So with the rain battering one side I’ve discovered the concrete blocks is made out of are porous. Cue several soggy boxes which were touching the walk and a wet floor near the wall.

Will it survive the winter / is this bad, and what can I do about it once its dry again – paint?

*footflaps to the thread*

Jack it up a bit and put some sort of DPM between the blocks and shed

Your shed is made from breeze blocks?!

Well, some kind of concrete blocks, yes.

So is it sinking or is water getting in?

How thick are the blocks? I only ask as it is possible that the moisture is coming from a different source other than rain penetrating through the blockwork.

is it running down wall from the roof ?

You can make boats out of concrete , so waterproofing it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Water soaking through the blocks. It’s freestanding and no water supply and its the wall that is prevalent to the current direction of the rain is seeping through from floor to ceiling.

Seeping not dripping or running down.

can you shield it with a tarp/etc then get it rendered when it’s dried out

So you need something to stop the rain wetting the outside of the blocks. Paint might do it, but it needs re-applying and looks messy if neglected. An extra skin of something on the outside would be my choice; lapped timber, plastic coated metal sheet, render – depends what would look best or whether looks matter. Even a skin of brickwork, or roof tiles. Does the roof extend much out from the blocks?

this is why cavity insulation is a bad idea, bricks and blocks etc are porous

can you shield it with a tarp/etc then get it rendered when it’s dried out

This

An extra skin of something on the outside would be my choice; lapped timber, plastic coated metal sheet – depends what would look best or whether looks matter. Even a skin of brickwork, or roof tiles. Does the roof extend much out from the blocks?

And this.

If you’re gonna clad it (as opposed to render) you could try sealing it with a Sealing Paint or similar as a temporary measure.

You can get concrete sealer to paint on – wont that work?

Untreated concrete blocks will let some water through in heavy rain. However pretty easy problem to solve:

– paint outside (I can recommend Suffolk Pink)
– waterproof coat in/outside (loads of options in builders merchants)
– Stick some thin outdoor grade ply on the in/outside
– Line the inside with DPC sheet (£35 for 50m roll of 1200g)

I get a small amount of damp creeping in at the base of the walls when it rains hard, as we’ve not painted the lower two courses of bricks yet, but I’m about to put down 100mm Celotex and a 1200g DPC over the floor with 18mm ply sheets on top, so I’ll never see it.

I’m unsure as to whether concrete sealer actually waterproofs.

Have a look at Thompson’s Water Seal – that might work too but I can’t recall if I can be applied to wet surfaces.

Flexacryl. But its not cheap.

There are loads of different sealers out there: bitumin based, latex based, etc.

Have a look in a builder’s merchants and just pick one and try it. The Bitumin ones look quite good value for money.

My shed actually is sinking on one side – the door has started jamming and the floor is no longer level. I’m planning to get various scissor jacks that i have accumulated over the years and jack up the rafter supports that sit on block piers. Some of the felt has blown off the roof too – bad times!

Dibbs – Member
You can make boats out of concrete

You can but the permeability of concrete is highly dependent on the initial mix and water content. The relationship is highly non linear.

Easy quick and cheap, wait for a dry day and Thompson Water Seal as Nobby said, a tarp fixed up and over the ridge and lots of airflow over the wall may be needed as I’ll admit the weather is a little biblical at the moment.

Next step up the ladder is to batten and clad.

Then there is always the Fortress Footflaps approach…

The relationship is highly non linear

Pure stw in a sentence.

Jack it up a bit and put some sort of DPM between the blocks and shed

Well, that would hide the problem, at least.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DPM

and then I just have to add 😉

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFH

Cfh? Wink gives no clue flash help..