Damp Wall

[stuartmcc]

Hi

My house is built on split level. The back wall of the lowest floor is retaining the front garden etc. These brick retaining walls have been painted but are flaking off and lumps underneath the paint are widespread. When you scrape the lumps off they are powdery. There is also a damp odour.

Is there any way of sealing the bricks prior to repainting and is so what preparation would be needed. Somebody suggested PVA?

Any advice would be appreciated

Stuart

[stoneyboy]

stuartmcc,
Sorry but you will never beat this problem from inside.
You will have to dig a trench along the front wall and install a damp proof membrane.
end

[Detective]

The brick retaining walls should never be painted. The brick needs to breath, by painting it you are trapping the water inside the wall and the paint will always fail

[Perry525]

The way to deal with this is, to dig away the front garden to create a space in front of the wall, down to foundation level, or to a point 5 feet below the floor of the room.

Then build another wall to hold the garden back.
It will help if you fill the space between the new wall and the garden with clean stones, to create a French drain to keep any ground water away from the home.

This will enable the wall to dry.