# Considerations when pouring concrete against a stucco wall?



## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

I'd be very concerned if the new wall will have you placing earth up against the stucco. Remember that your stucco is certainly not waterproof and can be permeated by moisture. I would advise against pouring a concrete wall right up against the stucco. I'd leave some space if at all possible. 

That is one heck of a nasty slope you have there and it is a good idea to try to manage any stormwater that flows downhill. In the interest of mitigating the water and making your retaining wall last, I'd suggest backfilling the wall with gravel and using a layer of geo-mesh fabric between the gravel and the backfilled earth. Furthermore, a french drain system to collect the water from the high and low side of the retaining wall and move it around the side of the house would be a very good idea.


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## sealyin (Apr 27, 2009)

I was wondering what your solution was to butting a concrete wall against a stucco wall and how well does it work? I will be having the same situation when I put in a 5 to 6 foot retaining wall that will butt into the side of my house. I am referring to my architect for advice, but in the meantime I thought I would search the web and see who else may have a similar situation and a solution.


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

An exterior retaining wall should not be tied to the house foundation or walls.


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## clint_nichols (Jan 5, 2009)

Hi, I ultimately built a slip form rock wall perpendicular to the house, but I left a .5" gap between the butt end of the wall and the house and filled the gap with sealant. Then I continued the poly that already ran down the side of the house onto the wall and sealed it. Then I put in a french drain along the house and the wall to route the water away from the house and wall and drain it towards the front of the house. Then I terraced the small area behind the wall to manage the slope. We had decent rains this spring and everything drained ok. Overall I'm really happy with the wall but I will post again if I have any problems with it.


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## clint_nichols (Jan 5, 2009)

I have made a lot of progress on the retaining walls, although it still needs some finishing. As this is a DIY chatroom, I wanted to share my experience in building this wall, almost a year later:
1. It was a LOT more work than I anticipated. A lot more. That is probably typical of all DIY jobs, but I allocated three weeks for this project and it ended up taking most of a year. All of the excavation, moving tons of dirt, mixing and pouring tons of cement was really hard work.
2. I put in french drains behind all the walls. The drains may be more work than necessary. You usually don't see them on DIY websites when the walls are short (these walls are 3' plus a 1' footing in the ground.
3. I used the slip form concrete method and am fairly happy with the result. The first wall I did didn't turn out as nice as the others because I was learning. If you have a choice, choose a less-seen wall as the first wall.
4. Because of the height of the slope, I decided to terrace the retaining walls. A tape measure and a little forethought would have prepared me for the extra work.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Walls look great....huge improvement :thumbsup:


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

Most excellent - great job. :thumbsup:


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Spectacular job. :yes:


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

VERY impressive work even for a season'd guy,,, if you would, pls comment on the ' slipform ' comment - vertical OR horizontal ? thanks.


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