Structure Inspection Section#3 Wall System Quiz#5

You should have finished Study Session 4 and Quick Quiz 4 before starting this Study Session. This Study Session covers masonry veneer walls.

The estimated completion time is one hour.

Objectives
At the end of this study session, you should be able to:

• List five ways to identify masonry veneer walls.
• Describe in two sentences the vented rain screen principle.
• List thirteen common problems with masonry veneer walls.

Briefly describe the vented rain screen principle for a brick veneer wall. (Point form is fine. Hint: Use the words "cavity", "pressure", "drainage", "flashing", and "weep holes" in your discussion.)

The vented rain screen principle includes a one-inch cavity between the masonry wall and the wood frame wall. Weep holes in the masonry veneer allow air to pressurize the cavity, reducing the pressure differential across the brick. This helps to reduce the amount of moisture driven through the wall by wind pressure. The weep holes not only allow air into the cavity, but also allow moisture to drain out. A flashing at the bottom of the cavity extends up behind the sheathing paper and out across the top of the foundation below the brick. Water is guided out of the wall through the weep holes.

Give five techniques to help differentiate masonry veneer walls from solid masonry walls.

Characteristics of veneer walls

1. The presence of weep holes

2. The presence of wood studs inside

3. The absence of header bricks

4. The absence of masonry arches

5. A single wythe of brick supported on a metal angle fastened to the exterior of the foundation

List 13 common masonry veneer wall problems. (Think of the masonry veneer part only.)

1. Cracked

2. Bowing or leaning

3. Mortar missing or deteriorating

4. Stone/brick deterioration (including spalling)

5. Weep holes missing or obstructed

6. Flashing missing or ineffective

7. Efflorescence

8. Too close to grade

9. Wavy brick walls

10. Excess corbelling

11. Bricks on their sides

12. Sagging lintels or arches

13. Prior repairs

List seven common veneer wall problems. (Think of the wood frame part only.)

1. Rot and insect damage

2. Leaning or racking

3. Bowing or buckling

4. Excessive holes, notches or mechanical damage

5. Sagging top plate

6. Lack of fire stopping

7. Sagging lintels

What kind of masonry crack patterns do rusting steel lintels over the windows cause?

Horizontal cracks usually radiating out from the corners of the window. Occasionally there are vertical cracks over the corners of the windows.

In masonry veneer walls -

Weep holes are often found

Brick veneer walls are watertight.

False

The masonry veneer is a loadbearing part of the structure.

False