Clean the joints with water.
Removing seams in concrete block walls.
You will need the following tools to start.
1 trace the mortar joints surrounding the blocks you wish to remove using a marker.
To remove blocks you have to cut through the hardened mortar using saws designed for masonry work.
However some walls gush water through openings in the concrete.
Run the entire bead and then using your spray bottle filled with solvent or water depending upon the type of caulk you selected wet your finger and draw it down the joint to smooth and clean any excess.
2 apply the cleaning solution.
Start at outside corners and work inward.
You will need a bucket filled with warm water liquid dish soap sponge clean cloth paint or bristle brush dry cloth protective goggles and a fan.
If the surface is outdoors you can use a hose to spray down the surface.
Between mortar joints for cement block walls and around pipes where they enter or exit such as a water supply line or a sewer pipe.
You only need to grind 3 4 in.
This can diminish the appearance of your basement walls.
How to seal a leaking concrete wall.
Fill the holes and cracks as deeply as you can then scrape the top over with a trowel so the concrete can patch the wall together evenly.
Apply mortar to vertical joints.
Mix up new mortar.
If you notice a white powdery film on your basement walls efflorescence is likely the culprit.
Hold the grinder with both hands to keep it steady and avoid grinding into the bricks.
A high quality dehumidifier will help remove excess.
To remove efflorescence from your concrete block walls you will need a few handy tools and ingredients.
Or if the surface is indoors you can use a spray bottle filled with water to rinse the surface thoroughly.
Efflorescence typically shows up better on darker concrete and occurs when the salts and other materials in the concrete make their way to the surface.
Fill in the cracks or holes with concrete.
Concrete walls sometimes only leak periodically such as after a hard rain or during snow melts.
Start by grinding the top and bottom of the horizontal bed joints with an angle grinder photo 1.
Safety goggles cold chisel hammer masonry caulk wire brush mortar mix.
Squeeze the caulk from your caulk gun so that the caulk fills the joint top to bottom and backer rod to the surface of the concrete block.