Waterproofing a concrete blockwork garage.

[Landycat]

A few years ago I threw together a simple single garage using a single skin of 4" thick dense concrete blocks for walls.
Unfortunately these blocks absorb rain which soaks through to the inside,which isn't ideal especially in winter.

A few years ago I treated the blockwork with b&q's waterproofing solution,but this proved to be a complete waste of time and money as the effect wore off after a couple of months.

I wondered whether masonry paint would waterproof the garage?

 

[noseall]

are you sure the problem you have is a driven rain issue?

generally speaking conditions that lead to water ingress via water travelling through a 100mm masonry wall, occur very seldom.

some garage buildings, whereby the walls have been built off a raft type footing and the raft extends beyond the external face of the wall forming a 'toe', often leads to the building leaking in water at floor level. this is because of rainwater gathering and seeping in at the toe detail.

also condensation can readily occur on the inner face of single skin buildings.

 

[Landycat]

are you sure the problem you have is a driven rain issue?

generally speaking conditions that lead to water ingress via water travelling through a 100mm masonry wall, occur very seldom.

some garage buildings, whereby the walls have been built off a raft type footing and the raft extends beyond the external face of the wall forming a 'toe', often leads to the building leaking in water at floor level. this is because of rainwater gathering and seeping in at the toe detail.

also condensation can readily occur on the inner face of single skin buildings.

The walls are 8 feet tall and get wet all of the way up,not just at the bottom.
I don't think it's condensation because it only gets soggy after rainfall,but stays soggy for a long time afterwards.In summer a hot dry spell will dry it out,but it usually stays damp all winter,not just at the base of the wall - all of the way up.
I was hoping that I could paint the walls with something that would stop water from soaking into the concrete blocks.

 

[Deluks]

Getting the wall rendered using a waterproof additive would be a good start methinks.

 

[Landycat]

Getting the wall rendered using a waterproof additive would be a good start methinks.

So masonry paint wouldn't keep the water out then?I was hoping for a simple and cheap solution.

 

[Deluks]

There are plenty of exterior paints that provide a degree of weatherproofing. Rendering would be the best long term solution though.