Rendering a damp retaining garden wall - help!

[roz84]

Hi, am hoping for some useful advice!

We have a terraced garden in our new house which is on a steep hill. The previous occupants did it, and they used concrete blocks to make 2 retaining walls both around 5 feet high which are ugly as sin and the retained bit on top has been patioed. I'm assuming that as with everything else in the house the job wasn't done properly and there has been no damp course/ damp membrane/ tanking used behind the wall as they really are damp.

Just wanting to know what people think our options could be for rendering the walls to make them look less 'concrete jungle'? Or would we be better off making an extra face brick wall in front of the retaining wall? We are completely clueless really when it comes to these things - I always lived n a flat before so have never even had a garden!

 

[ree]

The more useful pics we receive the more useful advice we can give.

Five foot high retaining walls supporting some kind of patio area (and what else?) deserve close attention. They can suddenly collapse, esp. on a hillside.

Typically, blockwork retaining walls have rebar incorporated, and all block cells grouted with S&C. Often they are "water proofed" on the inside face.

If water is pouring through (are weep holes evident?), or they constantly appear soaked then a professional site inspection is called for.

Any rendering applied to a failing background will fail too. Likewise, a new facework of brick, even with a cavity might not stay presentable for more that a few years.