Cracks and Leak in Cinder Block Retaining Wall

Bhotar3 · May 3, 2023

I inspected a home today with a slightly cracked, leaking cinder block retaining wall. Gutter runoff seeps into the soil and runs through the cracks in the wall.

The home was built in ‘67. There have certainly been some patches over time in the wall.
No aggregate buffer, french drain, or weep holes from what I can tell.

Any thoughts here? The wall appears structurally sound but I believe the leak should be addressed.

Is there a best practice repair here? I will recommend the gutters be rerouted elsewhere.

I appreciate any insight!

DoubleStud · May 3, 2023

the lawn slopes to that wall. The water will go toward the wall for sure. They need perforated pipe right along that wall and probably need to daylight it on that wall. OR you can go under the garage driveway and day light after the garage. But it is a little late for that.

JAE · May 4, 2023

And get rid of those trees/bushes.

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

How far down is reasonable? And where should it discharge? Through the wall?

DoubleStud · May 4, 2023

Perforated pipe along the wall connects to French drain across the driveway (in front of garage). Then French drain discharges somewhere else to the lake.

hokie66 · May 4, 2023

I wouldn't use a french drain there. Looks like a good place for a grated drain.

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

Are there any other suggestions?

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

I'm hoping to come up with a solution that does not involve significant excavation. Especially considering, this wall is about 8ft tall at its highest point (and where the leak occurs).

DoubleStud · May 4, 2023

Sorry I meant U drain with grates.

The correct way is to do what I said. That way the driveway is always dry. Or you could just install the long grated drain. It will capture the water from the wall but you arent fixing the problem.

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

I would love to see a conceptual sketch of what you're recommending, to better understand. You would have them install the french drain all the way underground near the footing of the wall?

DoubleStud · May 4, 2023

https://i0.wp.com/diyretainingwall.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/pipe2_opt-1.jpg?w=600&ssl=1

perforated pipe near the footer of the wall that is connected to the grated trench drain in front of garage.

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

OK. That's what I figured you were referring to. That's going to be one hell of an extensive repair!

RPGs · May 4, 2023

Others have provided what I would consider in my opinion to be the best options, though another general suggestion would be to re-grade the lawn to provide a positive 1/4" per foot slope away from the area to new swales draining elsewhere (to the presumptive road behind the final photo maybe? or on the opposite side of the house?). This assumes you are not forced to 1) pack soil too close to the bottom of the wood framing to achieve said slope, or 2) have to remove too much soil to make swales and disrupt the driveway, sidewalk, top of the wall, etc. This will very much disturb the lawn of course and won't look good for a while. Just another suggestion.

It appears that significant excavation for new drains and/or regrading are required here no matter which way you turn, unfortunately. Not everything is an easy, quick, cheap fix

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

I will also recommend repair to the cracks in the wall, to make it water tight (think Quikcrete Water stop) and eliminate water running through the wall. However, it doesn't address the issue of drainage.

If they seal the wall, and reroute the downspout, would that solve a large portion of the problem?

ETA: The crack and leak is directly beneath the downspout area. It's clear that runoff has "eroded" a bit of soil (despite the concrete block), and made it's what through a crack in the wall.

hokie66 · May 4, 2023

You can't make the wall water tight without getting to the back side of it.

kissymoose · May 4, 2023

The wall is performing structurally and looks like it has for over 50 years. What's the problem?
If you don't want water coming out over there then one idea is to put a trench drain at the exterior side of the wall ~~like DoubleStud's talking about~~ and route it under the driveway to daylight. Requires cutting some lines in the driveway. I'd recommend excavating that entire side of the front yard and put in a drain tile and gravel backfill if the wall were failing, but it doesn't look like it is. And after doing so, you'd still have to daylight the drain somewhere, and under the driveway looks like the only choice if they don't want water on it.

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

Also, this is a picture of inside the garage. This is the exterior, load bearing wall, that is a continuation of the retaining wall.

Does the “bubbly” paint look like evidence of efflorescence? Those areas were certainly powdery to the touch.

Bhotar3 · May 4, 2023

I'd imagine the hole can still be plugged with a water-stop cement to at least prevent leaking.

hokie66 · May 4, 2023

That's moisture pushing the paint off. Again, if you can't get to the back side, you will have to live with it. Patching will not make a wall water tight, but it might stop running water.

SWComposites · May 4, 2023

The first thing to do is to move the downspout to the other end of the house. Yes requires resloping the gutters, but its not that hard. And if that location is not well sloped away from the house, then reslope or add a swale to get the water away from the foundation.

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