Expert: Dan Griffin - 4/8/2009

Question
hello, i hope you can help.  i have been making (prouring, mixing, coloring, setting the molds,... eveything from scratch) brick vaneer slate rocks.  everything is going really well.  i have built my wife some flower beds and have put the vaneer on the foundation of the house (slab foundation).  i am now at the point that i have a small section (3ft depth 12ft wide, and approx 10ft. high) of the house i want to put the vaneer on.  i am planning on taking off the siding, and putting up the brick vaneer.  i am going to use concrete board (because it is really easy to work with) to secure the vaneer to.  my question is, do i need to go into the wall and re-enforce the wall studs?  i don't want to put too much weight on a wall that can't handle it.  thans

Answer
Brett, all this load should be pushing down on the footing.  It will not add a vertical load to the stud wall.  Veneer brick, real stone, etc should all be tied to the studs and sheathing with some form of brick ties.  The veneer is not strong enough to stand the wind loads without being tied to the structure.  Most decorative stone work I have seen is laid up with stucco lath that is physically nailed to the sheathing face embedded in the same mortar bed that holds the decorative stone.  Make sure your walls have plywood or similar wall sheathing on the studs, and add felt paper.

Here is one company's directions:
http://www.tejasstone.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=57