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Brick Foundation &

Brick Wall Defects,
Failures, Collapses
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BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS - CONTENTS: This

article series on brick foundation walls, brick structural walls
& brick veneer walls explains how to recognize & diagnose
& repair brick foundation & brick wall defects & failures
Examples & list of structural & other failures in brick walls &
foundations
Damage caused to brick structures due to thermal
expansion of long brick walls lacking expansion joints
Damage to brick veneer walls - cracks, bulges, loose brick
► Brick Wall ► Masonry Wall A catalog of types of brick foundation and brick wall damage and defects
Types of foundation damage organized by foundation materials
► Block Wall ► Wall Cracks
Photographs of brick wall damage patterns and types
► Wall Repair ► Repair Brick BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS - home
BRICK STRUCTURAL WALL Loose Bulged - separate article
®
InspectAPedia Home BRICK WALL THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS - separate article
BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged - separate article
STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS
BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES - separate article
AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine POST a QUESTION or READ FAQs about structural brick foundations & brick walls: crack, leak, or movement diagnosis,
defects, & repairs, risks of collapse
BASEMENT WATERPROOFING References
BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS
BUILDING SETTLEMENT

CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR Click to Show or Hide Related Topics

COLD POUR JOINTS, CONCRETE InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
COLUMNS & POSTS, DEFECTS

DISASTER BUILDING INSPECTION & REPAIR

EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS

FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP

FLOOD DAMAGE TO FOUNDATIONS
This article explains how to recognize, diagnose, & repair brick foundation & brick wall defects & failures
FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS such as cracks, spalling, movement, bulging, leaks, damage due to impact, settlement, frost or water
FOOTINGS EXPOSED, Repair Methods damage, and other problems. We describe types of brick foundation or wall cracks, crack patterns,
FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS differences in the meaning of cracks in different brick wall types (veneer vs. structural or solid brick
FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES walls), and where there is brick wall damage, the role of site conditions, building history, and other
FOUNDATION CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS
FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE causes of building movement and damage. This information helps in recognizing foundation defects and
FRAMING DAMAGE, INSPECTION, REPAIR to help the building owner or inspector separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from those likely to be
FRENCH DRAINS important and potentially costly to repair.
GRADING, DRAINAGE & SITE WORK
GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS

INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE

MOBILE HOMES, DOUBLEWIDES, TRAILERS

MODULAR HOME CONSTRUCTION
MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2014 InspectApedia.com, All Rights Reserved.

RETAINING WALL DESIGNS, TYPES, DAMAGE

RETAINING WALL GUARD RAILINGS
How to Recognize & Diagnose Brick Foundation & Brick Wall
STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION
Defects & Failures
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE PROBING
STRUCTURAL WOOD ASSESSMENT Examples of structural & other failures in brick walls & foundations
TERMITES
THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS
TIMBER FRAMING, ROT
TIMBER ASSESSMENT

WATER BARRIERS, EXTERIOR BUILDING

WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS
WINTERIZE A BUILDING

More Information

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Brick wall settlement: These photographs of a Canadian brick structure (courtesy Carson Dunlop) show
what is probably old and recurrent structural damage to a brick building in its above-ground walls. We
suspect there has been ongoing foundation settlement below these problem areas. [Click any image to
see an enlarged, detailed version]

Further inspection and investigation were warranted.

Watch out: Any movement in a structural brick wall which risks

having broken the bond courses in the wall, and any movement in
a brick veneer wall which has broken or loosened the connections
between the veneer to the underlying structure are potentially
dangerous and risk collapsing masonry! Also see BRICK VENEER
WALL Loose, Bulged.

Structural brick wall collapse: This historic brick structure in

Saugerties, NY, had already begun to collapse when we inspected
its condition. The root cause of failure was water from roof leaks
and at the building right side (not visible) in-slope grade and
surface runoff which soaked the structure's lower foundation walls
and permitted frost damage.

As bond coursed break and walls bulge, structures of this type are
unstable and dangerous.

It is likely that considerable portions of this structure will need to be removed before repairs can begin.
Inside we observed other evidence of collapsing foundations below other walls and we considered this
building dangerous to enter.

Structural brick foundation collapse

We can see that this collapsed brick wall was a

structural brick foundation, and the soil piled up
suggests it was done in by pressure from wet earth - a
drainage or roof drainage problem may have been the
root cause of this collapse.

[Photograph courtesy of Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop,

Toronto]

Some common brick foundation wall or brick structural

wall defects to be observed and reported include:

A List of Types of Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Damage &

Defects
This sketch of the components of a preserved solid brick
foundation with masonry exterior walls is courtesy of
Carson Dunlop Associates.

Bulging brick above-ground walls: this is likely to be

a bond-brick or bond-course failure - potentially
extremely dangerous and very urgent - can presage
sudden catastrophic building collapse!

More details of structural brick wall failures are at , at

BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged and at BULGED
vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS.
Cracks and Bulges in brick foundation walls: frost and earth loading - can push a below-grade
brick foundation wall inwards.

Often the wall is bulged inwards into a basement or crawl area as well as showing horizontal and
step cracking and loose bricks over the bulged area.

Damage occurs from slightly above ground level to roughly the frost line.More details are at and at

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BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS.

Diagonal or Stair-Stepped Cracks and loose bricks in

walls: these brick wall crack patterns are typically due to
frost, settlement, sometimes thermal expansion
(Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick), usually diagonal
or stair-stepped, often at building corners where roof
spillage is concentrated.

These may be found in both structural brick walls

(BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged) and brick
veneer walls (BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged)

Our photo (left) of step cracks in a structural brick wall

also shows that the upper section of the wall has bulged
outwards past the lower or right hand section of this structure.

Bond courses were lost or broken in this wall, damaged by water (roof spillage) and frost.
Ultimately this wall section was re-built.

Lintel damage over windows or doors due to

improper caulking or sealing - caulking at steel lintels
over openings in brick walls can trap moisture leading to
exfoliating rust and severe damage, even cracked loose
bricks in the wall.

Our photo (left) shows caulk between the bricks over a

window and the upper surface of the steel lintel. Look
closely (click to enlarge) and you'll see that the lintel is
delaminating.
Loose bricks and missing or lost mortar: and
movement where mortar is severely washed-out by roof
spillage or other water movement against the foundation.

Loose and lost bricks may also occur where wood blocks, originally set into a wall to permit nailing
of interior components, is damaged by insects or decay. Similarly, if wood joists are damaged and
bend excessively or collapse (insect damage, rot, fire) the collapsing joist can, as its in-wall end
moves, damage the foundation or building wall. (Fire cuts on wood joists in brick walls were
intended to minimize this damage source by angling the end of the joist where it was set into the
wall pocket.)
Sand-blasted bricks which have been "cleaned" of old paint, algae, or stains using high pressure
sand blasting or possibly even very high pressure water blasting can be permanently damaged by
loss of the harder surface of the bricks which had been provided by their original firing.

Once the softer internal brick has been exposed, the bricks will be more inclined to absorb water
and to suffer water and (in northern climates) frost damage. Sandblasting brick is considered a
poor practice in building renovation and maintenance.

Spalling bricks: brick spalling (photo at left) is caused

by water and frost, such as water leaking into a brick
structure at any entry point: a crack, a brick which has
lost its hard surface, or at openings by window and door
penetrations. But beware about caulking brick - review
our next item.
Exfoliating-rust damage to brick or other masonry
walls(improperly) occurs when brick walls have been
improperly caulked where caulking should have been
omitted.

The most common example of this defect is the damage

that occurs to a brick wall when a steel lintel over a window or door is caulked tightly between the
brick and the steel. Moisture penetrating the brick wall through cracks or mortar joints is trapped
around the steel lintel. Rust developing on steel lintels has tremendous lifting power as the rusting
exfoliating metal expands, sufficient to crack and damage bricks around lintel.

We inspected a Manhattan apartment building which suffered multi-million damage to its brick
exterior after a new "super" insisted on caulking tightly all of the steel window lintels.
Thermal expansion or cracking of brick walls occurs when a long or tall brick wall is built
without adequate expansion joints. With age, brick walls "grow" in dimension. Details are at
Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick.

Improper repair mortar used during "repair work",

tuckpointing bricks, or re-pointing bricks can cause
surface spalling of bricks if the mason uses a too-hard
mortar high-portland content mortar on soft brick in a
climate exposed to freezing weather.

Our photo (left) of a brick structure near the Maine coast

shows neat workmanship, but poor choice of mortar in

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an extensive tuckpointing job.

The high portland content means that the mortar will be

not only harder, but more waterproof than the
surrounding brick. Water trapped around the hard
mortar can freeze leading to surface spalling of the bricks.

This is particularly likely to be seen when a wall has been tuckpointed using hard high-portland mortar
where originally a soft high-lime mortar was used and where the original bricks were soft.

Weep holes missing in structural brick or veneer brick walls - see BRICK WALL DRAINAGE
WEEP HOLES

FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION discusses detail

the process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of
foundation damage by examining the crack size, shape,
pattern, and location.
FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS
explains a simple method for determining how much
bulge or lean is present in a foundation or wall,
FOUNDATION MOVEMENT ACTIVE vs. STATIC helps
determine if the foundation movement is ongoing
FOUNDATION DAMAGE SEVERITY discusses how we
decide the severity of foundation damage and the
urgency of further action
FOUNDATION FAILURES by TYPE & MATERIAL describes the types of foundation damage,
cracks, leaks, or other defects associated with each type of foundation material (concrete, brick,
stone, concrete block, etc.).

We continue discussing how to inspect and diagnose brick foundations and walls at: BRICK WALL
THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS and how to recognize and evaluate it, and what causes thermal cracks
in brick foundation walls or building walls is discussed and illustrated at BRICK WALL THERMAL
EXPANSION CRACKS.

Also see this close companion article: FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION which discusses in detail the
process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of foundation damage by examining the crack size,
shape, pattern, and location.

More Reading

Green link shows where you are in this article series.

BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS

BRICK STRUCTURAL WALLS Loose, Bulged
BRICK WALL THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS
BRICK VENEER WALL AIR LEAKS.
BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged
BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES
BRICK WALL THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS
BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS
CONCRETE COLD POUR JOINTS
CONTROL JOINT CRACKS in CONCRETE
FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS
FOOTINGS EXPOSED, Repair Methods
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION of BUILDINGS
FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS
FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES
FOUNDATION CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS
FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION
FOUNDATION DAMAGE & REPAIR GUIDE - home
FOUNDATION FAILURES by MOVEMENT TYPE
FOUNDATION INSPECTION METHODS
FOUNDATION INSULATION OPTIONS
FOUNDATION MATERIALS, Age, Types
FOUNDATION REPAIR METHODS
FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT
FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING
SEAL CRACKS in CONCRETE, How To
SHRINKAGE vs EXPANSION vs SETTLEMENT
SLAB CRACK EVALUATION
SLAB CRACK REPAIR
FAQs below discusses field reports of problems & solutions for this topic
Related Topics, found near the top of this page providers a complete list articles closely related to
this one.

...

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about brick foundations &

brick walls: inspection, troubleshooting, & repair methods

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Question: Aussie readers & brick construction

Great article! Although this information isn't specific to Australia, it has still helped me understand more
in my building contractor course. Thomas Wong, 11/29/2011

Reply:

Thomas thanks for the nice comment about our website content. We know that we have many readers in
Australia and New Zealand and I'm anxious to add terms and technical details that match those used in
your area. While climate and constuction practices vary around the world, brick and masonry
construction in general suffers similar problems in most places - often it's the local names for materials &
construction methods that vary more than the materials and pracices themselves. One man's septic
drainfield is another's soakaway bed.

We'd welcome specific questions, comments on different construction terminology used in different parts
of the world, etc. We are dedicated to making our information as accurate, complete, useful, and
unbiased as possible: we very much welcome critique, questions, or content suggestions for our web
articles. Working together and exchanging information makes us better informed than any individual can
be working alone.

Question: Solid Brick Wall Leaks, Troubleshooting, Repair Options for Sealing a
Curved or Round Top Window in a Brick Veneer Wall, Stucco Surface, or Structural
Brick Wall

I had a question I hoped you could help me answer.

We have a leak in an interior wall. We have torn out part

of the inside of the wall and have discovered that the
leak is coming through the brick mortar above the
window.

If we completely seal and waterproof the brick wall, and

install synthetic rock over the brick, could this cause any
type of mold or mildew problem behind wall or the
sheetrock wall on the inside of the house?

I have been told by some brick people a potential

interior mold problem could be caused if we used a non
breathable sealer on the brick wall. We just need to stop the leak and we never want it to come back
again.

We have been working on this for several months and would greatly appreciate your help.

We feel you may have the expertise to help us correctly know what to do to correctly fix our leak and not
cause any mold problem down the road.

We would greatly appreciate your help, - Anon.

[Our photo of a curved-top window in a stuccoed wall (above left) is from a different structure than the one
described by the reader, though the sealing problems remain the same - Ed. ]

Reply:

In general it is a better and more reliable strategy to fix

building leaks from outside the structure rather than
relying on layers of interior waterproofing. I presume
you're talking about installing drywall over the brick
interior surface of the wall - or perhaps you meant
something like Permastone? I'm unclear on that step.

But I'd want to know that the wall is not leaking before
laminating more stuff on its inside surfaces.

Even a small opening (photo at left) at a window set in a

brick wall can result in a lot of water leakage into the
building wall or interior, especially when the exterior wall
sees a combination of wind-blown rain and heavy
rainfall - a lot of water running down the vertical face of the brick wall finds and enters any opening that
it can.

A window or door set into masonry and designed not to leak, uses a combination of careful attention to
flashings, especially head flashings over windows and doors, sealants at vertical sides of windows and
doors, and properly sloped as well as sealed window sills and thresholds.

Reader Follow-up: - Do we Need Weep Holes in a Solid Brick Structural Wall?

I had another couple of questions.

1. The brick around our house is solid and does not have any weep holes. I know now they also did not
flash around any of the windows or bottom of walls. We have a raked finish. Our home is 9 years old. As
I mentioned we have a leak through the mortar above one of our windows. Although we have no
flashing, do we need to have weep holes put in the brick?

Should they be located above the interior floor level or as low as possible above ground level?

2. We have foundation vents, but we keep them closed because we have used a cleanspace
encapsulation system in the crawlspace (we also have a dehumidfier).

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3. Could the foundation vents be opened and turned into correct weep areas?

I appreciate your help. Thank you, - Anon.

Reply:

1. Not if it's a solid masonry wall, but you may need to review mortar joints and tuckpoint any in bad
shape, loose, fallen out; do not caulk or seal steel lintels over windows or doors against the brick; If the
wall were a brick veneer wall or a brick wall that included a hollow rain space between wythes of brick
(see Brick Veneer Wall Construction) then weep holes may be in order. Details about weep holes in brick
walls are at Weep Holes in Brick Walls. Also see Brick Wall Drainage, Flashing & Ventilation Products.

2. I agree, better current wisdom is convert the crawl to conditioned space;

3. I must not understand your question as foundation vents don't weep nor drain a brick wall. Besides,
solid brick? No.

Reader Follow-up:

Thank you very much for your reply. We also have a leak in a window we have not been able to stop. I
have sent you a picture (at left) to help you see it. We have had the inside of the wall cut out to the brick.
We have water that is coming in (possibly through mortar or brick or both). When we put a hose to it, it is
like a small waterfall on the inside of the house, behind the brick wall, above the window (where the
ladder is). We have a raked joint finish in the brick.

I have put an acrylic caulk (lexor) with my fingernail into the very small cracks in the head joints of the
brick. I had thought about using a breathable brick water repellant called siloxane (prosco is the
company). I am hesitant because I do not think this will permanently stop the leak.

My wife and I want to permanently stop the leak before we install a new window and fix the inside of our
home.

My questions are:

1. If we completely waterproofed the brick wall and used synthetic (faux) stone over the wall, is there any
way this method could cause a mold problem on the inside of the wall where the sheetrock is located?

2. We have several weak mortar areas around the home. If we have a mason dig them out and repoint
them, could this cause any type of worse water damage? I would like to use brick mortar if it is possible
to permanently fix the problem. One of our contractors stated digging out the mortar would cause void,
and since we have a raked finish, it probably would not work.

What is the best way to fix the bad mortar areas with a raked finish?

3. If we did use siloxane based sealer and we tested it and it worked, do you think it would be work to
stop the leak if we just reapply it every couple of years?

We have had several different contractors and window persons in our area try to help us, but we
continue to get many different answers. I have also sought help from many others, but we can not
decide how to correctly fix the problem.

We have been dealing with this problem for several months. After reading several articles on your site
yesterday, I felt that you would have the expertise to help us decide the correct way to fix our water leak.
My wife and I would very much appreciate your help with our frustrating problem. Thank you for your
help, - Anonymous by request

Reply:

Your photo (see above) reminded me of a prof I had who wrote on the board in 1/8" high letters - when
we asked him to write bigger he wrote in 3/16" high letters. But I did see an archtop window in brick -
difficult to seal or flash; When you install a new window look into a custom curved flashing with a
counterflashing that is cut into the brick and that cut sealed;

Spray silicone ased waterproofing masonry sealant

coatings (including Sure Klean® Weather Seal Siloxane
PD) improve the water resistance of solid masonry
surfaces like brick but they don't seal openings, gaps,
leaks, and have about a one-year life in my experience.

If your brick wall exterior looked like the example we

show at left, unfortunately the proper repair is removal
and replacement of those adly worn, crumbling bricks,
using a matched mortar in the replacement.

If the bricks in your wall are basically intact and retain

their original hard fired surface, tuckpointing open
mortar joints and flashing at windows and doors should
be in your repair and maintenance plans.

A silicone or other brick sealant spray or paint-on coating won't help the waterfall-at-the-window leak you
described. You can make a temporary seal from outside using geocel or a similar high grade
sealant/caulk, pending window replacement.

At left we show a bad brick wall repair, using a too-hard

(too high in portland cement) brick mortar joint repair
that also is not matched in the slightest to the original
wall's mortar joint color, texture, nor tooling. This
building, on the Vassar College Campus in
Poughkeepsie, New York, had enough deterioration that

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ultimately the college maintenance department rebuilt

this collapsing wall section and fixed the roof spillage
problem that was causing the damage.

The right repair for deteriorated mortar is to excavate the

loose stuff to sufficient depth that new mortar can be
tucked into the joints; be SURE to use mortar that is

color and texture matched to the old mortar - or your house will look horrible
as soft as the original mortar or in a freezing climate you risk future brick spalling damage

Steve Bliss comments on brick wall leak and window head flashing concerns

Steven Bliss gave us a few helpful remarks and recommended the JLC articles I list below: Steve writes:
"I am no expert on brick veneer or Drivit (aka, EIFS), but know that EIFS have generated numerous
lawsuits for leaks, especially around windows. JLC has published several articles over the years on leaky
synthetic stucco systems (ones marked FREE you can view at the JLC website without a password).

From my cursory reading of the above case, I can’t quite tell where to stucco ends and the brick begins.

Flashing of flange-type windows is another big problem in any type of wall. I’ve looked into this over the
years and written about it in my book Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November
18, 2005).

However, there’s still a lot of controversy about what is the best approach for integrating the flange,
membrane, housewrap, flashing, and siding. Regarding the watertightness of brick veneer, it’s my
understanding that it is never really watertight and depends on proper detailing of the weather barrier
beneath and weep holes to protect the structure from water damage.

Reader Follow-up:

I have found a person to make a custom curved flashing (finding someone who has ever installed one
will take a miracle).

I guess the frustrating thing for us is we had poor work done, I have spent several months researching to
find the best and correct way to do the project. I understand what is correct, but the people in our area
have either not heard of it, never done it, or have always done it a certain way.

A couple of examples:

Most in our area only use flashing tape to seal top of curved windows. The others I have found who
flash windows, use black rubber because it is flexible and easy to work with - they say they have never
had a call back for a leak.

I called the largest brick distributor in the state (Birmingham) and asked about the weep hole products
they had. The brick company said the correct protocol was to use weep rope and run it to the weep
holes. I talked with a dryvit contractor who just finished a large commercial job (church) in Huntsville.
He said they used rope for weep holes.

I called tamyra (not sure on spelling) to buy weep hole inserts that was pictured in the weep hole article -
their machine is broken, can not make the product, and do not know when they will start again.

These are just a couple of examples of what we go through. I greatly appreciate all of your help that you
have provided.

Could you please tell me what the counter flashing is. Could you please provide a picture or tell me how
to locate one.

Reply: - Counter Flashing & Metal Drip Caps for Windows & Doors

Most flashing designs for roofs (though not for many

windows) are made of two pieces. An underpiece intercepts
water at the vertical to horizontal (or sloping)( surface and
directs it back onto the roof or other draining surface so that it
can drain away from or off of the structure rather than into it.

The second or upper piece of flashing, counter-flashing, is

designed to intercept water that might run behind the vertical
surface of the first flashing.

Counter flashing, then, is a second course of flashing that

overlaps the upper end of the vertical portion of roof or other
flashings to prevent water that runs down a vertical surface
(building wall, chimney side) from passing behind the under
flashing.

The upper edge of the counter-flashing is either installed

beneath building siding, or is bent over at a 90 degree angle
and sealed into a groove cut into the building wall. Or some
installers use a peel-and-stick membrane beneath the siding
and sheathing wrap and over the top of the step flashing, as
shown in the illustration at left, courtesy of Steve Bliss & Best Practices Guide to Residential
Construction

Watch out: Some inexperienced installers omit counterflashing and instead rely on simply caulking that
vertical upper edge - an unreliable solution.

Metal drip cap over window & doors:

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Over windows and doors manufacturers such as

Anderson often provide a single piece of flashing
designed to do the whole job of keeping water from
entering the structure at the top of a window or door.

In a retrofit window or door installation, such as the

Anderson sliding glass door shown at left, the factory
head flashing or drip cap is installed over the new door
frame and inclorporates a vertical flange that will be
sealed against the building wall using first flashing tape,
and second a horzontal trim board whose top edge is
caulked to keep water from running behind the trim.

For details on how to install window & skylight flashing

& sealants take a look at Window Flashing & Sealing Guide

Details about flashing and counterflashing are at are at FLASHING ROOF WALL DETAILS and at
FLASHING MEMBRANES PEEL & STICK.

In new window or door construction (our photo at

left), the uppermost edge of the window or door drip cap
or head flashing is installed underneath the finish
siding, and the lowermost edge of that head flashing
extends out past the horizontal edge of the window or
door top trim and is usually bent to include a lip or drip
edge to direct water droplets off of the surface so that
water doesn't simply run down it or weep back under
the flashing by capillary action.

Obviously, you wouldn't try installing flashing tape

against a brick wall or brick veneer wall surface.

On a brick wall or brick veneer the head flashing (or

counter flashing if it's used) over a window or door are either installed to extend their vertical flange up
the wall sheathing beneath the housewrap and beneath the brick veneer (new construction) or the head
flashing is bent to a 90 degree and let into a groove cut into the brick wall and then that groove is sealed
using a high grade sealant such as Geocel (retrofit or repair construction).

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(May 11, 2014) DanJoeFriedman (mod) said:

Mike I don't blame you for asking, as the question makes me nervous too. I think you need an onsite
expert to understand how the wall is constructed, where and how much forces will be applied from
the ledger bolting, and thus to specify for you the nature and extent of reinforcement that the bolt will
have to use. I don't think the issue is the hardness of the mortar as much as the strength of the whole
wall structure.

Watch out: though, adding hard mortar to soft brick in an old wall invites later spalling damage.

(May 9, 2014) mike in COlorado, thru bolting in old brick said:

Question about thru-bolting a ledger to old brick wall. I want to bolt thru joist pocket space to a star
plate on stuccoed exterior, and pour constr. grout into that space behind the ledger 2x. The brick is
very soft---is the grout too hard so that it might cause damage? Very dry here and no moisture coming
thru very thick traditional stucco job. Wall is always dry. Just want to make sure hard cement grout
won't hurt the old brick(which is in not great shape already) thanks

(Mar 16, 2013) DanJoeFriedman (mod) said:

Davis,

The first question to answer is whether the brick on your home is a brick veneer or instead is a
structural wall. Extensive repairs to more than 15% of the wall areas typically translates into a quite
significant expense, regardless of whether the problem is cosmetic, leakage, or structural in import.
But ff the latter, that is if the damaged brick wall is structural, then the implications of damaged and
soft brick could be very serious, even risking a collapse.

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Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects & Failures http://inspectapedia.com/structure/FoundationOccur5.htm

In some older brick buildings I've inspected there were specific leak points, e.g. a roof drainage
defect, that sent water down and into just a specific area of the walls below - limiting the scope of
damage.

In other cases problems were more extensive or even building wide, or encompassed most of side(s)
of the building most-exposed to weather

I would hire a local mason who has specific experience with brick wall repair work and ask for his help
in assessing the extent of damage and need for repair.

Use the CONTACT US link to send me some sharp photos if can and we can comment further.

Daniel

(Mar 16, 2013) DanJoeFriedman (mod) said:

Kaspars,

Thank you so much for your kind comment. We work hard to make InspectApedia articles useful and
clear and are grateful when we hear of good results. You are most welcome to ask questions or
suggest corrections or improvements as well - working together with readers like you has been most
helpful.

With respect,

Daniel Friedman

(Mar 15, 2013) Davis said:

Im going to buy an older home and it has a brick exterior as well as a brick and stone foundation.
there appears to be quite a bit of damage from water. the brick is soft and is breaking apart in various
areas. HOw can I tell if this is something major or something that needs attention to re-direct water
away and then make some repairs. it's very confusing

(July 21, 2012) DanJoeFriedman (mod) said:

Sagar, thanks for the nice comment. If you mean, however that the article above is intelligible only to
someone with technical engineering education, I'd like to hear that criticism so that we can work on
the langugage - our object is to have the article make sense to everyone. Thanks. Daniel

(July 19, 2012) sagar said:

it's a very good detail about the brick masonary and there defects
& failure and also repair to it's..............nice onr for civil engineer

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