Weep slots between bricks

handy man88 · 09-11-2008, 06:05 PM

I have a house with a brick facade on all 4 sides.

I want to improve drainage on one side of my house by raising the grade against my house.

I do see that there are weep slots for the brick that may prevent me from making the pitch of the slope higher. These slots are just vertical spaces between the bricks that don't have mortar.

Can I just fill these weep holes with spray foam, and then just use masonry bits to drill new weep holes a bit higher (6-8 inches)? I noticed that the weep holes that I want to fill in are lower than the ones on the same level along the house.

Is it just as simple as that?

stuccoman · 09-11-2008, 06:10 PM

No.

Is there wood framing behind the brick in the location you are talking about?

buletbob · 09-11-2008, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuccoman

No.

Is there wood framing behind the brick in the location you are talking about?

The weep holes should be at there lowest point. if you fill them and make new ones higher what will happen . if any water gets behind the brick it will collect behind the brick and rise until it finds away out. Causing anything behind the brick to get wet and eventually rot.

stuccoman · 09-11-2008, 06:43 PM

http://www.olympiancares.com/mason%2...k%20veneer.pdf

handy man88 · 09-11-2008, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buletbob

The weep holes should be at there lowest point. if you fill them and make new ones higher what will happen . if any water gets behind the brick it will collect behind the brick and rise until it finds away out. Causing anything behind the brick to get wet and eventually rot.

The backing behind the brick facade is probably sheathing and then a membrane. I don't know for sure because this house is almost 10 years old and I am not the original owner.

I assume there's a membrane because that's what I usually see when brick is installed. If there's a membrane, then logic says that it should repel any water. Otherwise, the sheathing would be wet after any rain, with or without a membrane or weep hole.

The weep holes, I assume, just provide a path for excess water to drain.

I'm only planning to move the weep holes up max of 2 bricks. Is that even too much? Main reason is to increase the pitch of the slope off my house onto the ground.

Let's say I don't plug these weep slots and just grade over them. I heard this was bad because it allows a path for termites. Any other bad things to grade over the weep holes?

Tscarborough · 09-11-2008, 07:30 PM

As a rule, the flashing will only be 5-6" up the wall. I would not advise to proceed. The flashing is an issue, and putting dirt against the brick is another separate issue. Better to cut away from the wall rather than to fill against it.

handy man88 · 09-11-2008, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tscarborough

As a rule, the flashing will only be 5-6" up the wall. I would not advise to proceed. The flashing is an issue, and putting dirt against the brick is another separate issue. Better to cut away from the wall rather than to fill against it.

But, below the dirt level already, is brick. Currently, the existing weep slots aren't at the lowest level of the brick.

stuccoman · 09-11-2008, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handy man88

But, below the dirt level already, is brick. Currently, the existing weep slots aren't at the lowest level of the brick.

Did you look at the link I posted?

Look at the first picture at the bottom of the wall.

Tscarborough · 09-11-2008, 08:26 PM

I don't need to look at it, but I hope he does so.

handy man88 · 09-12-2008, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuccoman

Did you look at the link I posted?

Look at the first picture at the bottom of the wall.

Yes, it looks like the weep holes are located where the flashing lips out. Thus, if I spray foam over the current weep holes and drill new weep holes higher, the water that gets behind the brick will still go to the original weep holes and just collect there, because it can't drain since the original weep holes are sealed.

But, it seems that even if this water can't drain, this moisture will still be shielded from the wood sheathing by the membrane and the flashing, and will probably just leech out of the mortar. Best case scenario.

I probably won't be moving the weep holes higher.

Thanks for your time and efforts.

Reilley · 09-12-2008, 08:21 AM

I recently purchased a brick home and going into it I knew there was an issue. The lowest level of brick was spalled around the brick patio because whoever laid the patio butted the patio bricks up against the lowest level of brick veneer (nearly flush with the mortar between the 1st/2nd row). Needless to say now I have to redo the patio properly and seal the spalled bricks.

Anything touching brick veneer will cause it to hold moisture. If you're in an area that gets cold, the moisture will freeze in the brick and cause it to crack/spall. I don't recommend bringing your grade in contact with the brick veneer due to this reason, and the ones previously discussed.

handy man88 · 09-12-2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reilley

I recently purchased a brick home and going into it I knew there was an issue. The lowest level of brick was spalled around the brick patio because whoever laid the patio butted the patio bricks up against the lowest level of brick veneer (nearly flush with the mortar between the 1st/2nd row). Needless to say now I have to redo the patio properly and seal the spalled bricks.

Anything touching brick veneer will cause it to hold moisture. If you're in an area that gets cold, the moisture will freeze in the brick and cause it to crack/spall. I don't recommend bringing your grade in contact with the brick veneer due to this reason, and the ones previously discussed.

Grading against brick veneer is very common. Sometimes, you either deal with a cracked brick, or drainage issues. Cracked bricks sound easier to deal with.