Finishes for Concrete Block Retaining Wall

[Nelliy12]

Retaining wall was put in, unfortunately not a lot of the cement blocks had a smooth finish. In fact, most were poorly made, leaving crevices and uneven surface (not the nice texture kind). 

I am reluctant to paint over (which was the original plan before I saw the quality of these blocks) do to the severity of imperfections. If it was rough surface imperfections could get away with a nice rough textured painted wall. But sadly no. 

So, I need advice on what I can do to provide a “finish” on this wall.

- Frame and decking could be costly, time consuming and ongoing maintenance.

- I’ve been told rendering won’t work it will just crack.

- Tiling would be expensive and too finicky and too neat.

    Another option is to glue sheeting, but what glue and sheeting to hold up to weather and last? 

if anyone can provide some advice or even YouTube video of a good option to finish this wall? 

it is a property on bush, so a clean neat look isn’t exactly what I’m after - which is why I don’t like the tiling idea. 

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Nelliy12 

That wall looks nice and solid and should move or crack.  Therefore, rendering the wall won't necessarily crack as there are more Polymere based renders that are more flexible these days. Just FYI

Using  cement sheeting  

There are several thicknesses you can buy I would use 4.5 too 6mm as a guide too keep costs down. Is probably you next best bet gluing sections of it to the wall I would use outdoor tile glue for a longer lasting job.  Usually, you would use a plastic joiner between the sheets I would use fibreglass tape over the joins. I might use some tile glue over the tape (paintable) to create a smooth join and save you buying multiple products for the one job. 

Also make capping panels and use the tape on the corners to hide any gaps.

By putting these sheets on the wall, you are basically putting on extra big, large format tiles when you think about it.

I would not rule out using nice outdoor tiles as they can be of various textures and looks and won't need painting.  You can also get 600mm x 600mm tiles that might fit the wall height and use a trim bit under the uniform 600 square tile row buried into the ground line.

Food for thought.

Your the boss

[EricL]

Hello @Nelliy12 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your concrete block retaining wall.  

It's great that you've received excellent suggestions from @Jewelleryrescue. In regards to render, I was wondering if you could do a partial finishing render to the very rough parts of the wall. This will bring the quality of finish a little bit better but still retain that rough exterior you're after. In regards to tiling I suggest having a look at this project - Crazy paving front porch by @EleventhCoastal. You can apply this chaotic tiling technique to the surface of your wall to give it a nice finish but not so neat and orderly.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric