Any bricklayers out there? I’m planning on doing the brick on the lower 3′ of our service station (The Stenersen Sisters Service Station), but have a question about the fact that the brick ledge sits below grade. Is this typical? To my inexperienced (but not stupid) eye, the weep screen would eventually get plugged if it’s buried, and especially if we eventually do concrete or asphalt. So do I somehow fit a weep screen in at grade? I’d like to do a soldier course at the bottom and then a running bond above, and want to SEE the soldier course (not bury it). So I’ll probably run 2 courses before the soldier…. Any ideas?
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Replies
No, you're on the right track.
Install the first, below grade courses without the weepers. Install them as if you were simply raising the level of the brick ledge.
Then you install the flexible flashing and weeps above grade and continue on up.
Gabe
Great - gives me a couple courses to practice on before I have to get good at this. Thanks for the reply.
You should fill the collar joint (the space between the block wythe and the brick wythe) solid with grout below grade. About 8 inches above grade install flashing and weep holes. From there up, maintain an open cavity between the wythes. Check BIA Technotes 28 and 29 for drawings that show these details: http://www.bia.org/html/frmset_thnt.htm
Kath, I should have said TechNotes 28 and 28a. Also, you can use the mortar that you're laying the bricks up with as grout. The purpose of the full collar joint is to keep the brick wythe from pushing in as a result of the lateral pressure of the soil.
John - thanks - makes sense. What flashing do you guys generally prefer? Mostly I've seen people like the copper or lead-plated copper best.
Kath, I like to use copper but there are many options. These are discussed briefly in the BIA TechNotes. John