Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 29, 2011 9:19 pm Can anyone help clear up my confusion about the location of weep holes in a brick veneer house (about 20ish years old) on a concrete slab? I have been advised that water damage to a wood floor on the slab is due to water not being able to drain out through the weep holes as they are partially obstructed and water is coming under and through the slab to surface and pool in the centre of the house where the damage is located. I don't understand how this would work and have since done a lot of (web-based) research about what are weep holes and where they should be located to try and understand. My confusion is because there are a set of what look exactly like the weep holes I see on the web that are on the same level as the top of the slab, about 2 brick courses above the ground around most of the house. The ground slopes away towards the back of the house and the holes that look to me like weep holes get higher as the slab/floor level gets higher in relation to ground level as the earth slopes away. (I hope that makes sense!) The assessor though is referring to holes between bricks that are below the level where the floor/slab and internal wall meet, in the bottom brick course right down at ground level. These would appear to go into the bricks of the house lower than slab/floor level and do not have the same appearance as the others that are higher up. Can there be two sets of weep holes at different levels on the wall? I haven't seen anything remotely like that in my searching and am now thoroughly confused. Any advice/info/pointers very gratefully received to assist in what decisions I now make. Cheers Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 2Aug 29, 2011 9:25 pm The higher 'weep holes' sound like inadequately mortared holes for scaffolding when the house was originally built to me. ( The scafolding tubes have flattened ends so they are the same width as a course of mortar The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 3Aug 29, 2011 9:27 pm Thanks for that. There is absolutely no mortar on them and they are level withthe top of the slab which is why I thought they were the weep holes. Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 4Aug 29, 2011 9:41 pm Photos may help some what. Ideally the weep holes need to be able to allow the moisture to escape while being below the frame level of the house. So from what you are saying it sounds like the ground level has been raised to much outside. Is this why the water can not escape?? Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 6Aug 30, 2011 8:52 am It looks like your correct. I zoomed out photo will show this better. Even though i think the weep hole is to high. One way to find out is a) take a wider photo. Secondly can you identify the plastic membrane. To me it looks like its just under the weep holes you identified. Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 7Aug 30, 2011 9:56 am I'm going to go with the bottom set of holes is the actual weep hole. It looks like your landscaping is too high. Very common I have found in houses f that age. Our place was 17 years old and the driveway was right up to the bottom of the weep holes and some garden beds were above and almost covering them. Your weep hole should be the next course above the damp proof course. Any concrete/paving/landscaping should be at least the height of one course below that. you can see here a few diagrams http://www.concrete.net.au/publications/pdf/Dampness.pdf All in all, whilst most people pay more attention to the look of their house, we all need to be careful that the landscaping we undertake does not hinder the ability of the house to disperse moisture ingress. After all, mortar is porous and does allow moisture into the air gap of the brick and frame/plaster. 150mm of gap between the top of your garden beds and the bottom of the weep holes can be hidden with plants. This issue may be harder to deal with if talking about paving or concrete, but in these cases a fall or 50mm min over the first meter is easy to do and effective. You can landscape up to the bottom of the weep holes but a gap is preferred. Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 8Aug 31, 2011 11:18 am Our certificate of occupancy specifies the allowed ground levels in relation to weep holes. 150cm from bottom of weep holes to soil, 75mm to paving or 50mm to paving with roof cover. So that's 2 courses of bricks underneath weep holes above soil, 1 course above paving and a bit less if it's paving with a roof over it. Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 9Aug 31, 2011 6:25 pm Once again many thanks for the advice. I noted B STAR's comment re the plastic membrane and set out with the camera to see what I could find. Here are two photos, one close up and the other showing location on the wall. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It looks to me like the weep holes are the ones higher up the wall not the ones at ground level but as I'm still a bit confused I might get a building inspector in for formal advice anyway. Cheers and thanks Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 11Sep 01, 2011 4:16 pm And it looks like you have plenty of height up to the weep hole! Re: Confusion about location of weep holes 12Sep 01, 2011 10:03 pm It sure looks that way. Thanks everyone for your advice. I've learned more about weep holes in the last week than I ever thought I'd want to! Cheers it depends on the natural ground level, if they excavated their boundary wall needed to be built as a retaining wall. If you filled, which sounds like the case then you… 1 7075 I know foam has been around since the 90's and CSR started manufacturing Hebel in 1989, so it's definitely possible 5 5423 You are correct. Just read through all the ncc rules and 75mm is the minimum requirement for me. 4 11152 |