I have a question on a house that is being build for me. the builder did not angle the last row of brick prior to the start of the hardie board, at least not to any significant degree. Is there a code that requires a certain angle for that row of brick? I have seen where sill brick should be at a 15 degree angle. But that appears to be talking about under a window. If there is a code could someone point it out to me. I am not a builder, and have talked to the contractor and am not getting a good feeling about how he is saying that this is how it is always done. Looks to me that any wind driven rain would pool up until it seeps into the wall under the flashing.
Yes, is that just for Windows or does that go for the transition from brick veneer to the hardie board siding?
Welcome to our forum John Sedell!..Enjoy!
Thanks Larry. Learning a lot of stuff never even thought about building this house.
No, not just for windows, and it serves the same purpose as at the windows.
It’s to keep water from laying on the masonry and prevent the water from backing up under that flashing and in the cavity which could cause problems with the envelope that we can not see if it was done right.
Any water laying on that brick sill, will eventually deteriorate the joints and cause problems if you are in a climate where it freezes.
Doesn’t look like the joints on that masonry were tooled properly and look pretty rough.
Well, I am in the south. South Carolina right on the Georgia border near Augusta. Not much freezing here but don’t want water to stay on that row of brick. Want it done right but I need to find the correct section of the building code before I feel that I will have a chance to get all that brick redone.
Yea, rustic farm house look. I believe it to be poor workmanship.
Try these sites of the Brick and Masonry associations for proper installation. They need to be followed.
Brick Industry Association
Masonry Institute of America
I am sorry but I cannot find anywhere on either the international building codes or the South Carolina residential codes that reference these sources. I think the builder will just just say I go by the above mentioned codes. Any ideas?
Here is the write-up that goes along with the detail I gave you.
It explains that there is no code per se, but a standard of practice to treat it as a sill.
The prime function of a sill is to channel water away from the building. The sill may consist of a single unit or multiple units; it may be built in place or prefabricated; and it may be constructed of various materials.
All sills should be sloped to the outside to promote drainage. A minimum angle of 15 degrees from horizontal, approximately ¼ in./in. (25 mm/100 mm) is recommended for brick rowlock sills.
Thanks, I will also point out the section the refers to the envelope is to protect from moisture, I believe that is section R703
I think that relates more to the WRB for the wall assembly, but we can’t see if that was done properly.