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Discussion Forum

water damaged wall repair ??

TomW | Posted in General Discussion on August 28, 2013 02:05am

Been forever since I posted here but I have an issue I need to run by the forum experts.

I found that I have a had a downspout issue that leaked behine the daylight basement brick facade and has completely rotted out the corner OSB sheathing, about 3 studs, part of the top plates and a few inchess of rim joist in each direction. The house only has osb at the corners and foam sheathing everywhere else. No tarpaper was installed behind the brick but I assume it should have been. 

Plan is to sister in sections of rim joist, replace the studs ( possibly pt) and about three feet of top plate staggering the joints, replaced the sheathing with the foam sheathing as it appears rather impervious to the mositure issue and let in a galvanized diagonal braze for wind bracing instead of the osb.

Sorry if the photos are sideways. 

Thanks, Tom

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  1. TomW | Aug 29, 2013 12:24pm | #1

    All three photos show rot. The middle photo show the sill plate, cant see it will but where it is black in the corner i can shove a screwdriver through it, botth peices going back a foot or so from the corner. Where there is exposed brick is where there was OSB sheathing thet crumbled away olong with both end studs, they are colmpletely gone, nothing left. The third photo show the discolored osb that is damaged but still solid. i will remove that and replace with foam board.

  2. sapwood | Aug 29, 2013 06:31pm | #2

    I notice that your scope of work does not include either removing the brick wainscoat or flashing it properly. So what ever you do decide to do, be sure you enjoy it. Because you'll be doing it all again in the future.

    My house had a stone facade when we bought it. It also had rotten sheathing, rotted sills, resident termites, and all the other assorted benefits of poor construction. That stone made a nice retaining wall in the garden. 

    1. TomW | Aug 30, 2013 10:21am | #3

      How would you flash it properly? We are talking the entire rear of the house. If removal is required. Thats well over 100 ft of 8' high brick. Other than the downspout issue I haven seen any other problems.

      My initial post was followed by ??? I am asking for advice here. Removing that much brick really isnt an option so what can be done to prevent the issue in the future. is there a way  to do it now?

      1. sapwood | Aug 30, 2013 12:30pm | #4

        I'm assuming that removal of all the brick isn't an option due to expense. I can't argue with that... So, I'd do two things: First, be sure that there isn't any more water damage. That means opening up the wall from the inside, peeling back the insulation and doing a visual check. You might also employ the use of a moisture meter if one is available. If there is any question about the presense of moisture, then I'd be sure to make a meter available. Second, I'd be sure that the top of the brick was properly flashed so that rain water cannot get behind it. Since you didn't provide any photos of the exterior (sideways or otherwise) I can't imagine what this flashing detail would look like. 

        1. DanH | Aug 30, 2013 06:45pm | #5

          Uh, I think he's already opened up the wall and peeled back the insulation.

          1. sapwood | Aug 31, 2013 12:12pm | #7

            Dan, I think that's a pretty big assumption to make. His photo shows only a minor amount of that 100' wall. And some of that insulation shown doesn't look peeled back to me. 

          2. DanH | Aug 31, 2013 01:19pm | #8

            I'm assuming that the downspout doesn't somehow extend sideways over the entire 100 feet.

  3. DanH | Aug 30, 2013 06:49pm | #6

    How precisely did the leak get behind the wall?  And does the brick go all the way to the roof, or is there a water table and wood siding above, or what?

    1. TomW | Sep 05, 2013 09:58am | #9

      I will post pics of the exterior brick detail. The damage is limited to this location, although the other corner could face the same problem. I can peel back insulation fairly easily as I am removing the pegoard covering and prepping to install drywall. Just been covered up with work and other projects.

      I appreciate the input so far.

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