You need more than a mason. You need a licensed general contractor or engineer to begin with. The solution may involve stripping the existing wall cladding, which may reveal extensive decay to the wood studs or wall sheathing judging by the photos you shared. Another issue to consider: m.o.l.d.
Do not want to scare the guy Joe.
Baby out with the bath water for a fix.
Again to do it RIGHT YES. A must ? no.
WHAT IS RIGHT?
I have work brick for years. Never in my life have I seen metal flashing on brick starter course for residential.
Industrial or commercial they use Plastic on the starter.
Weep hole are directed by architect.
fixed HOMES LIKE HIS.
10 PERCENT OF MY JOBS WHERE WATER RELATED.
If the wood can dry out and spors are noted he can do a remediation on areas of concern. IF.
A mason will fix him up and I would not imagine the cost of doing that job to the letter IF NEEDED…
$ hazarding a guess. Replace Leger boards , all affected timber. Raising structure, , Gutters, masonry repair and water proofing, regrading soil, french drain. all 150,000.
Its when you open the Pandora,s box the cost escalates.
LOOK AT BLOCK?
He are masons on the go.
This is a typical job. Watch the mud fall behind the lead brick. Jumbo king.
Kiss those weep holes useless use you use screening
It is OK when you start the job right. To fix a wrong job. Woooooo.
Look for flashing.
Where did I say metal flashing was required?
Not in the United States…it’s an International Code requirement.
If what you can see is rotted, what does what you can’t see look like. How exactly do you remediate without removing the wall cladding?
You can keep on using the baby/bathwater analogy all you want, but it sure looks to me like a serious problem. Probably more serious than a “fix” by a mason.
****703.7.5 Flashing. ****Flashing shall be located beneath the first
course of masonry above finished ground level above the foundation.
Look Joe I do not question you capabilities. Not my intent.
The guy is looking for a fix. Not a new job.
My biggest problem with clients was.
Mr.Young I want a good job moneys no object-and be reasonable…
Till you show them the price.
There is a balance Joe.
It called financial balance. What the clients can afford.
I missed on you last call out about on spacing.
but the science of defect recognition and contractor repairing the defect RIGHT PROPERLY, the client can afford are so far apart.
Best HI in Montreal.
Ice damming, cathedral ceiling and pot lights.
HE missed. Did or could not understand why ice damming.
I recommended remove pots fill holes with insulation, install track light
Basement over spanned. Floor sag.
He said architect rase walls drop in H beam 12 plus large.12,000.00
Referred carpenter. He install bearing wall 2400.
under 3 large not 15000.
.
That’s usually plastic (it doesn’t say metal) flashing. Required to direct the water out the required weep holes.
OK, what is the fix? And you never did comment about how to remediate fungi growth behind the wall cladding.
Sorry Joe.
I see that post in the right bottom.
Joe you play the cards as the come.
Let the mason do his work.
You dry the place out and see whats there after.
I see everything that place needs.
Needs over sized gutter. needs wood, need regrading ,needs, needs needs,
Sorry I am tired and slow at typing.
What do you think.
Brandon do you want to know all your problems ?
Masonry/stone walls are porous. Do all those things you mention and the water will still wick through the walls. What’s apparently missing is a proper drainage plane.
From what I see Joe is that it is always a combination of defect.
Windows being the weakest link in the chain. The serpentine cracking, masonry bedding, movement, upper flashed .
So Slope roof gutters play the biggest roll in causing problems.
Yes stone can wick water but seldom that size block. Its the bedding. Masonry.
Please excuse me Joe.
I am tired just trying to keep up.
I will continue tomorrow if you wish. If not its OK. I understand. You know me from Adam Joe.
I will open a new thread on structure to get this going Joe.
Reasons brick or stone veneer degrade.
Hi I’ve been away for awhile and just catching up . I see your message Joe about the drainage . I believe that is one issue for sure . but there appears to an excessive amount of water entering the wall . Is it possible that if there is a small eave overhang and the gutters are not fitted properly this would cause water over flow from the gutters to spill down the wall . This causing an extra amount penetrating the wall ! Just a thought , it’s not like being there ! ;):D:D
Is there any requirement for an eave? (Not that I’m aware of.)
Masonry walls are porous. Water will get in and it needs a way to drain out. A drainage plane is required.
Worst case is the lack of an air gap between the stone and house. Or if they wrapped the house improperly which likely has nothing based on the build date.
Make sure they use treated lumber for all repairs Brandon.
Sorry Brandon.
Please hire a home inspector. You will be doing yourself a huge favor.
I see the most critical areas of concern being;
1: your gutters are failing there job.
2: The water is entering the foundations sill plate.
Go to my # post.
Over-sized gutters are needed. 5inch or more.
The foundation and stone starter course is the culprit from the photos I see.
If you have no visible evidence of water infiltration on the walls or ceilings of your home, the foundation looks like the issue at hand.
Where the foundation ends and the stone work begins.
Visible evidence would be.
a: Staining, paint color in darkened patch’s on walls that are on the outside wall perimeter.
I ask you to please have a gutter estimate. Its free.
The stone work is only a small part to an overall problem you have.
I guess I should have given a history of the home. It was in foreclosure when i bought it in may 2008. I noticed about 3 months into it that the gutters was installed about 2" below the drip edge, so water was running behind the gutters and down the wall. That problem was fixed over 2 years ago.
Another thing is cats and a possum was living under the house in 2008 so i removed the vapor barrier from underneath. I just recently replaced the vapor barrier with 6mil plastic. The mason told me that could be an issue.
Another thing like someone noted is that the drainage is terrible around the home, the driveway slopes towards the foundation.
So here’s some of the solutions to try and fix the problem.
The mason company is going to torch the stone and dry it out, cut out all bad/cracked joints and reset the stone. Once it’s dried they are going to seal the stone and mortar and the portland cement cladding along the bottom of the home.
I’m renting a concrete saw and cutting a trench to install a french drain along the house. I do not have thousands of dollars to spend on a new driveway right now so the french drain is my best option.
I’m going to put a dehumidifier under the house and attempt to dry out the crawlspace.
No Bedford stone homes around here are built with flashing or weepholes installed and they dont have issues like mine. All of these homes were built in the 50’s and 60’s. The home has black board installed behind the stone with the 1" gap between the blackboard and the stone. I asked the mason about resetting the stone on the whole house and he said his labor would be 10 grand just for that and he told me it’s not worth it and what we are doing will fix the problem.
I hope I’m not leaving anything out. But all in all i paid $67,000 for a home thats worth around $85,000. It doesnt add up to put $20-30,000k worth of work into it.
If i have to replace band joists and floor joists every 5-10 years, then so be it. But i dont have the money to tear down the whole exterior and redo it. plus financially it just doesnt make sense.
I appreciate you guys giving your input and i look forward to more.
I did hire a Home Inspector before I bought the home. It was the biggest waste of $300 I have ever spent, he missed almost every problem including alot of termite damage and the problem I am writing about now. Sometimes I wish I lived in Canada so I call Holmes Inspection to my house!
That,s great Mr.Nappier.
I did see water infiltration affecting your bottom stone work or starer course.
I see they ae going to seal your stone work and repair damaged masonry using portland. It is the most effective way to re point. The mixture will be the same as mixing masonry only no hydrated lime.
If you are redoing your french drain I suggest the you use geo fabric on all exposed earth and fill with 3/4 clean arrogate. The top 4: pea-stone.
The fabric is laid on the bottom ( freach drain with fiber or fabric sleeve ) and the side walls then fill with clean arrogate. No earth just clean agro.
.The geo-fabric will stop the earth from mingling with the stone and water will drop to your french drain freely.
With out,Lateral pressure and rain will wash silt and earth into the stone over 10-20 years. It will become clogged and fail over time.
I am happy you have found success.
Thanks for the update.
I wish you happiness and health in you home.