prepping and re-painting a rendered garden wall

[kamoshika]

Hi, I'm after some advice on painting the rendered blockwork wall in our back garden. The previous owners have tried at least a couple of times but, as you can see from the picture, they haven't been very successful.

Untitled

• kamoshika
• 30 Apr 2013
• 1

The top layer of cream coloured paint is pealing off in large sections, and it looks like the white paint underneath was flaking, and they've scraped off as much as they could before they repainted.

What's going to be the most effective way to prepare and repaint the wall to hopefully avoid similar problems?

Thanks

 

[Pigeon85]

Hi, firstly you would need to scrap away all flaking paint and clean off any dirt.

When it comes to painting you will need to thin down the first coats until the wall stops absorbing it. Then a coat or two of straight paint.

 

[Robbie uk]

As the wall is outside it probably wont have a damp course to stop rising damp, so you will always be on a loser. Scrape as much of the flaky paint off and give it a coat of stabilising liquid first, this should bind the surface enough to then apply two full coats of your colour.

 

[Pigeon85]

As the wall is outside it probably wont have a damp course to stop rising damp, so you will always be on a loser. Scrape as much of the flaky paint off and give it a coat of stabilising liquid first, this should bind the surface enough to then apply two full coats of your colour.

only use stabilising solution if it is extremely porous. If your not careful then you would end up with a bad surface to paint onto as the paint needs to be able to absorb into the render.

 

[Robbie uk]

I think it will be ok !! To be fair , he already has a bad surface to paint on. If the wall has damp in it, no amount of priming will stop it coming off again.

 

[dcdec]

I'd try bedec MSP on it because as Robbie says no damp course will mean you can never get rid of the problem causing the peeling and flaking. So you need a breathable micro porous paint that will allow a bit of flex from drying out and expanding depending on damp level/time of year. prep as suggested and go with the MSP.

 

[Pigeon85]

I think it will be ok !! To be fair , he already has a bad surface to paint on. If the wall has damp in it, no amount of priming will stop it coming off again.

or it could even be that the wall itself is completely fine and has never been painted properly. Someone probably put stabilising solution on it before painting

 

[Pigeon85]

Does the wall have a damp coarse?
And what is either side of the wall?

 

[kamoshika]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't know if the wall has a damp proof course, but I'd assume not as it's just at the end of our garden, rather than part of a building. Brambles on the other side, then a small gap to a row of garages.

I've not checked what state the other side of the wall is in, but would there be any benefit in painting that too, to help stop rain soaking into the wall, or would it be better to leave it unpainted to allow the wall to "breathe" and any rising damp to dry out?

 

[Pigeon85]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't know if the wall has a damp proof course, but I'd assume not as it's just at the end of our garden, rather than part of a building. Brambles on the other side, then a small gap to a row of garages.

I've not checked what state the other side of the wall is in, but would there be any benefit in painting that too, to help stop rain soaking into the wall, or would it be better to leave it unpainted to allow the wall to "breathe" and any rising damp to dry out?

sorry didn't make myself clear, I meant around the bottom of the wall soil/gravel.

Might be beneficial to dig away from the wall and put gravel around the bottom as would help with the drainage. Depends on how much you like the wall really and if you plan on keeping it for long.

 

[kamoshika]

Sorry, just re-read your post and realised you'd written "either" not "other"! Garden side of the wall is what was at one time a (small) swimming pool (this makes our garden sound much grander than it is!), so tiles over concrete that has since had a wooden deck built over the top. Other side is a narrow patch of ground with thick brambles.