[Nettie_sue]

I have a retaining wall that is crumbling. I was told that the reason is from freeze and thaw caused by cracks somewhere in the sealent. I've removed the damaged block and want to remove the sealent to replace loose mortar and to inspect the remaining block. Is there any way to do this?

[ballengerb1]

Cinderblock or even concrete block is a very bad choice for a retaining wall. They are almost totally impossible to totally seal out all moisture. Freezing and thawing will always crumble them in a matter of a few years.To do you you need to do means digging on the high side all the way down to the footing, if there even is one, and removing all the old sealant. If this were me I'd knock down the wall at that point and put in a proper wall. How tall is it?

[Nettie_sue]

The wall itself is probably four feet tall but on one end it retains only about one foot and the other end about 3 1/2. It is right beside my driveway and is retaining the dirt beneath the concrete drive. The top layer of block all had to be removed due to freeze and thaw. On the end that retains only a foot, three rows of block had to be removed. I've used a wire brush on a drill and it is not taking any of the sealent off.