Water Leaking Through Brick. Please Help.

I have a eight year old two storey house, with the first storey built about4 feet off the ground. I will divide my exterior walls, starting from thebasement floor and ending with the roof top, into 3 sections based on changesin materials. The 1st section is 8 inch thick poured concrete foundation thatis 91 inches high. The 2nd section is brick veneer on the exterior and cinderblockon the interior that is 12 inches high. The 3rd section is brick veneer on theexterior and wood framing on the interior up to the roof. On the exterior viewof the house the poured concrete foundation extends roughly 6 inches abovegrade. Also on the exterior there are weeps set into the 5th row of the brickveneer, which is inline with the bottom of the third section of wall. Insidethe weeps it looks like the proper foundation flashing is installed between the4th and 5th rows. The 2nd wall section, the 12 inch section that is brickveneer and cinderblock, which is also below the weeps, does not have weeps.

The problem I am having is that during a strong wind rain storm, there is waterseeping in through the second section of exterior wall. Water does not seep induring a normal rain storm that has little to now wind.

I had a brick layer friend explain to me that since brick veneer is notwaterproof. That during a strong wind rain storm the brick can become saturatedand water will pass through the brick veneer into the cavity between theexterior brick veneer and the interior structure. And since the 12 inch sectiondoes not have weeps, and is only cinderblock on the interior, which is evenmore porous than brick veneer, this is why you are getting water coming induring a strong wind rain storm.

His solution is to remove the bottom three rows of brick veneer, tar thecinderblock section, and install a foundation flashing down to the pouredconcrete and then re-install the bottom three rows with weeps on the bottomrow.

I was thinking the better solution would be to remove the bottom 5 or 6 rows ofbrick veneer, including the current flashing. Install proper weather sheathingto the cinderblock and and install foundation flashing down to the pouredconcrete and then re-install the 5 or 6 rows of brick veneer with weeps on thebottom row.

1. Of the two, which is the better solution? Or is there a better solution?
2. I am very worried about removing the bottom rows of brick. Wont the brick that is above, that would be floating because the bottom rows are removed, fall down/over.
3. What about a brick sealant like Thompons water seal?[/SIZE]
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Sounds to me like it is a volume of water issue and not a flashing issue. Does your house have gutters on it? and if so, do the downspouts have extenders on it at ground level to get the water away from the foundation?

Since you have a basement, you should have sufficient drainage already around your house. I think that during a heavy storm the drainage can't keep up with the amount of water and some pooling takes place in that area. If we can move the water away from the foundation it should ease your situation. A downspout extension is cheaper than mason work, worth a try.

 

The house has gutters and downspouts with extenders. The house is well graded and water does flow away from the house. I can verify that water was not pooled up around the house during the storm when water was seeping into the house. Also the diagram shows the poured foundation extends 4 to 6 inches above grade. The water did not seep in through the poured foundation, but it did seep in through the brick/cinderblock portion that starts about 4 to 6 inches off the ground, and is about 12 inches high.

The pictures only show a corner where water was coming in, but the whole expanse of the back wall had water seeping through in the same fashion as shown in the pictures. That wall is about 40 feet long. And I can verify water was not pooled up along that wall.

Also, to add to the details, the back wall of the house that had water seepage, was the only wall that was soaked wet from the top to the bottom; all other three walls stayed bone dry.

 

removing 5-6 rows and installing only one base flashing would be best is possible. However your brick and wood stud veneer wall probably has an airspace. The bottom of the wall (brick and block) area may not have any airspace and thus the water that gets behind the upper brick will come down to the location where the existing flashing is located and have no place to go (or be severly slowed down at least) . If this happens then the water may travel to the path of least resistance which would be back into the building. That is the same problem you have now but now you may have moved the water into the wood structure rather than the block.

Two rows of flashing might be neccessary to avoid this possibility unless there is a distinct airspace (1" or better) between the brick and the block. No matter what you do don't buy cheap flashing. This is not a job you want to do twice.