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Our new house (brick and stone veneer) came with a significant exterior wall leak at a roofline/masonry intersection, so I've been learning more about how these are supposed to be waterproofed, and am concerned similar intersections may have problems in the future.

Here's an example of an area of concern:Roof masonry intersection

Researching online, there are different techniques that can be used here, but they all seem to involve flashing that covers the bottom of the masonry. It's what I see on most houses in my neighborhood. But not on mine. :-/

Are there techniques for waterproofing that are legitimate where all of the flashing is behind the brick veneer? Or is what is shown here suspect?

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    I always use step flashing on a wall like that but there may be other ways I don't know of.
    – Ed Beal
    Nov 28, 2018 at 23:27

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Is this truly a brick veneer wall (one full brick deep), or an "adhered" brick veneer (1/4" - 1/2" thick)? A brick veneer wall should definitely have visible flashing, counter-flashing, and weep holes, but an adhered veneer might just have flashing behind the joint. I do see that the roof bulges along the joint, this is a good sign that there is something there, but it does not look like proper flashing. There should also be flashing visible below the adhered veneer. (see http://ncma-br.org/pdfs/masterlibrary/MVMA%20Installation%20Guide%204th%20Edition%20web.pdf pages 28,29,36).

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  • I'm pretty certain this is one full brick deep, as that is what most of the house is. I suppose there is a small possibility that the builder found thin brick veneer that matched the full brick, but it seems unlikely.
    – aggieNick02
    Nov 28, 2018 at 23:59
  • @ironeagle Wow great reference details.
    – Lee Sam
    Nov 29, 2018 at 3:17
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    @aggieNick02 true, I just thought that the mortar joint along the roof made it look a little more like thin veneer, but if they are full brick I wonder what it is they are resting on. This whole situation seems like one any building inspector would raise their eyebrows at.
    – IronEagle
    Nov 29, 2018 at 7:45
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    So from looking at the place where we had our water damage, they are likely full thickness and resting on triple 2x4s; while my reading has told me this is discouraged, it seems not uncommon in my area (central Texas).
    – aggieNick02
    Nov 29, 2018 at 23:43
  • Also interesting from tearing apart the damaged area, still ongoing - the hump you see is flashing. The brick/stone sits on top of flashing that extends far out under the shingles and then up the wall. Every installation guide I've seen calls for visible flashing/counterflashing, but even the waterproofing company I've hired, who has been doing this stuff exclusively for 30+ years, says the technique is solid... we've yet to get to the point on the damage tear-open to find the root cause.
    – aggieNick02
    Nov 29, 2018 at 23:46

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