Concrete Joint Sealer

[Yookdew]

Although this isn't specific to my garage, this site has been very helpful in the past in giving me advice while I was building my garage.

I am getting some water intrusion between the joint where my driveway meets a concrete block retaining wall. The water is soaking into the block and causing white staining on the painted block (efflorescence?).

There is also a crack running across the concrete which I may need to seal up.

I would like to seal the small joint so I can prime and repaint the wall but I'm not sure if something like sikaflex sikadur crack fix epoxy resin would work for this or if a different product would be better. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sika-Si...Cracks-in-Structural-Masonry-107655/204732364

Also, should i use some type of sealer on the grout between the stone on top of the wall? it seems like water would also seep through the grout and into the concrete block.

I have attached some pictures to help describe what I am trying to seal up. Thanks for any help and advice!

 

[Youngandfree]

The crack between the driveway and block isn't the cause of the efflorescence .

 

[cgrutt]

Is that a gutter drain into corner by garage door? If so where does it empty out to and is it clear?

Whats situation with slope behind garage? Where is the runoff going to?

 

[BillK]

Seems to me that if anything the water is getting in from the top. Maybe the joints in the cap pieces ?

 

[Yookdew]

The crack between the driveway and block isn't the cause of the efflorescence .

Any idea what is causing it and how I can stop it?

 

[Yookdew]

Is that a gutter drain into corner by garage door? If so where does it empty out to and is it clear?

Whats situation with slope behind garage? Where is the runoff going to?

Yes it is a gutter drain and it is clear. It is run to the opposite side of the driveway and drains into a wooded area below the grade of the driveway.

Right now, I have some runoff through the gravel, in front of the driveway, below the grade of the driveway and wall. I am planning on putting a drain in to route the water away from the gravel but I don't believe this is having any impact on the driveway or wall.

 

[Yookdew]

Seems to me that if anything the water is getting in from the top. Maybe the joints in the cap pieces ?

This is definitely possible. Is there a specific type of sealer I can use to seal the grout between the stones to keep water from seeping into the grout?

 

[BombShelter]

Efflorescence sometimes just happens, you'll see it on the 2nd story of a masonary building but it's more common below-grade when water pushes through the blocks.

The driveway is cracking because it's losing whatever they put underneath it, it's slowly hollowing out with every rainstorm; personally I'm a fan of class 5 gravel but alot of contractors don't use it, especially with new houses/garages. There's a chance they didn't use beefy rebar instead choosing to use fibre-filiments or light-weight mesh panels, products that don't have the strength or life of rebar.

I'd pop the caps off the block wall, stick a vertical piece of rebar in the cores and "core-fill" with concrete. Non-shrink grout would be preferred, it's expensive but it will fully plug the core-hole while normal concrete with slightly shrink at the block face and leave a tiny space for water to collect. A plastic mixing tube/hoe and shovel with a pallet of concrete mix is all you'll need.

Around here Menard's has a nice selection of many different mixes. "Self-Leveling Concrete" Caulk will work for the driveway crack but there's not a lot of products that will last more than a few years and will need to be scrapped out and replaced at some point depending on weather conditions.

 

[PopcornSutton]

That crack was caused from not having a control joint in the length of the placement. Cracked pretty much right in the middle.

Sealing the concrete to the wall, it looks like the slab was poured against the wall, no expansion and no place to make a good sealant install. Just smearing caulk/sealant in that corner won't do much.

 

[carlaisle]

Are the cores in the block wall filled? Can you scope the downspout that goes under the driveway? It is suspicious that the greatest staining is directly in line with the crack.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Are there any weep holes or drains through the wall?

 

[Yookdew]

That crack was caused from not having a control joint in the length of the placement. Cracked pretty much right in the middle.

Sealing the concrete to the wall, it looks like the slab was poured against the wall, no expansion and no place to make a good sealant install. Just smearing caulk/sealant in that corner won't do much.

There is a small space between the wall and the driveway. It kind of looks like when the concrete cured, there was a little bit of shrinkage that pulled the slab slightly away from the wall. I can get a picture of this if it would help.

 

[Yookdew]

Are the cores in the block wall filled? Can you scope the downspout that goes under the driveway? It is suspicious that the greatest staining is directly in line with the crack.

I'm not sure if the cores were filled or not. One of the stones on top has come loose so I will remove it later today and should be able to see if the are filled or hollow.

I don't have a scope but I can see if maybe Home Depot rents them. It is possible that the downspout drain is leaking and causing this issue, but there is also just enough of a gap between the slab and the wall to let some water in. I'll get a picture of this gap today to show what I am talking about. If I can scope the drain, it should confirm or rule out if that is an issue or not.

 

[Yookdew]

Are there any weep holes or drains through the wall?

There are no weepholes or drains in the wall that I can see.

 

[cgrutt]

My money would be on the downspout. Not sure if this is feasible esp given weather but maybe you can pour a 5 gal bucket of water in and see how much makes its way out?

 

[Yookdew]

Are the cores in the block wall filled? Can you scope the downspout that goes under the driveway? It is suspicious that the greatest staining is directly in line with the crack.

The cores are filled. All the rental places in this area charge $200 + dollars to rent a sewer camera. It may be cheaper to pay a plumber to scope it, Should be a quick job.

 

[Yookdew]

That crack was caused from not having a control joint in the length of the placement. Cracked pretty much right in the middle.

Sealing the concrete to the wall, it looks like the slab was poured against the wall, no expansion and no place to make a good sealant install. Just smearing caulk/sealant in that corner won't do much.

This is a couple of closer up pictures of the joint between the wall and the slab. I think it would be enough space for water to get in. I still need to check the drain to see if it is leaking also.

 

[carlaisle]

The cores are filled. All the rental places in this area charge $200 + dollars to rent a sewer camera. It may be cheaper to pay a plumber to scope it, Should be a quick job.

That's nuts. The going rate around me is $150 and that includes the plumber doing the work. Your area may be different.

 

[carlaisle]

This is a couple of closer up pictures of the joint between the wall and the slab. I think it would be enough space for water to get in. I still need to check the drain to see if it is leaking also.

It's easy enough to seal and see what happens, but I'd wager a box of donuts the problem doesn't go away. The lack of weep holes in your wall isn't helping anything. Is that wall still plumb?

 

[Yookdew]

It's easy enough to seal and see what happens, but I'd wager a box of donuts the problem doesn't go away. The lack of weep holes in your wall isn't helping anything. Is that wall still plumb?

The wall still appears to be plumb.

Although this isn't s definitive test at all, I ran the water hose into the drain and turn the hose all the way on. I was getting a good flow of water at the end of the drain. I would think if the drain pipe was ruptured or collapsed, not much of the water would make it to the exit of the drain.

Also, it was raining today, and I noticed that where the rain runs off the top stones right at the grout joints, you could see the water running down the outside of the wall and it was dry in between. I attached a couple of pictures if what I saw.

I think I will try sealing it for now and see what happens. Does anybody have any suggestions on what sealer I could use to seal the grout between the stone on top of the wall? Also, suggestions on a good sealer for the joint between the slab and wall?

 

[BurtEggley]

why do you need a sewer camera? You can get simple bore scopes from Amazon for a heck of a lot less. The simplest single lens ones are maybe $25 last time I checked. They work with a laptop or smartphone. One with its own screen is maybe $50 or more depending what you want.

That said, my own opinion is probably invalid here. I do think that the crack has something to do with the staining. It may not be the cause but it may be a result of the same process. Ask yourself if you were a drop of water in that driveway area, how you might flow above and below ground. Ask yourself what happens when that humidity escapes upwards. Does it condense anywhere inside the wall. The crystals are the result of moisture migrating thru the wall. Let me give an example here that probably doesn't apply. It snows 2' during the winter. The driveway gets cleared but the other side of the wall does not. That forces water from the snow melt from the outside of the wall thru the wall. Or, this can happen. The wall soaks up water during the winter rains. The sun comes out and heats one side of the wall. That forces the moisture to vaporize and penetrate to the other side of the wall where the crystals form. By visualizing how a drop of water might get into and thru that wall, you may be able to mitigate the problem.

 

[KenC]

I suspect that crack is a contributor, but minor, to the issue. More likely that the major contributor is simple wicking from the bottom up on the outside. Removing the water from the soil that touches the block with a drain system would be my first job.

Not an expert, just have some experience.

 

[Yookdew]

I suspect that crack is a contributor, but minor, to the issue. More likely that the major contributor is simple wicking from the bottom up on the outside. Removing the water from the soil that touches the block with a drain system would be my first job.

Not an expert, just have some experience.

I didn't think about that. As I continue to try to diagnose where the moisture is coming from, I'll dig some dirt away from the base and see what the area looks like as far as drainage and also see if it looks like sealer was used on the block where it contacts the dirt.

 

[dscheidt]

I didn't think about that. As I continue to try to diagnose where the moisture is coming from, I'll dig some dirt away from the base and see what the area looks like as far as drainage and also see if it looks like sealer was used on the block where it contacts the dirt.

also, what's the other side of the wall like?