Residental Wall Air Gap Masonry Systems

The flashing is the lowest point in the cavity – so drain water directly off the flashing. However, most masonry done today is masonry veneer—where you have a 3”-4” stack of masonry separated from the main wall (usually wood or metal studs with sheathing) by an air gap.

It shows metal studs, but wood studs are similar. The white is the sheathing and the pink is thew rigid insulation. You can see the air gap between the masonry and the insulation and how the brick tie spans this gap. The walls are 2×6 with 5/8 plywood sheathing & fiberglass insulation. A vapour barrier may be necessary on the inner wall to prevent interstitial condensation. On high quality work, ties were occasionally made of bronze. Any cracks appearing in cavity walls dating from the twentieth century need to be investigated before irremediable damage ensues. Failed ties have to be isolated and substitute specialist ties installed by drilling through inner and outer leaves from outside the building. Galvanized steel ties are no longer in use for this reason. Insufficient quantity of ties being installed, particularly at wall heads and around openings.

Brick Best Practices for Moisture Management

www.protradecraft.com | SUBSCRIBE please Adding brick to the outside of a house complicates insulating the outside of a slab.Air space behind brick or stone veneer walls – Residental Masonry Wall Air Gap

The advanatge here is that you can see the nail patern and make sure the ties are attached to the studs and not just the sheathing.

The tie easily spans the rigid insulation, but the insulation must be pieced around the ties.
Timing is very important with the masonry ties. If you have rigid foam outside you walls, it makes it difficult to see where the studs are located. Many people aren’t aware of the work that goes into a flawless brick construction. Most of the time people dismiss it as a brick/concrete done deal.

Historic Brick Insulation Retrofit