Brick industry also has moisture trouble

Brick Industry also has Moisture Trouble-- Walls & Ceilings, November 1999

It isn't just EIFS homes experiencing moisture. In a recent article in Brick News by Brian Trimble, the Brick Industry Association's director of technical services, Trimble reported that he has conducted two seminars titled "Drainage Walls that Work," in which he stressed the need for "through-the-wall flashing" in brick homes.

A Milwaukee brick distributor invited Trimble to conduct the seminar because he had become alarmed by the number of calls he was receiving about water penetration in brick homes. It seems most of the builders weren't using flashing in their homes, an omission that was particularly obvious in houses with bay windows and complicated roof lines, according to Trimble.

Trimble suggests that as the size of the average brick home has increased over the years, so too has the likelihood of moisture penetration. This has mandated the need for "through-the-wall flashing at the proper locations." Some builders at his seminars said that a general decline in the quality of brick, not lack of window flashing, is the reason they're witnessing more water penetration in their homes.