Rope Weep Holes In Exterior Brick Siding

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

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Is this a good or bad thing?

@Peter Gozintite this seems like your area of expertis.
 
Peter Gozintite said:
What do you mean?
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Cotton wicks
Cotton wicks are used to form another type of weep system. A 1⁄4- to 3⁄8-inch-diameter rope is in- stalled in joints at 16 inches on center. The rope should be 10 to 12 inches long and extend through the veneer face and up into the cavity wall above the
height of any possible mortar droppings. Moisture in the cavity is absorbed by the cotton materi- al and wicked to the outside face of the wall where it evaporates. This is a slower process than open weep holes.
Nylon or hemp rope doesn’t perform well; the wick must be cotton. Since the wick is cotton and it’s expected to be wet throughout its service life, it even- tually will rot. After the wick rots, an open drainage hole remains. Using the wick, though, assures that the hole isn’t inadvertently blocked during construction. Wicks also are inconspicuous and don’t interrupt the uniform ap- pearance of the wall.
 
Wild Turkey said:
Cotton wicks
Cotton wicks are used to form another type of weep system. A 1⁄4- to 3⁄8-inch-diameter rope is in- stalled in joints at 16 inches on center. The rope should be 10 to 12 inches long and extend through the veneer face and up into the cavity wall above the
height of any possible mortar droppings. Moisture in the cavity is absorbed by the cotton materi- al and wicked to the outside face of the wall where it evaporates. This is a slower process than open weep holes.
Nylon or hemp rope doesn’t perform well; the wick must be cotton. Since the wick is cotton and it’s expected to be wet throughout its service life, it even- tually will rot. After the wick rots, an open drainage hole remains. Using the wick, though, assures that the hole isn’t inadvertently blocked during construction. Wicks also are inconspicuous and don’t interrupt the uniform ap- pearance of the wall.
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I know what they are, but what is the problem? You have this and the material has withered away?
 

Weep Now or Weep Later: Of ropes and tubes​

April 7, 2014
by John H. Koester
One of the first commonly employed weep details was the sash cord or ‘rope’ weep. In some cases, this detail was expanded with sections of the sash cord laid in the cavity and then extended through the wall, usually at a head joint. In other cases, the sash cord was fastened vertically up the backside of the cavity. In yet other instances, it would be pulled out of the wall, leaving a hole through the head joint or bed joint of mortar.
How and when these sash cord sections were placed or embedded in the bed joint of mortar impacted whether they had any weeping capacity. If they were placed on the flashing and the bed joint of mortar was spread on top, the finished detail looked like Figure A. However, if the bed joint of mortar was spread and the sash cord section was laid or embedded into it, the finished detail looked like Figure B. The theory was the cotton sash cord (or a synthetic one) would ‘wick’ water out of the core or cavity and dry the units. However, if there is one takeaway from this article, let it be that one should not get into a wicking contest with mortar or masonry units—how can a 9.5-mm (3/8-in.) diameter sash cord compete against an entire masonry assembly?
Many have seen an example of a rope weep that has moisture stains around the outside end of the cord; it appears to have moisture ‘weeping’ from it. What is really happening is a small amount of moisture is actually exiting the cavity through small voids in the bed joint of mortar at the 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock positions on the bottom radius of the sash cord.
Various tube weeps—pieces of plastic pipe cut to length—have also been introduced to the masonry industry. Their installation procedure is virtually the same as the sash cord material and so are the shortcomings. Even when the tubes are correctly installed on the flashing’s surface, the weep’s wall thickness is still a water dam.
 
Peter Gozintite said:
I know what they are, but what is the problem? You have this and the material has withered away?
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No buying a new construction house and it has these. I’m used to seeing gaps or plastic tube.
 
Wild Turkey said:
No buying a new construction house and it has these. I’m used to seeing gaps or plastic tube.
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I would imagine the builder isn't giving you any options for something different.
 
Wild Turkey said:
Nope. But I want to know if it’s something I should address.
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Depends. It's not something we deal with much here, and typically they just leave holes.

From what I can find the type of rope is what matters. Something like nylon would last longer than anything, as long as it isn't exposed to sunlight. Can't imagine cotton being the best material. What are they using?
 
The building code that the municipalities around here require weep rope over & under windows, over doors & along the bottom edge of any masonry (12'-16" above the ground).

I've never seem any negative effect from using weep rope, it's an old school technique that went away in the 70'-80's but I've been doing it since 1996
 
BadMotoWeazal said:
The building code that the municipalities around here require weep rope over & under windows, over doors & along the bottom edge of any masonry (12'-16" above the ground).

I've never seem any negative effect from using weep rope, it's an old school technique that went away in the 70'-80's but I've been doing it since 1996
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What you described is pretty much what is happening so that makes sense.

What I’ve read is you definitely need weep holes and the problem with rope is that it can get mushy and clog the hole in some areas. In Alabama it looks like it deteriorates and leaves a hole which works.
 
Wild Turkey said:
What you described is pretty much what is happening so that makes sense.

What I’ve read is you definitely need weep holes and the problem with rope is that it can get mushy and clog the hole in some areas. In Alabama it looks like it deteriorates and leaves a hole which works.
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Sure, sooner or later the rope will rot & fall away, but many of the houses I built including my own the rope is still there (20 + years) . The rope actually acts as a wick that is supposed to help remove any moisture that gets behind a masonry veneered wall. The rope along with a vapor barrier/house wrap & some brick ledge flashing is the standard here in the South.

But, if you get serious moisture behind you brick/block then you've got issues that weep rope is not going to fix.
 
BadMotoWeazal said:
Sure, sooner or later the rope will rot & fall away, but many of the houses I built including my own the rope is still there (20 + years) . The rope actually acts as a wick that is supposed to help remove any moisture that gets behind a masonry veneered wall. The rope along with a vapor barrier/house wrap & some brick ledge flashing is the standard here in the South.

But, if you get serious moisture behind you brick/block then you've got issues that weep rope is not going to fix.
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That's good info and I appreciate the feedback as it helps unlike @Peter Gozintite
 
my house has weep holes, but I think it's just flashed there, I don't think there's rope.
 
RoyMunson said:
my house has weep holes, but I think it's just flashed there, I don't think there's rope.
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You’re fucked.

Sell now before it’s too late.
 
Weep Holes = Yes
Weep Rope = WTF


Is that some fucked up thing like the Orangeburg sewer pipe I had a month ago??
 
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