Brick Veneer Wall Flood Damage Codes

New construction & repair guidelines for homes subject to flood damage through brick veneer walls:

This page provides copies of FEMA and other expert sources recommending constuction or repair details that reduce future damage to buildings located in flood prone areas.

This article series discusses brick or stone veneer wall construction and flood damage repairs. Page top photo: rudimentary flood vents at the base of a brick veneer masonry wall in Venice, Italy.

Codes, Standards, Recommendations for Veneer Wall Repair in Flood Zones

This page includes research, building codes, standards, and references for recommended construction methods to minimize flood damage to veneer-wall constructed buildings. We also cite experts who have provided technical review of this article series.

Some of these standards are best-applied to new construction while others provide detailed repair advice for buildings being repaired or re-constructed after suffering flood damage.

These references support the following masonry veneer wall structure repair articles:

BRICK VENEER WALL REPAIRS in FLOOD PRONE AREAS - three approaches to building or repairing brick veneer walls in areas subject to flooding

and

BRICK VENEER WALL FLOOD DAMAGE REPAIR - a detailed field report on repairing a flooded brick veneer wall home in Texas in 201

[Click to enlarge any image]

Photo: at this building in Venice, Italy, we see both foundation flood vents used where the building structure includes open space below grade and elevated drain openings in the brick cavity wall.

• Brick Industry Association, "TECHNICAL NOTES 11B - GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS FOR BRICK MASONRY, PART 3" [PDF] Op. Cit., retrieved 2017/09/27 - request sent 2017/09/27, reply received November 2017, comments integrated into the article above on this page at Option 2.
• Brick Industry Association, TECHNICAL NOTES ON BRICK CONSTRUCTION 28D BRICK VENEER / CONCRETE MASONRY WALLS [PDF] (2018) Recommendations
• Brick Industry Association, "BRICK VENEER WALL / WOOD STUD WALLS" [PDF] , BIA, 1850 Centennial Park Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191 Brick Industry Association, 12007 Sunrise Valley Drive Suite 430 Reston, Virginia 20191 703-620-0010 brickinfo@bia.org Website: www.gobrick.com, Tel: 703-620-0010 retrieved 2017/09/27, original source: http://www.gobrick.com/portals/25/docs/technical%20notes/tn28.pdf - request sent by email 2017/09/27
• FEMA, FLOOD-RESISTANT MATERIALS REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS LOCATED IN SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREAS, [PDF] FEMA Technical Bulletin 2-93, April 1993, August 2008
• FEMA,FLOODPROOFING NON-RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES, FEMA 213, [PDF] 1986, revised 4/1993
  
  Excerpt:
  This bulletin describes design, construction, and planning requirements for the floodproofing of non-residential buildings under the ‘National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations and how to correctly complete the NFIP’s Floodproofing Certificate for Non-Residential Structures form.
  
  For the purposes of this bulletin, floodproofing means making a building watertight, substantially impermeable to floodwaters.
• FEMA, “Design Manual for Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Structures,” FEMA, September 1986, FEMA-1 14.
• FLOOD VENTS & FLOOD PORTS - cites codes & details of flood vents & other construction details to avoid damage in flood zone areas
• MTI, "GUTTING BRICK WALLS POST-FLOOD: REPAIR RECOMMENDATIONS", [link to MTI web article / video] Masonry Technology, Inc. PO Box 214 24235 Electric Street Cresco, IA 52136 USA Tel: 800-879-3348
  
  Comment: I recently saw your article on remediating flooded brick walls, and wanted to share an approach that you may not have seen before. It maintains a drainage gap behind the masonry and installs closed cell spray foam in the stud cavity, resulting in a drainable, dryable, flood resistant wall. - Tyler Leclear Vachta - by private email to editor 2017/09/29
  
  The details are at https://www.mtidry.com/blog/rebuild/
• Pace, Carl E., FLOOD PROOFING TESTS, Tests of Materials and Systems for Flood Proofing Structures [PDF] (1988) AD-A209 380 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Flood Proofing Committee
  
  Excerpt: It was determined by model and prototype tests that brick-veneer and concrete block walls can withstand only approximately 3 ft of static water head without damage. If a building or home is loaded to excessive depths, it can fail instantaneously and possibly result in injury or death to occupants.
• US ARMY COE , “Block and Brick Wall Integrity Against Water Heights and Systems and Materials to Prevent Flood Waters From Entering Buildings,” Carl E. Pace, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1984.
• US ARMY COE , “Tests of Brick-Veneer Walls and Enclosures for Resistance to Flood Waters,” Carl E. Pace, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lower Mississippi Division, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1978.
• US ARMY COE FLOODPROOFING REGULATIONS, EP 1165-2-314, [PDF] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, December 15, 1995
  
  Excerpts:
  Regulation of the use of flood plain lands is a responsibility of State and local governments and can be accomplished by a variety of means, such as establishment of designated floodways and encroachment lines, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, and building codes.
  
  These land use controls, most often known as "Flood Plain Regulations," do not attempt to reduce or eliminate flooding but instead are intended to guide and regulate flood plain development to lessen the adverse effects of floods.
  
  Flood prone communities in the United States participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are required to adopt and enforce such flood plain regulations to qualify for the sale of federally-backed flood insurance to its residents.
• WET FLOODPROOFING REQUIREMENTS FOR STRUCTURES LOCATED IN SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREAS in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program. TB 7-92 [PDF] retrieved 2017/11/14, original source: https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/img/site_specific/uploads/fema-7-93.pdf

Closed Cell Foam Producers

• American Excelsior Company, 850 Avenue H East, Arlington, TX 76011, Tel: 800-777-7645 Website: http://americanexcelsior.com/ - request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27
• American Foam Products, 753 Liberty St., Painesville, OH 44077, Tel: 440) 352-3434 Website: http://www.americanfoamproducts.com Email: sales@americanfoam.net - request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27
• Design Converting 3470 Raleigh Dr SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, Tel: 800-532-0059, Website: http://designconverting.com/ - request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27
• Rempac Foam LLC, REMPAC Foam Corporation 370 W Passaic St Rochelle Park, NJ - 07662 (973) 881-8880 Website: http://www.rempac.com/ - request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27
• Wisconsin Foam Products 4808 Helgesen Drive Madison, WI 53718, Tel: 800-989-3626 (608-221-4385) Website: http://www.wifoam.com/ - request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27

Additional technical review and comment requests

of other building professionals, moisture experts, and closed cell foam insulation companies. We will add and acknowledge their remarks and edits here.

• Special thanks to Ron Samuelson for raising the question about the resistance of closed cell insulating foam insulation to water and water intrusion.
  
  Mr. Samuelson is a HERS Rater and building scientist in Pleasant Valley New York. He can be reached at Home Energy Consultants Inc., [website], by Email: RonSamuelson@SaveEnergyNY.com and by Telephone: 845-635-8302
• J.L. request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27
• Flood Control International, Flood Control International Limited, Kilworthy Park, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 0FZ UK Registered in England, No 4934945, Tel: +44 (0)1822 619730 Email: enquiries@floodcontrolint.com Website: http://www.floodcontrolinternational.com/
  Excerpt:
  
  Flood Control International is a UK based specialist supplier and installer of the most comprehensive range of flood defences systems in the world.
  
  We design, manufacture, supply and install bespoke engineered flood defences, including flood barriers, flood gates and flood doors. We also produce equipment for chemical spill containment.
  
  Our flood defence products are manufactured and specified to extremely high standards, which means that they provide dependable and guaranteed flood prevention.
  
  Flood Control International's products for flood defences as well as Chemical Containment are categorised in 3 main areas:Flood Barriers, Flood Gates, Flood Doors.
• Glen-Gery Corporation, GLEN-GERY CLAY THIN BRICK GUIDE SPECIFICATION [PDF], Glen-Gery Corporation, Tel: (484) 334-8827 Website: https://www.glengery.com - request sent by web contact form 2017/09/27
• GUIDE SPECIFICATION FOR ANCHORED MASONRY VENEER, [PDF], Masonry Institute of Washington, 506 Second Avenue, Suite 1400, Seattle, WA 98104, Tel: 206-582-5072 Website: www.masonryinstitute.com - request sent by email 2017/09/27
• Steve Bliss's Building Advisor at buildingadvisor.com helps homeowners & contractors plan & complete successful building & remodeling projects: buying land, site work, building design, cost estimating, materials & components, & project management through complete construction. Email: info@buildingadvisor.com
  
  Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
  
  Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com
  
  Steve, publisher & editor of our sister website Building Advisor, offers two articles on flooding and water damage that may be helpful. See
  
  See DRYING & REPAIRING a FLOODED BASEMENT [This link leaves InspectApedia.com]
  
  See also FOUNDATIONS & SITEWORK at BUILDING ADVISOR.COM [This link leaves InspectApedia.com] - Articles on basement drainage and leakage, more relevant to new construction than repair work.

...

Continue reading at BRICK VENEER WALL REPAIRS in FLOOD PRONE AREAS - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS - home
  • BRICK VENEER WALL FLOOD DAMAGE REPAIR - a detailed field report on repairing a flooded brick veneer wall home in Texas in 2017
  • BRICK VENEER WALL FLOOD REPAIR CODES & STANDARDS
  • BRICK VENEER WALL LEAKS in FLOOD PRONE AREAS
  • BRICK VENEER WALL LOOSE, BULGED
  • BRICK VENEER WALL REPAIRS in FLOOD PRONE AREAS
  • BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES - home
  • BRICK WALL FROST & WATER CRACKS, EFFLORESCENCE, SPALLING
  • BRICK WALL INSULATION RETROFIT
  • BRICK WALL LEAK REPAIRS
  • BRICK WALL REPAIR METHODS
  • CHIMNEY BRICK / BLOCK SPALLING
  • CONCRETE or MASONRY DAMAGE TESTS
• FLOOD DAMAGE REPAIR PRIORITIES
• FIBERBOARD SHEATHING MOLD CONTAMINATION - mold contamination of fiberboard wall sheathing products; approaches to removing and repairing wet or moldy sheathing board.
• SHEATHING, GYPSUM BOARD - another product often found behind brick veneer walls and one facing similar flood damage repairs
• STUCCO WALL WEEP SCREED DRAINAGE

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