What is a weep tube?
Weeps, or weep holes are used to drain water through a wall. Weep tubes line weep holes to ensure that draining water does not damage the surrounding wall with erosion over time. Made in standard sizes with durable plastic materials, weep holes can also be plugged or screened with ease to regulate drainage.
What are weep holes in masonry?
Weep holes are holes or gaps along the bottom of the brick veneer which allow water to drain out from the wall. These holes also serve to provide ventilation in the air gap behind the brick veneer. Ventilation can help to dry out the interior wall layers after a weather event.
What is a weep drain?
Definition. Weep holes are a vital part of your shower drain assembly. Typically, there are three such holes in the upper portion of the drain assembly, spaced evenly around the drain. The weep holes are small holes that connect to the main drain, allowing water that enters them to feed into the drainpipe.
What is the purpose of a weep vent?
Weep vents provide essential ventilation for the internal wall cavity and drainage of water that may have entered the cavity through condensation, building damage or capillary action. Left unmaintained, weep holes can provide access for wasps and bees.
Should I seal weep holes?
Weep holes should not be sealed to keep pests out. Though homeowners naturally want to block pests, weep holes should not be sealed with caulk or mortar. The holes are still necessary to drain water and to ventilate the air space.
What happens if you cover weep holes?
Whatever you do, do not fill those weep holes. They’re an integral part of the drainage system to keep water from building up behind the brick. If allowed to contact any untreated lumber, this water will cause serious wood rot, mold and, eventually, structural problems with your home.
How do you identify a weep hole?
Therefore, weep holes are at the bottom of brick veneer, just above the top of the foundation, and directly above the termination point of any flashing installed behind the brick. Weep holes also should be located above doors, above and below windows, and above any other openings in the brick wall.
How do brick weep holes work?
Weep holes provide ventilation as well as drainage. The holes you see lead to an air cavity that lies between the home’s exterior sheathing and the bricks themselves. The cavity is about an inch wide, and the air that naturally flows through the weep holes in brick helps to reduce the moisture level in the air cavity.
Why do bricklayers leave gaps?
Those gaps are called “weep holes” — a building code requirement that drains water out of brick exterior walls. Typically, behind the brick is a 1.5-inch cavity or air space and then the wood structure.
Is it OK to cover weep holes?
How do you keep bugs out of weep holes?
Corrugated plastics and steel wool pieces are also used to deter pests. While this may work short term, it is not a permanent solution. Corrugated plastic leaves spaces large enough for small insects, like termites, or determined insects, like roaches, to pass through the weep.