Damp internal concrete shed wall - weep holes ?

rwaldron21

Hi all,
I'm looking for some ideas regarding a constantly damp internal shed wall.
The same "shed" structure continues all along about 10 neighbours gardens.
There is an exterior garden concrete wall, then a gap of less than an inch then the shed wall.
I previously covered to top of my gap at the back of my garden with cement (at a slant) but most of the neighbours still have
the gap.
I'm assuming that water is still getting down the gap further along the exterior wall.
It was suggested to me to drill "weep holes" into the back exterior wall at he back of my shed.
This will allow water to escape thats probably just sitting there in the gap , and allow more air to get
in ?
Neighbours internal shed wall is also damp.
Does "weep holes " sound like a good starting point ?
is it worth sealing the outside wall or selaing the inside wall ?

chessguy

HI , rwaldron21
the ideal  solution would be if all the neighbours closed the gap, at the rear of the shed,

You could possibly get away with this put down with Mastik

It would be a cheap fast solution , for your neighbours.
https://www.goodwins.ie/products/f-trim-starter-white-5m-length-1291620.html?filter_set[]=16,282,750.

chessguy

rwaldron21

Hiya and thx for the reply,

So do you think that water is sitting at the bottom of the gap ? Therefore weep holes would help.
Closing the gap for all may not be an option , is there something I can do at my end ?
The sheds were built 10 years ago by builders who where building behind us.
Shouldn't the builder ( of the sheds) have done something with this gap to prevent this ?

chessguy

rwaldron21 wrote: »

Hiya and thx for the reply,

So do you think that water is sitting at the bottom of the gap ? Therefore weep holes would help.
Closing the gap for all may not be an option , is there something I can do at my end ?
The sheds were built 10 years ago by builders who where building behind us.
Shouldn't the builder ( of the sheds) have done something with this gap to prevent this ?

Ideally, the builder should have done something,so remedial work would not be required.

You have closed the gap now at the top , it seems the water has a channel to get behind your shed from your neighbours.

If you create drill holes,the water will constantly,pass behind your shed.I suppose that is better than it sitting there.



I would block both sides of the shed if possible,so nothing comes in behind yours.As the next option.

If this is not possible,then you may need to drill holes,if you drill, drill on a slope and put say a plastic pipe in the hole .so the bricks do not soak to much water.

Chessguy

rwaldron21

Thx for the advice , can I also ask is it worth me spraying concrete sealer inside the shed...and even on the outside garden wall ?
So a combination of weep holes and sealant ...I’m not sure how good sealants are but apparently the back of the wall can be wet while sealent keeps inside dry ?

chessguy

rwaldron21 wrote: »

Thx for the advice , can I also ask is it worth me spraying concrete sealer inside the shed...and even on the outside garden wall ?
So a combination of weep holes and sealant ...I’m not sure how good sealants are but apparently the back of the wall can be wet while sealent keeps inside dry ?[/quote

Hi,
you can use say, ronseal 1 coat damp seal paint.,Its always best to use when the wall is not to damp and ideally when it is actually dry,..

Yes the can does say you can use it on a damp wall .

Ideally the remedies,I posted should be used too.

Chessguy

Lumen

This is a really confusing thread.

Who owns which shed?

"Internal wall" means a wall that has no external face, a wall with an external face is an "external wall". A wall which does not form part of a building is a "freestanding wall".

Metric Tensor

His freestanding garden wall is less than an inch from the back wall of his shed. The pictures make it fairly obvious if you can see them.

I think you might just have to try a few options OP. Is it wet top to bottom or worse at different levels?

The shed wall is not rendered which makes it a lot more porous - so you may have to address the part of the shed that sticks out higher than your garden wall too. There is a good chance that there is solid dirt or debris lodged in places between the two walls which would prevent weep holes from being completely successful.

I doubt too much is coming from your neighbours and if it was the wall would be wetter at either in and drier in the middle.

I'd suggest, to start, a waterproof render and flashing for the top of your shed wall with the flashing turned out over the garden wall. Ideally get permission from your neighbours to run the flashing a metre or so along their shed too.

P.S. - Looking at the garden wall again it seems to be rendered externally and not capped which means that any rain that falls onto the top of it is held inside it and pushed towards your shed! The flashing I mentioned above will cap this wall too so should help this. It will take ages to dry out though.

rwaldron21

Hiya, sorry for the late reply.... so the plan is to waterproof render the top part of the shed that goes higher than the garden wall.Then some flashing and even some holes for ventilation.
What I find unusual and to answer your question, when looking at the shed wall from inside the shed, the entire back wall is always damp, EXCEPT for the top layer of brick that is more or less covered by the roof from the back. see image IMG_1136.JPG
I would have thought that the top 3 bricks (That are higher than the back garden wall) should dry out during a spell of good weather (since they are exposed) ?
The entire back wall is always damp. ???

rwaldron21

Hiya, Just returning to this again...I finally have time to look at this....
what is the best waterproofer to put on the top of the shed wall and over the top of the garden wall and slope.
a form of concrete sealant ?
any suggestions as to what the best stuff is to use, I'd prefer something that goes on with a brush.

Thx,

R