Does a sealer on my retaining wall do the same job as waterproofing?

No. A sealer mainly protects the surface from staining and dusting, while waterproofing uses a membrane system to stop water passing through the concrete. On a retaining wall with wet soil behind it, a surface sealer alone rarely stops seepage, though it can help once the soil side is dealt with.

Besides retaining walls, which concrete around a Perth home might need waterproofing?

Any concrete that holds back soil or sits over a living space is a candidate. That includes planters against the house, basement and undercroft walls, slabs where damp comes up, and balconies above rooms. The common factor is water with a path into somewhere it causes damage.

What can be done about water pooling at the base of a retaining wall?

Give the water a way out. Pooling usually means it has nowhere to drain, so the fix is grading the ground away from the wall, adding drainage gravel and a slotted pipe at the base, and directing the outlet to a suitable point. Any stormwater connection is work for licensed professionals.

What affects the cost of fixing a failed retaining wall membrane?

Access is the biggest factor. A wall that can be exposed from the soil side is priced differently from one treated from the front, and length, height, stripping old membrane, new drainage and reinstating plants or paving all add up. A site assessment is the reliable way to price it.

How long before soil can go back against a new retaining wall membrane?

It depends on the product and the weather. Each membrane has a cure time set by its manufacturer, and cool, damp conditions slow it down. Backfilling too early can scuff or puncture an uncured coat, so gravel and soil should go back only after the membrane has cured and been checked.

Retaining Wall Waterproofing in Perth, WA

About retaining wall waterproofing in Perth

A retaining wall holding soil against a house can often be waterproofed and drained until the face dries out. The fix depends on what sits behind it, such as packed soil or a planter box fed by reticulation. Water pressing on the back needs a membrane to stop it and drainage to carry it away.

Signs a retaining wall or planter box is letting water through

Dark patches that linger after rain or watering, white powdery salts on the face, peeling paint and a musty adjoining room all point to moisture moving through the wall. The white salts are efflorescence: minerals carried out of the concrete or masonry as water evaporates from the surface.

Membrane and drainage: why one rarely works without the other

A membrane on the soil side keeps water out of the wall, but it cannot hold back unlimited pressure. Drainage behind the wall, such as free-draining gravel and a slotted pipe at the base, lets that water escape. Treating only the visible face often leaves damp trapped inside the concrete.

The dig-out decision for a retaining wall

Where the back of the wall can be exposed, a membrane applied there with new drainage is usually the direct fix. Where digging out is impractical, options worked from the front face, such as penetrating treatments and coatings over a sound concrete substrate, can reduce seepage but manage moisture rather than stopping it at source.

Planter boxes against the house

A planter built against a house wall keeps soil wet right up to the brickwork. The inside needs a membrane carried up past the soil line, a drainage layer and an outlet so water does not sit. Where the planter shares a wall with a room, damp inside that room is often the first clue.

Permits, drainage connections and paying for the work

Rebuilding a wall may need a building permit from the local council unless the work is exempt, and exempt work must still meet building standards. Connecting a new drain to stormwater is work for licensed professionals. Under a covered home building contract, the deposit is capped at 6.5 per cent.

Next step for a weeping retaining wall

Note roughly how long and high the wall is, whether it is concrete, block or brick, and what sits behind it: lawn, a garden bed, a planter or a neighbour's yard. Add your suburb and whether damp shows inside the house, and the wall can be assessed with that picture in mind.

Retaining Wall Waterproofing Services We Offer

✓Retaining Wall Membrane and Drainage

Exposing the soil side of the wall, applying a membrane and installing gravel and a slotted pipe so water drains away instead of pressing through.

✓Planter Box Waterproofing

Lining the inside of a planter with a membrane carried above the soil line, plus a drainage layer and outlet, to protect the house wall beside it.

✓Front-face Treatment

Penetrating treatments and coatings applied to the visible face where excavation is impractical, to reduce seepage and staining on a sound wall.

How it works

1
Look at the wall
The wall's material, height, cracking, salts and damp patches are checked, along with what sits behind it and whether a room on the other side is affected.
2
Trace the water
Reticulation, garden beds, roof runoff and pooling at the base are traced to show where water reaches the back of the wall and why it is not draining away.
3
Choose membrane and drainage
Access sets the approach: a membrane on the soil side with new drainage, a lined planter, or treatment from the front face where digging out is impractical.
4
Prepare, apply and backfill
The concrete substrate is cleaned and repaired, the membrane goes on and cures, then drainage gravel and soil go back. Salts on the face are cleaned once it dries.