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So I live in Ecuador and this house has been forgotten for 15 years. All of the walls are poured cement with stucco on them. This seems to work fine, except at times the water seeps in and ruins the wall and the stucco.

I have removed most of the stucco, but I need to know how to repair the wall itself, as I can see the tiny pebbles that make up the cement itself under the stucco.

interior of water damaged wall

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  • You need to focus your efforts on the outside of the walls. All untreated cementitious materials are porous to some degree. Minimizing water contact (think roof, gutter, awning, etc.), and application of a waterproofing system on the exterior, should happen first. Then you can clean and repair the interior walls.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 16:16
  • yes on the outside there is much smaller amount of damage as it seems to get some direct rain. Sadly there isnt much i can do about gutters and such because of the positioning. When i return next week ill get some outside pictures to show the damage. But i would like info on how to proceed after the outside has been fixed.
    – Learner
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 18:06
  • it seems something called waterproofing mortar is available here, is that the same thing? Will that do the job or should i look for something else
    – Learner
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 2:20

1 Answer 1

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Remove all the plaster/stucco that seems unstable. Wash with a mild acid solution to remove salts that have leached to the cement surface with the water penetration (efflorescence). Dampen the area to be patched and cover the exposed surface with matching stucco/plaster material. No attempt at waterproofing from the inside will be effective.

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  • dont i need to add cement or something to the wall. It seems very unstable as it is. The pebbles and rocks are falling just by touching it.
    – Learner
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 22:09
  • Scrape all the surface treatment (plaster/stucco) off, acid wash as mentioned above, then prime and paint to suit your taste. Or cover with any interior wall treatment. There are products for sealing interior walls against moisture penetration (Google "Drylock") but I would ensure the exterior is dealt with as a first priority.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 23:37
  • yes of course but the outside ill hire someone to do as its quite difficult. Im just trying to save money and if i can get the interior done by myself that will be helpful. What do you prime cement with? Remember im in Ecuador so not everything will be availble. Also what do you call this acid, is their a brand name or something so i can try and find it here. Ditto for the primer.
    – Learner
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 1:36
  • You could use a diluted solution of the acid they use to treat swimming pools. Here we call it Muriatic Acid, it is actually hydrochloric acid. If you cannot get a product like Drylok and/or you choose to just paint it, use a regular masonry primer and wall paint of your choice.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jul 23, 2015 at 1:43

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