Moved into a home and looks as if when the retaining wall was installed they allowed the mortar to washout and stain the bricks. What we are left with is a very ugly street facing wall. Not great for curb appeal and want to repair. Anyone can confirm that this is what happened and way to repair? Thanks in advance. 
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1I'd guess there used to be a different retaining wall here that was tied into the brick and they replaced it with your allen block wall which is probably not mortared at all. is there a gap between the allen block and the brick? what does the other side look like? take another picture so we can see the left / right symmetry– Fresh CodemongerJul 10 at 16:40
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Yes used to be an older retaining wall. Most likely what it is. There is a slight gap.– user169735Jul 10 at 16:42
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That retaining wall looks decades older than the house wall. It looks more like the house wall was badly patched. Is that actually brick-built or is it a veneer?– TetsujinJul 10 at 16:44
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I'd be tempted to slide a large piece of white flashing between the allen blocks and the brick and follow the vertical line of the brick separation but this depends on what the other side looks like– Fresh CodemongerJul 10 at 16:45
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1My best guess is the veneer is actually missing behind a lot of that cement. Pretty much anything you do now will involve new veneer [which will be tough to match].– TetsujinJul 10 at 17:58
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1 Answer
From the comments, nobody can really tell what's going on under there. Start out by pressure cleaning that corner and then scrape the mortar with a scraper or chisel to remove the thick mortar. Then you can use some muriatic acid to remove the rest of the mortar from the bricks. Test first in a hidden area. Hopefully, you'll find that the bricks go all the way to the wall. Once cleaned up, you'll want tp seal the area, neatly, between the retaining wall and the brick wall. An epoxy sealer or grout might work well.
