jayreeder

I just received a reply from James Hardie. I'll post here in case this issue is helpful for others... From: Mark Van Dorselaer [mailto:Mark.Dorselaer@Jameshardie.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1:55 PM To: Jay Reeder Subject: RE: Question re: Hardie Siding installation in Georgia Jay, Butting to mortar or masonry - Best Practice Recomendation James Hardie® siding and trim products should not be butted directly against mortar or masonry, including stone and brick. In these situations, a flashing should be installed to isolate the trim or siding from the mortar or masonry. Thank You Mark Van DorselaerJames Hardie Building Products 800-942-7343

Thank you all for your assistance. This morning I met with the contractors and builder. In the end, they agreed to pull off the siding band and install the flashing but there was a lot of talk about how things might get torn up during the process and I balked. We installed vinyl windows in this house and the siding band butts up against them. I already found out how fragile those windows can be when the brick guys banged a few up. My fear is that when they pull that band off they'll crack a few of the vinyl windows with hairline cracks and I'll have an even bigger problem down the road. Not to mention that this project is cost plus and I might get stuck with paying for some of that. The top row of bricks is slanted down and away from the siding and we have a drip edge above the band. What we finally decided to do was have the brick guys come out and fill any gaps in the top of the brick wall (near the siding) with mortar and after it dries, we'll caulk over it. I'm sure it will be fine. Unfortunately it will become a maintenance issue more than it would have. If any water does get down there then the flashing and weep holes inside the brick wall will hopefully manage. At this point I think that's the most prudent course of action. Thanks again, Jay

Kurt, So if the drainage is ok in the brick wall with weeps and all, am I ok? I'm being told that you can't keep water from getting behind the brick wall anyway and the drainage will handle it. That and the drip edge on top of the siding band are reasons why we don't need flashing between brick and band. I'm meeting with the siding guy tomorrow and I just need to know if I should insist on the flashing or if the caulk or no action is ok. If I insist then it'll be me against the builder, site super, and siding contractor. I'd like to sound like I know what I'm talking about Thanks again, Jay

I went through some photos and found one that might give more info re: brick weep holes in this house. They had to replace the doors in this section and they ripped off some brick to accomplish. It looks like tar paper is used for flashing inside the wall and I circled a weep hole that can be seen just above slab level. There are a ton of these around the house so hopefully this part was done correctly. BTW, all weep holes are little clear plastic tubes. The house was built with a poured footer all the way around and a 2 ft wall on this side. Then they poured a slab over the footer. Thanks for the assistance, Jay

OK, I'm getting off-topic here but what do they do if they build the brick wall before backfilling to grade? Do they drill weep holes after backfilling? Is there anything I can do about the buried weep holes at this point? Thanks, Jay

Kurt, When they built the brick wall they put a ton of weep tubes from top to bottom but the builder did back-fill with dirt. I asked him if the weep-tubes would allow termites to get in behind the brick and he said that he never thought about it before but that's the way all the brick houses are built. I know they put a moisture barrier behind the brick wall as well. -- Jay

Chad, Thanks for the reply. Actually pictures #1 and #2 are my house without the flashing between the brick and the hardi trim band. Pictures #3 and #4 are of another house that has the flashing between the brick and the hardi trim band. Every house I can find that has a 1/2 brick wall with hardi siding above has flashing between the brick and the hardi trim band. Pictures #3 and #4 are examples of that. My builder and his siding sub are telling me that the flashing isn't important between the brick and the hardi siding band because water will get behind the brick wall either way and it's designed to handle it. However, they conceded that if I wanted to, they would caulk that joint.

Mike, Thanks for the reply. Would I be ok if they caulk the joint between the siding band and the brick? That's the recommendation. Given the water barrier behind the brick wall and the weep holes, everyone is telling me that you can't keep water from getting behind the brick anyway and it would be ok even without the caulk. Thanks, Jay

We're building a house down here in Georgia and the siding installer didn't put flashing between the brick wall (3 ft tall) and hardi siding band above. All the other houses have that flashing but he said they didn't need it because the drip edge on the top of the band will prevent water from getting in the brick wall cavity. Should I be concerned? These are pictures of the home we're building with the drip edge above the trim band but no flashing between the trim band and the brick: These are pictures of a home in our area that did include the drip edge above the trim band and the flashing between the band and the brick wall: I read about IRC 703.8 and UBC 1402.2/1405.3 in other posts here. Would the construction of our brick/siding pass that code? Thanks for any advice... Jay