Hey guys. As my first house I bought an old garage converted into a house so I've got concrete block walls on a slab. It gets a little damp during heavy rains and especially in late winter during the snow melt. Gotta love clay soil. Just spent some money on grading and piping the gutters away and putting in a french drain. Right now I have everything that's not concrete torn out of the bottom two feet of the house (sheetrock, floor, etc). I have 3 hairline cracks and also gaps between the cement block walls and the slab. I think I need to seal these up. I was also considering using Drylock or something similar on the slab it's self. What products will make a permanent repair? I'd hate to use some kind of caulk and have it peel away in 3 years. There are lots of expensive kits out there and I was wondering if they are worth it? Should I just pick up some quickrete caulk from home depot? Hydraulic cement? Pour another 2 inches on top? Thanks!

My retaining wall needs to be replaced badly and while I'm gung ho to do it myself, all I can seem to find is directions on "new construction" walls. My question is: what's the time line between removing the landscape timbers and all the packed dirt crashing down on me? I would assume that I have a day or two of safety since it's been packed for so long but also, since it's at the end of my pool (not structurally holding anything important) I don't want to play around too long.