I’m sure people have seen these elsewhere. Exposed diagonal brickwork laid on their sides at grade level under the brick veneer. I have noticed these in a number of houses now but don’t understand their installation like this. Does anyone know what purpose they serve when laid this way rather than regular brick on foundation block walls?
Brick ledge is too low and need clearance for weeps… these raise the first row of bricks to assist the weep drainage. First brick course if “supposed” to be above grade.
appear to be retrofit & doubt they serve any purpose besides fill
exposed horizontal holes as w/cmu defeats structural need/requirement
what type foundation
They are as installed when built so are not retrofit and are laid to concrete block foundation walls to a crawlspace. As I said, I have seen a number of these on relatively new builds and can’t understand why they would be built this way.
Crawlspace venting possibly.
What did you observe for venting in the crawlspace?
First and foremost, a clearance issue.
Genuine Clay Brick should have a 6" inches or 150mm clearance from finished grade.
There were thermostatic vents installed to the crawlspace walls, so unfortunately this could be ruled out. Still a quandry??
Question. Are the homes wrapped in WRB. Air Tight Sealed wall assemblies?
Maybe wall assemble venting. The opens being a drip screed chanel.
Reach out to the builder.
Do you have a photo of the interior side of this condition?
David, thermostatic crawl space vents can be problematic from what I have read. Not reliable means to vent crawl spaces effectively.
Q: Are all the bricks laid diagonally under the thermostatic crawl space vents as displayed in your image?
Awaiting your reply.
Best.
I sure as hell can’t see that as an accepted construction standard of practice.
First, it allows access to termites and whatever else in the veneer cavity.
Second, it is the wrong kind of bricks to be in the ground.
Third, it should be solid brick with the back side grouted and weep holes above ground just above the flashing.
Looks like a shortcut savings to me on the part of the Contractor. 
They are crawl-space vents and they should not be buried in the dirt.