Hi!
I’d really appreciate some help for a problem I’m not able to crack on my own!
We have a front garden wall with paint bubbling. I think it’s a double-brick wall with a cement render, then another cosmetic render applied years later (judging by the rest of the house). It was last painted about 3 years ago, but the bubbling seem to be happening under the render layer (i.e. above the ?cement), so I don’t know if the paint has anything to do with it.
I first noticed it about about a year ago, and I’ve finally been forced into doing something because the rendering and paint has stated to break off in some of the bubbles. It only happens in the rain and is worse on the lower section of the wall and the South side. I assumed the problem was water ingress from the top of the wall (as it’s not happening in the main house, and the top was visibly damaged with cracks and little grass seeds taking root there). I’ve waterproofed a ~3 metre section of the top, and am sure it’s effective because I also put plastic over it (to let the membrane cure). Nevertheless, in yesterday’s heavy rain the bubbling recurred.
I can’t figure out where the water is getting in. The worst sections seem too far from the non-waterproofed top section. To me it seems too high to be ground water. Could it be getting in through the paint itself? I’ve not found anything that says this can happen, but there are some sections of damaged paint (tiny holes visible). Photos below.
Any help or ideas is appreciated!!
Thanks!
South side of wall, showing some bubbles (and waterproofed top):
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More bubbles on South side:
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A particularly bad set of bubbles on the Northern side, with broken render. You can also see the higher section of the wall up the hill, which has some (but far fewer) bubbles.
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Some of the few examples of bubbles on the upper part of the wall.
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Examples of some of the tiny holes I refer to. They're hard to photograph (thank goodness for the iPhone macro feature though!).
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Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair  02 Jan 2024 3 New Poster Re: Bubbling paint on freestanding wall, despite waterproofi 3Jan 04, 2024 8:03 am  Pedro4137Moisture in wall, probably puddling on top and running down wall thru mortar and render, behind paint Paint forms a film on wall, traps moisture in and the get blisters That’s what I thought, but I’ve waterproofed the top and it’s still occurring even with plastic over the top as well, as shown in the photos. So I don’t know how the water is getting in — that’s the question. 02 Jan 2024 3 New Poster Thanks for the detailed comments chippy, I'll use this as a guide. 3 12782 just talk to them, tell them it is unsightly and ask them for a solution. Any reasonable person would render it for you or do something similar. If they give you trouble… 4 26740 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair to do it properly you need to dig out the garden and waterproof the outside of the wall. There are some products you can put on the face of the bricks but the water is… 2 18448 |
