Suggestions on improving the look of the foundation of my house?

Question

The foundation of my house is block and when they built the house they put a thin coating of something over the block and it really looks crappy. You can see lines and trowl marks, there are also now small cracks showing where you can see the shape of the blocks underneath. I would like to do something myself (can't afford a mason) to improve the appearance of this. I have landscaped most of it but I still have a small area where landscaping wouldn't work.

Answer 1

You can grow small scrubs around the foundation at the frontage that takes care of concealment.

Answer 2

It sounds like they might have simply applied a thin veneer of mortar over the entire block face.  Something you might try to spruce it up a bit would be stucco.

http://www.doityourself.com/scat/stucco

Depending on how skilled/ambitious you are, you might also check out stamped concrete, brick veneer or tile of some kind

Answer 3

The little cracks are totally normal due to the house settling and moving a bit with freezes and thaws.  You can spackle it in with concrete filer from a tube, like caulk.  It works, and is a good idea to keep water out.

You can paint it with a sandy paint to hide the blemishes as well, or cover it with a siding.