As a handyman I have receive a lot of inquiries about the use of weep holes in brick veneer houses. The concerns range from “Do we need to add weep holes to protect our house from moisture?” to “If the house does not have weep holes, then there must be a structural problem.”
When I started my apprenticeship as a brick mason in the late sixties, weep holes were standard in the commercial industry. However, residential construction evolved at a slower pace. We see them more and more in new construction but less in older homes.
Well, let me go back a step. The colonial vintage houses were solid brick (no framing) and they had weep ropes coming from the lower courses of the wall and over doors and windows to wick moisture out of the wall. It was not until the twenties that brick veneer became a construction practice. The brick industry warned the public to be careful when buying a house, because there were “fake brick houses” being built. But as the early seventies rolled around, brick veneer became the industry standard for houses.
When I started my apprenticeship as a brick mason in the late sixties, weep holes were standard in the commercial industry. However, residential construction evolved at a slower pace. We see them more and more in new construction but less in older homes.
Well, let me go back a step. The colonial vintage houses were solid brick (no framing) and they had weep ropes coming from the lower courses of the wall and over doors and windows to wick moisture out of the wall. It was not until the twenties that brick veneer became a construction practice. The brick industry warned the public to be careful when buying a house, because there were “fake brick houses” being built. But as the early seventies rolled around, brick veneer became the industry standard for houses.
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