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Top Ideabooks
Weep Hole
Shedding water and venting air, weep holes are healthy escapes for homes
Houzz
January 1, 2000
A weep hole is a perforation in brick or masonry buildings where trapped water can escape. Water accumulates in masonry and brick via leaks in the facade, condensation and seepage from the earth up into the foundation. Weep holes serve to circulate air to these damp areas and to provide an outlet for water to escape.
The weep holes in this masonry-built home are visible under the windows. Water enters walls from rain, ground seepage and condensation. Weep holes both aerate the stonework and provide a way for trapped water to escape.
Most weep holes are open mortar joints, vertical slots built in like a gap between the bricks. For the most part, weep holes go unnoticed, and at times are unwittingly filled in with mortar by a well-meaning but inexperienced laborer.
Weep holes are required by building code to be spaced no farther apart than every 4 feet. Without weep holes, trapped water can cause incredible amounts of damage to the structure of the home. Walls can stain with seepage, metal fasteners can rust, wood can rot or be infested with wood-destroying insects, and the foundation, mortar and brick can deteriorate due to trapped moisture.
Weep holes are placed at the top of the foundation wall but above the grade, high enough to keep creatures from crawling in. Weep holes are also required below windows, at the top of wall openings and at other key structural points where water would pool or where the masonry intersects with wood.
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Here is one of our videos showing water being released from block walls when weep holes are drilled: