PSA: I just found out most brick ties are being installed wrong on veneer walls

Was reading through the Masonry Advisory Council guidelines last night (yeah, I know, real party animal here) and stumbled on a stat that blew my mind. Something like 40% of brick veneer failures they investigated traced back to ties not having enough embedment in the mortar. Not the wrong type of tie, not rust - just not shoved in far enough. I've been checking my guys' work this week and caught two spots where they barely had a half inch in the bed joint. These are guys with 10+ years experience too. Anyone else run into this on inspections or have a trick to get your crew to pay attention to embedment depth?

3 comments

3 Comments

riveradams1d ago

Question whether that stat's cherry picked. I've seen plenty of walls with ties barely poked in and they're still standing fine after 20 years.

hollyc923d ago

Hang on a minute... is it really that big of a deal? I mean yeah embedment matters but 40% of failures? That stat sounds like one of those things they pull out to make people buy more expensive ties or something. I've been doing this for 15 years and I've never seen a wall fall down because a tie was a quarter inch short. The mortar grabs it fine as long as it's in there at all. Half inch seems like a lot honestly... most guys I know just push it in till it feels snug.

umathompson3d ago

That 40% stat is from an actual study by the Brick Industry Association, not just marketing fluff. Mortar shrinks as it cures, so a tie that feels snug when you push it in might end up barely hanging on after everything dries. Quarter inch might not bring a wall down tomorrow, but it adds up over years of wind and weather.