## jburchill (Oct 3, 2010)

You do not want to waterproof on the dirt side. If you do that on a retaining wall, what happens all that water collects and has no where to go and can cause the retaining wall to collapse/crack/lean. Basically fail. What should be done. On the dirt side is find a way to remove the water coming in. Usually, the french drain system works well for here. On the dirt side behind the wall should be a layer of pea gravel/small rock with a perforated pipe that will channel the water out. The fill top with topsoil. And there should be some weeping holes or drain holes for the water to get out of the wall too.


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## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

jburchill said:


> You do not want to waterproof on the dirt side. If you do that on a retaining wall, what happens all that water collects and has no where to go and can cause the retaining wall to collapse/crack/lean. Basically fail. What should be done. On the dirt side is find a way to remove the water coming in. Usually, the french drain system works well for here. On the dirt side behind the wall should be a layer of pea gravel/small rock with a perforated pipe that will channel the water out. The fill top with topsoil. And there should be some weeping holes or drain holes for the water to get out of the wall too.


Here is a detail drawing of a retaining wall typ. construction note the water proofing?


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## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

ClarenceBauer said:


> Here is a detail drawing of a retaining wall typ. construction note the water proofing?


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## jburchill (Oct 3, 2010)

Yep I see the waterproofing. I guess that works fine if the water will go down into the drain tile and exit that way. But if its not exiting there will be pressure against the wall.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

jburchill said:


> Yep I see the waterproofing. I guess that works fine if the water will go down into the drain tile and exit that way. But if its not exiting there will be pressure against the wall.


That is the way it is done, the wall in question does have a drain. With age damp proofing or drainage has failed.
With the proximity of the trees and the raised sidewalk, it would not be a surprise to find tree roots in the drain right down to the corner in the 1st photo.


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## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

Nealtw said:


> That is the way it is done, the wall in question does have a drain. With age damp proofing or drainage has failed.
> With the proximity of the trees and the raised sidewalk, it would not be a surprise to find tree roots in the drain right down to the corner in the 1st photo.


Also the grass is level with the wall cap which could allow water to enter behind the water proofing.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

The less invasive way to go about this is to refinish the exposed face with something that will not seal the surface, but allows whatever water weeps through to come to the surface and evaporate (stucco, maybe?). You may have to wash it down every year or so, but that's way better than digging up half the yard to expose the back side of the wall.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

HotRodx10 said:


> The less invasive way to go about this is to refinish the exposed face with something that will not seal the surface, but allows whatever water weeps through to come to the surface and evaporate (stucco, maybe?). You may have to wash it down every year or so, but that's way better than digging up half the yard to expose the back side of the wall.


Can colour be added to the stucco.?


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Do we know if it is concrete or block? I guess if it were block they would be full of concrete?


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

Nealtw said:


> Can colour be added to the stucco.?


It's fairly common for concrete, so I would assume stucco could be colored, also.


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## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

HotRodx10 said:


> It's fairly common for concrete, so I would assume stucco could be colored, also.


Yes Stucco can be colored using the correct pigment.
Also the term Stucco applied over Concrete or CMU would delaminate over time due to the moisture between the cement / block face. It could last for many years but over time it will fail it also depends on the amount of moisture it is subjected to.
As HotRodx10 stated any Stucco that is very porous would last much longer.


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