Maintaining My Home

first, determine the cause of water entry and remove it. It could be the result of damaged guttering or downpipes (or missing guttering or downpipes), excessive gardens or planting or trees outside the wall, a concrete path or driveway built up against the wall, damage from ground subsidence, etc. If you cannot find the cause of water entry, call an experienced building surveyor for advice

if the moisture entry is extensive or widespread, engage an experienced building surveyor for advice in any case

if you have to engage someone to make repairs to the wall, ensure they are a licensed building practitioner or their work is supervised by a licensed building practitioner

if you wish to apply a coating or decoration to the wall surface, allow plenty of time for the wall to dry completely before starting work. Use a coating or other product designed for use on concrete or concrete masonry

concrete and concrete block walls require an exterior coating that is waterproof. Most paint manufacturers have coatings available for concrete and concrete blocks. These, like other paint systems, need recoating at regular intervals, as recommended by the supplier/manufacturer. Clear coatings available but these have a very limited life

efflorescence occurs when moisture in the blocks causes salts to migrate to the surface leaving a whitish-grey residue. Efflorescence will only stop on a surface when the movement of moisture stops

it can generally be removed by brushing with a stiff bristled brush. This could be followed by cleaning with a solution of 5% white vinegar in water and wiping down with a clean damp cloth

efflorescence that continues over a long period of time may indicate an ongoing moisture problem. Contact an experienced building surveyor for advice

if you want to coat a surface that has been subject to efflorescence, wait until the process has stopped, remove all the salts from the surface, use an alkali-resistant sealer and a coating designed for use on concrete or concrete masonry

DIYers cannot legally make repairs to drinking water or wastewater pipes. You will need to call in a registered plumber

in some circumstances you may need to engage a blocklayer to expose pipes or make repairs after the plumber has finished. Work on exterior walls is registered building work, and people engaged to do this must be registered plumbers or licensed building practitioners (or the building work must be supervised by an LBP)

if another type of pipe was involved, such as a downpipe from roof guttering, you can replace or refix that yourself

if you wish to apply a coating or decoration to the wall surface, allow plenty of time for the wall to dry completely before starting work. Use a coating or other product designed for use on concrete or concrete masonry