Brick veneer home with wet sheathing – mitigating vapor drive, rusted brick ties.
Hi All, I’m the owner of a 2 story brick veneer house in zone 5. The second floor has had a musty odour for some time. We opened the walls to find leaking brick veneer under the windows and some areas of the wall. The previous owner had removed some of the sheathing, presumably in areas where it had become sodden.
I will begin by repairing the brick work, and sealing around the windows but it’s clear that there is little redundancy in the wall. I would like your help to determine the safest cost-effective retrofit of the wall assembly.
Currently it is:
Brick veneer single course
Air gap plugged with many mortar bridges
tar paper
black fibreboard sheathing (celotex?)
pink fibreglass in 2×4 wall
plastic vapor barrier
drywall/plaster
As it stands I have 4/5 risk factors for solar vapor drive. The wall is already having moisture problems and I would also like to add air conditioning. That would be all 5. Is there a way to mitigate things while I have the walls open?
I read one article where a person cut and cobbled 1/2″ xps into the stud bays and put the fuzzy stuff back. Notion was that the thin foam gave 1 perm to the wall cavity which would slow the vapor drive but still allow some drying to the interior.
Would it be safe to flash and batt with a thin layer of closed cell spray foam? And put back with membrain on the interior? Or flash a bit more and no interior sheeting?
The other complicating factor is that most of the brick ties have rusted through. I would like to find a way to put some back from the interior without letting water into the wall.Â
I will also need to find a way to put back some sheathing and water shedding where the previous owners removed it. Any ideas welcome. Zip system? Foam sheathing and metal straps on the interior for shear?
Obviously the best thing would be to tear off all the brick and do it from the outside, but that is out of budget for now.
please help!
thanks
Ian
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Replies
Hi Ian,
Unfortunately, the cure for your situation is to fix the water management issues, which will need to be addressed from the exterior. Rusting brick ties are telling signs that a lot of water is entering the system. Once in, it sounds like it is damaging the water sensitive materials in the wall. If this is happening in one area, chances are other areas are experiencing the same issues. If it were my home, I'd take the brick off, repair any damage, and make sure the brick is reinstalled so that proper water management is achieved. You may also have an opportunity to improve air sealing and thermal performance of the home from the exterior.
Sorry I don't have a better solution,
Randy