Sealing an interior brick wall

[gwaterson]

I have a room under the house and water leaks into this room after rain. It comes through a side brick wall and I cannot access the outside of this wall as it is underground (on the high side of house). I have run drainage pipes, gravel and plastic but this only covers the first 500ml of the wall depth. The wall is approx 1800ml underground.

Is there a sealer available that I can apply to the inside of the brick wall which will stop water seeping through.

Kind regards

Graham

[Jason]

Hi Graham (@gwaterson),

Welcome to Workshop. We are pleased to have you join us. I'm sure you will find plenty of useful advice, information and inspiration here from the community. 

Sorry to read of your water seepage problem. I hope some helpful community members can assist.

Jason

[MartyH]

@gwaterson

I think you would need to consult a professional. Perhaps an engineer like @BIM_Engineer might be able to point you in the right direction.

My feeling is that I don’t think a sealant on the inside will fix your problem. It might temporarily stop water from seeping through, but it will actually trap water within the brick wall and accelerate its deterioration, leading to significant repair costs. I would think that you need to access the entire exterior wall. 

[BIM_Engineer]

@MartyHThe right direction is for @gwaterson to put up photos. Why?
1. Most people are visual (a Picture says a 1000 words)
2. Engineers aren't wordsmiths.. our services are in great demand
3. The Questions, Photos & Responses add to the database of solutions for others in need
4.5. etc
To be honest I don't waste time visiting building sites these days unless clients provide photos & Information beforehand using mobile devices etc,

the same applies to forums and blogs.
I am happy to assist if some photos can be taken and I can see what the issue seems to be.

[Jason]

Hi again Graham (@gwaterson),

Please let me know if you need a hand uploading some photos so community members can see what you are working with.

Thanks,

Jason

[Kermit]

Tough one @gwaterson. Good luck with it. I don't think sealing is the answer as the water has to go somewhere. If you were to seal it you would effectively just be creating a dam wall. 

[spirit206]

 

Hi, did you come up with a solution? I have the same problem

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @spirit206. It's wonderful to have you join us and many thanks for your question about sealing a leaking wall.

As was touched upon in the beginning of this discussion, it's always best to seal the wall form the outside or deal with the excessive water build-up through installing adequate drainage. If you are able to seal the outside of the wall, any water moving towards the wall pushes the sealer onto it without actually being able to gain access to the wall. If you seal from the inside the water still has access the wall and then through hydrostatic pressure has the ability to push the sealer off the inside face of the wall. 

Are you able to access the exterior of the wall and install a French drain or apply sealer? If your only option it to seal the inside of the wall I suggest a product such as Dunlop 4L Damp-Proof Waterproofing which will resist negative hydrostatic pressure.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell