diff --git a/docs/config/config-dotfiles.md b/docs/config/config-dotfiles.md
index cad385e..1db9e45 100644
--- a/docs/config/config-dotfiles.md
+++ b/docs/config/config-dotfiles.md
@@ -236,8 +236,7 @@ dotfiles:
       - "*otherdir*"
 ```
 
-When this option is enabled:
-- During **install** operations, any directory matching a pattern in `dir_as_block` will be replaced as a whole, rather than updating individual files
-- This option has **no effect** on **compare** operations, which will always show file-by-file differences
-
-This option defaults to an empty list and can be set on any dotfile that represents a directory. It has no effect on dotfiles that are regular files.
\ No newline at end of file
+Note:
+- During **install** operations, any directory matching a pattern in `dir_as_block` will be replaced as a whole
+- This option has no effect on **compare** operations, which will always show file-by-file differences
+- This option has no effect on dotfiles that are regular files
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dotdrop/dotdrop.py b/dotdrop/dotdrop.py
index 45cda4a..037f64b 100644
--- a/dotdrop/dotdrop.py
+++ b/dotdrop/dotdrop.py
@@ -232,9 +232,6 @@ def _dotfile_install(opts, dotfile, tmpdir=None):
         LinkTypes.RELATIVE, LinkTypes.ABSOLUTE
     ):
         # nolink|relative|absolute|link_children
-        asblock = False
-        if hasattr(dotfile, 'dir_as_block'):
-            asblock = True
         ret, err = inst.install(
             templ,
             dotfile.src,
@@ -244,7 +241,7 @@ def _dotfile_install(opts, dotfile, tmpdir=None):
             is_template=is_template,
             ignore=ignores,
             chmod=dotfile.chmod,
-            dir_as_block=asblock,
+            dir_as_block=dotfile.dir_as_block,
         )
     else:
         # nolink
@@ -258,9 +255,6 @@ def _dotfile_install(opts, dotfile, tmpdir=None):
             src = tmp
         # make sure to re-evaluate if is template
         is_template = dotfile.template and Templategen.path_is_template(src)
-        asblock = False
-        if hasattr(dotfile, "dir_as_block"):
-            asblock = True
         ret, err = inst.install(
             templ,
             src,
@@ -271,7 +265,7 @@ def _dotfile_install(opts, dotfile, tmpdir=None):
             ignore=ignores,
             is_template=is_template,
             chmod=dotfile.chmod,
-            dir_as_block=asblock,
+            dir_as_block=dotfile.dir_as_block,
         )
         if tmp:
             tmp = os.path.join(opts.dotpath, tmp)
diff --git a/dotdrop/ftree.py b/dotdrop/ftree.py
index c1dd66d..d911899 100644
--- a/dotdrop/ftree.py
+++ b/dotdrop/ftree.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ filesystem tree for directories
 
 
 import os
-import fnmatch
 
 # local imports
 from dotdrop.utils import must_ignore, dir_empty
@@ -19,11 +18,11 @@ class FTreeDir:
     directory tree for comparison
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, path, ignores=None, debug=False, dir_as_block=None):
+    def __init__(self, path, ignores=None,
+                 debug=False):
         self.path = path
         self.ignores = ignores
         self.debug = debug
-        self.dir_as_block = dir_as_block or []
         self.entries = []
         self.log = Logger(debug=self.debug)
         if os.path.exists(path) and os.path.isdir(path):
@@ -35,12 +34,6 @@ class FTreeDir:
         ignore empty directory
         test for ignore pattern
         """
-        for pattern in self.dir_as_block:
-            if fnmatch.fnmatch(self.path, pattern):
-                self.log.dbg(f'dir_as_block match: {pattern} for {self.path}')
-                self.entries.append(self.path)
-                return
-
         for root, dirs, files in os.walk(self.path, followlinks=True):
             for file in files:
                 fpath = os.path.join(root, file)