curved concrete cap on wall

[Ladybrickie]

Hi there,
I have built a retaining wall. It has 6" hollows at the back and tied to it on the front is local stone. The local stone is pretty soft and 'shailey'. In the summer, I want to put a curved rustic looking (not too rustic!) concrete cap on it to shed the rain. Should the concrete mix have waterproofer in it? How strong a mix should it be please? Thanks very much.

 

[^woody^]

Are you making coping stones or just putting concrete on the wall and finishing it off?

The reason is that ideally you want an overhang and drip to prevent rain soaking the wall below the copings - especially if the bricks and stone is soft are.

The mix needs to have small pebbles too, and more sand to give a smooth finish. Something like 1:2:4 and polish the top by rubbing with some polythene or DPC. No waterproofer needed, but the finish is very important if you want it to last

 

[Ladybrickie]

Hi, thanks for that. I am thinking about putting a lip of slate or tile along for the drips to keep the water away from the face of the wall. Very helpful thanks.