Posted By Squidbilly on 06 Sep 2012 10:13 PM
I am a member of a rural Methodist Church in Southern Mississippi. We are working to complete a brand new facility and are probably 85% complete. It is a metal building (red iron w/ with brick veneer on the South and East Sides only. The brick veneer was installed directly over the corrugated metal siding on those sides.

During Hurricane Isaac, we received a great deal (15"-20") of wind driven rain on that south and east side of the building as you can imagine. Thursday, I found considerable amounts of water in the building and all over our brand new floor covering (wood + carpet + vct). However, none was noticed to have entered on the west or north walls.

Upon further inspection, there are no closure strips beneath the corrugated metal roofing. Thus, wind-driven rain (as well all that water in the overwhelmed gutters) had an unobstructed path to behind and then to the bottom of the brick veneer and into the building (since our brick veneer was constructed WITHOUT flashing or weep holes at the bottom of the wall).

Are closure strips the best solution for making that space watertight. What about Emseal .... it is better? Is it possible to perhaps retrofit some type of flashing between the top of the brick veneer wall and the bottom of the metal roofing to make that space watertight and prevent water from gettinousg behind the brick veneer wall? Any help is greatly appreciated, and I can provide pictures if needed.

Squidbilly,
the closure strips are the best, they are made to conform to your roof.
Brick/mortar is porous, there should be a membrane and bottom flashing with weep holes between the metal building and the brick veneer.
If that was not done, then short of tearing it down, the only way to seal the surface would be to coat with something like Thompson's water seal, but it would need to be done every year or two to maintain water resistance.
I hope insurance will cover your loss.
I chair the board of trustees at Hope United Methodist Church in Trinity, FL. please feel free to call me directly at 1-877-321-7477 if you want to discuss in person

After the fact weep holes can be made in the brick veneer wall by drilling out some of the mortar in the vertical joints between the brick.  Local brick masons should be able to tell you about how it should be done and the cost.

Alton; yes you can drill weeps, but if there is no brick flashing, it will make no difference.

Typical ties, bottom flashing that directs water to weeps metal or wood frame, makes no difference, the water must be directed outward

retrofit some type of flashing between the top of the brick veneer wall and the bottom of the metal roofing

That makes sense to me. And drill weep holes to create the possibility of water exiting to the outside.

Thanks for the responses. I have included a few pictures of the building. Obviously, the lack of drainage is a problem as well as the downspouts emptying so close to the building's foundation. However, I think a lot of water it getting behind the veneer from the top since there is no flashing or closure strips up there. Do the gutters look alright otherwise?

Posted By Squidbilly on 10 Sep 2012 12:20 AM
 

Thanks for the responses. I have included a few pictures of the building. Obviously, the lack of drainage is a problem as well as the downspouts emptying so close to the building's foundation. However, I think a lot of water it getting behind the veneer from the top since there is no flashing or closure strips up there. Do the gutters look alright otherwise?

I never understood WHY contractors do stupid stuff like that. With the gutters dumping all the water right at the foot of the building and foundation, you might as well NOT have gutters. At least without gutters the water would get distributed equally along the foundation instead of getting deluged in only a few spots.

First thing to do is to get all that water AWAY from the building. Not easy to do now since there is concrete there. No way to bury a drainage pipe without busting open the concrete. Maybe try running a drainage pip horizontally and have all the downspouts feed into this pipe and carry it away from the building.

I think you are correct about water getting behind the brick veneer where the roof and wall meet. Make sure your weep holes on your brick are open and not caulked shut or full of debris or dead bugs. Those weep holes eventually get clogged with bugs and should be a yearly maintenance issue for homeowners.

Squidbilly; the gutters are fine, downspouts need elbows directing to pavement. You may need additional down spouts to get the water out of the guttrer quicker ........................ Roof screws at ends can be removed, enclosure strips inserted, then reinstall screws, Besides water it is a clear path for mice, bats,birds,snakes and all kinds of insects.

I would make sure that the gutters, when overflowing, aren't holding the water in place so that it can back up under the roof. Might be better to cut off the front face of the gutters.

We have no flashing or weep holes behind the veneer thanks to our brick mason, so once water gets behind the veneer it is coming into our building more or less. Therefore, I guess all we can do at this point, short of tearing down the veneer, is to try and take every step necessary to prevent any water from getting behind that brick wall.

Posted By Squidbilly on 10 Sep 2012 10:28 AM
We have no flashing or weep holes behind the veneer thanks to our brick mason, so once water gets behind the veneer it is coming into our building more or less. Therefore, I guess all we can do at this point, short of tearing down the veneer, is to try and take every step necessary to prevent any water from getting behind that brick wall.

I would still cut in weepers. Even with out the proper flashing, water will take the path of least resistance which should be the weepers rather than working its way through to the interior. You may still get some on the inside but at least give it a choice. I agree that you probably need more or larger downspouts. Compare the X section of the downspout to the trough.