Installing weep holes

Be sure to install weep holes in the masonry

head joints above all flashing courses
By Christine Beall

eep holes may seem a effective evaporation and

W small part of masonry

wall construction, but
they are critical to the durability
drainage of moisture.
Open head joints are easy to
form. Mortar is left out of the
and performance of cavity walls. joint, leaving an open channel
Cavity walls and veneers are de- that is 3⁄8 inch wide by course
signed to drain the wall of mois- height by veneer depth. Space
ture. Without weep holes or with open joints 24 inches apart.
clogged weep holes, walls collect The large size of the opening al-
moisture and hold it like a dam. so lets air into the cavity to help
Weep holes should be installed dry it. In a rain screen wall, open
in the masonry head joints above head joints at the bottom and top
all flashing courses. This includes of the wall or panel provide venti-
the base of the wall, above all win- lation and equalize the pressure
dow and door lintels, and above in the cavity with the outside air,
shelf angles. Anywhere the cavity preventing moisture from being
is interrupted, you must install drawn into the wall (Ref. 1).
flashing and weeps. And be sure The main drawback of open
to keep the cavity clean of mortar joint weeps is the dark shadow Vented covers or grids placed in
droppings so the weep holes created at each opening, particu- the head joints camouflage the
don’t get blocked. larly with light-colored brick and open joints but still permit drainage
There are several ways to form mortar. The openings are so large, and evaporation.
weep holes. Each type has a dif- in fact, that building maintenance
ferent appearance as well as ad- crews all too often caulk the weep slots that can be painted to match
vantages and disadvantages. holes shut, mistakenly thinking the mortar color. Another is a
they are the source of water leaks. plastic grid 3⁄8 inch wide by course
Open head joints Some products camouflage the height by veneer depth less a l⁄8-
The most common type is the open joints and still allow them to inch recess. Both types disguise
open head joint. It provides the work properly. One is a vinyl or the openings but permit drainage
largest open area, thus the most aluminum cover with louver-type and evaporation.

Plastic tubes
Hollow plastic tubes also are
used to form weep holes. The
most common ones are 1⁄4 or 38⁄ inch
in diameter by 31⁄2 to 4 inches long.
Manufacturers recommend in-
stalling them at an angle in the
mortar of the head joints, spaced
16 inches apart. The slight angle
allows for a small amount of mor-
tar droppings in the cavity. The
closer spacing is required because
less air can enter the wall, making
evaporation slower, and less wa-
ter can drain through the tube.
Tube-type weep holes are less
conspicuous in the finished wall
Open head joints provide the most evaporation and drainage, but because
they create dark shadows they’re sometimes mistakenly caulked by main- than open joints, but they also
tenance crews. have some problems. If the in-
stalled angle is too steep, water at
the bottom of the cavity can’t
drain from the wall and can escape
only by evaporation. If the angle is
flatter and the mortar droppings
are deeper than allowed for, the
tube becomes blocked.
Some contractors put a shallow
layer of gravel in the bottom of
the cavity to promote drainage
and to keep mortar droppings
away from the tubes. A piece of
gravel, though, can lodge in or
against the small opening and de-
feat its own purpose.
Some manufacturers make larger,
rectangular tubes measuring
3
⁄8x112⁄ x312⁄ inches. Since the opening is
much larger, blockage problems are
reduced and drainage and evapora-
tion rates increase. The tubes are
spaced at 24 inches on center. With Left in the wall, rope wicks draw water to the outside without interrupting
larger openings, though, the weep the wall’s uniform appearance.
holes are more noticeable in the
wall (and possibly in danger from height of any possible mortar removal is a full 3⁄8 inch since the
the caulking gun). droppings. Moisture in the cavity thickness of the tube shell is elim-
is absorbed by the cotton materi- inated. But the hole is still small
Cotton wicks al and wicked to the outside face and easily blocked by small
Cotton wicks are used to form of the wall where it evaporates. amounts of mortar droppings.
another type of weep system. A 1⁄4- This is a slower process than The oiled rope technique is
to 3⁄8-inch-diameter rope is in- open weep holes. similar to that of the wick system.
stalled in joints at 16 inches on Nylon or hemp rope doesn’t That is, an unobstructed drainage
center. The rope should be 10 to perform well; the wick must be path is provided that is not in
12 inches long and extend cotton. Since the wick is cotton danger of accidental blockage. Af-
through the veneer face and up and it’s expected to be wet ter the wall is completed to story
into the cavity wall above the throughout its service life, it even- height, the rope is removed. The
tually will rot. After the wick rots, rope should be at least 10 to 12
an open drainage hole remains. inches long to allow adequate
Using the wick, though, assures height in the cavity and also to
that the hole isn’t inadvertently provide a handle for removal.
blocked during construction. By removing the rope instead of
Wicks also are inconspicuous and using it as a wick, the hole pro-
don’t interrupt the uniform ap- vides more rapid evaporation at
pearance of the wall. the outset of construction. The
small size of the opening also is
Oiled rods or ropes less noticeable than open joint
Another alternative for cavity weeps.
wall drainage are oiled rods or
ropes mortared into bed joints 16 Christine Beall is an architect and specifier
in Austin, Texas, and a regular contributor
inches apart and then removed to this magazine.
when the mortar has set.
The rods function much the Reference
same as plastic tube weep holes 1. Lynn R. Lauersdorf, “Stopping Rainwater
and share some of the same dis- Penetration,” Masonry Construction, May
advantages. The 3⁄8-inch-diameter 1988, pp. 74-77.
rods used are generally 31⁄2 to 4
Because hollow plastic tubes are inches long, oiled slightly to pre- PUBLICATION #M910138
smaller than open joints, they’re
less conspicuous in the finished vent mortar bond, and extended Copyright 1991
wall—but they also slow evapora- through the veneer thickness to The Aberdeen Group
tion and drainage. the cavity. The opening left after All rights reserved