Brick house

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

Thanks MC. You the man. Lobsterfest is just around the corner.

Hey Linas, if you come back, let me know in advance and my wife and I will join you.

Marcel

[tlower]

Hey Gary,
Just thought I would put my two cents in here. If I am correct, and this could be a long shot, but as I recall weep holes have been a building code requirement since 1974. BUT we are not required to inspect code. If you don't know just report on what you see and thats all. If this were me I would report on the lack weep holes and state their purpose and leave it up to the buyers as to what action to take.

Off the record though If there is no visual problem after 35 yrs. inside or outside the wall, more than likely there isn't one. But that's just an opinion.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by tlower

Hey Gary,
Just thought I would put my two cents in here. If I am correct, and this could be a long shot, but as I recall weep holes have been a building code requirement since 1974. BUT we are not required to inspect code. If you don't know just report on what you see and thats all. If this were me I would report on the lack weep holes and state their purpose and leave it up to the buyers as to what action to take.

Off the record though If there is no visual problem after 35 yrs. inside or outside the wall, more than likely there isn't one. But that's just an opinion.

You are correct Tim.

Well done.

Marcel

[nbhi]

This is how I reported it:

Weep holes in the brick veneer are not present. Weep holes are intended to keep moisture away from the structure behind the brick. The home is not experiencing high moisture levels at the outside walls and there are no signs of water entry to the underside, top and ends of the floor system.
Adding weep holes would not help without wall flashings. Should there be a leak, the brick or stone could be sealed with a clear coating that would prevent water entry through the veneer.

[Barry Adair]

Originally Posted by mcyr

I have never seen any water come out of a weep hole in 40 years.

They work relatively well when a defective dishwasher pump connection is flooding the house
Just wanted you to see them in action before another 40 years passed you by.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Funny Barry, and I remember seeing that one.

Actually, I lied.

I also purposely had a garden hose pumping water in the brick cavity once to try and find a flashing leak.
It worked.

A few bricks were removed and flashing repaired.

Marcel

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by nbhi

This is how I reported it:

Weep holes in the brick veneer are not present. Weep holes are intended to keep moisture away from the structure behind the brick. The home is not experiencing high moisture levels at the outside walls and there are no signs of water entry to the underside, top and ends of the floor system.
Adding weep holes would not help without wall flashings. Should there be a leak, the brick or stone could be sealed with a clear coating that would prevent water entry through the veneer.

Sounds good to me Gary.

Marcel

[John J. Passailaigue, Jr.]

OK, here is my two cents worth. I live in Auburn , AL and the city built a new building (2000) for conventions, meetings, ect. No weep holes installed. Started to stink like a basket ball gym locker room. Found out that no weep holes were installed and causing the problem of stench. City went to a contractor, and he installed weep holes and added flashing as he went along. Took a long time and now everything is fine. Biggest problem around here is mold growth because of the level of humidity all year. Plus it is hotter than the surface of the sun in the summer time. I always call weep holes out. True, I'm not a code enforcer and have no intentions of becoming one. The one thing I always AM hired to do is to protect MY clients to the best of my abilities and knowledge. I will continue to do such as long as I am in business. I am NOT going to limit myself to-wards my client in fear of him suing me because of something I did or did not state or in a "politically correct" statement. All we can do as home inspectors is the best that we can. Other wise we would be refereed to as house inspectors, not home inspectors. These are peoples HOMES......not just a house. That's been my philosophy since starting my business, and that's how I run my business. Now, I'm not telling anyone to change or saying (typing) this to hurt anyones feelings. If I have, well get over it. I can't please everyone all the time. It's impossible. just wanted to share my feelings and philosophies on the subject. If you believe I am wrong. Let's debate. I'm also wanting to learn everyday so if you have any education that you can give me that will be USEFUL, feel free. Thanks for your time and see you in the trenches!

[Marcel R. Cyr]

John, nothing you said is inaccurate.

The bottom line is that if no weep holes are observed, make note of it.
And I agree with you that under the right conditions, no weep holes could be a problem.
The question remains therefore, that if no weep holes are present, is there a flashing installed? Is there a potential leakage? Is there a smell? Is there visible damage to the interior framing? Is there signs of mold at the interior box sill if there is a basement? Is there visible signs of mildew at the base of the wall and slab on grade?

If none of these signs are aparent or visible, than chances are there is no problem with the lack of the weepholes.

You are correct, Call it out anyways.

Marcel

[Bob Elliott]

Thats what makes this job interesting.
You can memorize all the right codes , call them out and be doing a bad job if you do not use common sense to figure out how serious a defect is in a certain situation.
In other words you gotta understand the way everything works together to see the whole picture.
Am I right in feeling this way?

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by relliott

Thats what makes this job interesting.
You can memorize all the right codes , call them out and be doing a bad job if you do not use common sense to figure out how serious a defect is in a certain situation.
In other words you gotta understand the way everything works together to see the whole picture.
Am I right in feeling this way?

I would have to say that you are Bob.

Marcel

And now back to the soap opera. ha. ha.

[ldapkus]

Originally Posted by mcyr

Hey Linas, if you come back, let me know in advance and my wife and I will join you.

Marcel

Marcel,
I hope to go back to Maine some time soon and when I do I'll definitely give you a holler so we can get together. Not during the winter though.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

Marcel,
I hope to go back to Maine some time soon and when I do I'll definitely give you a holler so we can get together. Not during the winter though.

Understandably so Linas. ha. ha. Freezing up here.

Marcel

[Doug Edwards]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80GyXocARV4