Insulation Air Leaks on Brick Veneer Walls

BRICK VENEER WALL AIR LEAKS - How do we install rigid foam insulation on a brick veneer wall without air and heat leaks at the punctures where the foam is tied to the wall studs?
- Puncturing foam board insulation causes heat loss?
- Insulation advice for interior walls, stairs, plumbing fixtures
BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS - separate article
BRICK STRUCTURAL WALLS Loose, Bulged - separate article
BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged - separate article
BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES - separate article
BRICK WALL INSULATION RETROFIT - separate article
BRICK WALL THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS - separate article
Questions & Answers about brick veneer wall insulation & air leakage
References

Click to Show or Hide Related Topics

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Brick veneer wall building insulation specifications & advice: this article discusses the installation of foam board insulation behind brick veneer walls, and the question of air leaks at the brick ties to the wall. Our page top photo shows a brick veneer building undergoing demolition - the brick veneer wall ties are visible if you click to enlarge the photograph. No exterior insulation had been installed on this 1950's building at Stewart Air Force Base in Newburgh, NY.

How Insulate Brick Veneer Walls

The question-and-answer article about insulating a brick veneer wall using foam board, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.

How do You Keep Brick Veneer Construction Airtight?

Question:

How do you keep brick veneer construction airtight and well insulated when the ties from the brick to the wall studs puncture the rigid foam insulation board and the building's vapor barrier? -- Harold Murray, Bowie MD

Answer:

With a high-density rigid foam board insulation such as extruded polystyrene (see POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION), or foil faced polyisocyanurate insulating board (see POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION), the brick veneer wall ties can be placed on the surface of the foam sheathing and nailed through to the wall studs.

Our photo (left) of foam insulating sheating board was provided courtesy of Arlene Puentes.

This is in accordance with FHA Bulletin 71 for single- and two-family residences.

In especially windy conditions, it may be advisable to increase the number of brick veneer wall ties or use higher-density insulation.

Another option is to nail the ties directly to the studs between each 24-inch course of rigid insulation board.

In any case, the vapor barrier on the warm side of the building wall will not be affected.

Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.

Readers should also see BRICK or BLOCK WALL CAVITY INSULATION and see our master list of insulation articles at INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT and also see AIR BYPASS LEAKS as well as AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION and finally, see AIR SEALING STRATEGIES.

Also see BRICK WALL THERMAL EXPANSION CRACKS.

The link to the original Q&A article in PDF form immediately below is preceded by an expanded/updated online version of this article.

Q & A: How to Keep Brick Veneer Construction Airtight? - PDF version, use your browser's back button to return to this page

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how to insulate a brick veneer wall

Questions or comments about this article

Questions & answers or comments about brick veneer wall insulation & air leakage

Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below.

Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

Solar Age Magazine was the official publication of the American Solar Energy Society. The contemporary solar energy magazine associated with the Society is Solar Today. "Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. We advance education, research and policy. Leading for more than 50 years. ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. We publish the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, organize and present the ASES National Solar Conference and lead the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world."
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
Arlene Puentes is a licensed home inspector, past chapter president of the Hudson Valley chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors, an educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY. Contact Arlene Puentes at: ap@octoberhome.htm or at 845-339-7984.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.


	InspectAPedia^®	InspectAPedia
	Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair	Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

Insulation Air Leaks on Brick Veneer Walls (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();