AboutRichard Taylor, AIA Expertise Ask me about all aspects of house, remodeling. , and room addition design and construction. Ask me about historic homes, renovation, and restoration. Ask me about materials and techniques, and about how you can get the best value for your design and construction dollar. Ask me how you can make your home a very special place. I can't, however, answer specific structural engineering questions in this forum - that's something you'll need on-site observation for.
Experience I own a five-person residential architectural firm, and have been designing custom homes, remodelings, and room additions across the country since 1983. Check us out at Richard Taylor Architects and RTA Plans. I have written and been published extensively on the subject of residential architecture.
Organizations American Institute of Architects, City of Dublin Architectural Review Board, City of Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission, American Planning Association, Past Editor of SPLASH (a software forum), Past Editor of Open Directory Project, Boy Scouts of America
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Environmental Design (Architecture) Miami University 1983
For more about home design, check out my blog at Richard Taylor Architects Looking for great Luxury Home House Plans? Try ours at RTA Plans.
Question We just had a deck installed. The edges of the decking next to the house were not cut properly, so the carpenters screwed 1x4 boards into the brick along the edge of our house, covering the weep holes. First, is this OK to have the weep holes covered? Second, does it do any damage to have holes drilled into the bricks along the edge of the house? Thank you for your opinion.
Answer Hi Mary, thanks for your question!
The screws into the brick aren't anything to worry about, but covering the weep holes is. They're there to drain moisture from the space between the brick and the sheathing, which can accumulate a number of ways. Blocking the weep holes will cause moisture to stay in the cavity and begin saturating the sheathing and insulation, eventually causing damage to the wood and insulation and leading to mold growth.
See if there's a better way to cover the cosmetic damage without covering the weep holes - there's always another solution!
Hope this helps,
Richard Taylor, AIA
www.rtastudio.com
www.rtastudio.blogspot.com
