TECHNOLOGY BRIEF

TM

October 2000

RESOURCE INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MASONRY INSTITUTE

Section 2.12.4

Masonry Cavity Walls: Systems and Construction

When architects and contractors want Drainage Cavity also likely to be installed in the cavity,
to build the most durable, watertight depending on project design criteria.
The drainage cavity should be a nominal
building possible, they rely on masonry Insulation should not inhibit the free
2" clear to allow for proper construction
cavity walls. The top performing of all flow of water draining through the
of the wall and to minimize mortar fins,
masonry wall types, cavity walls provide cavity. It also needs to allow for room
droppings and bridging. The purpose of
a balance of beauty, design versatility, to place the units - masons need to have
the cavity is to drain any water before it
durability and economy. As with any a finger hold on the back of the unit for
can penetrate to the interior. A cavity
masonry wall, the skills of the bricklay- proper installation. The vapor retarder
can do this when it is clean, but it does
ers and masonry contractors are not have to be pristine. Some mortar is frequently, but not always, placed on
paramount to the long life and success droppings and protrusions are to be the cavity side of the backup wall. It also
of the wall. expected, but the key point is the can serve as a dampproofing barrier - a
Cavity wall systems are composed of performance of the cavity: Is it draining kind of secondary level of defense for
two wythes of masonry, usually brick water to the flashing? any moisture that does bridge the
and concrete block, secured together by Cavities can be any width greater than cavity. The architect specifies the type
metal ties with an open space, or the 2-inch nominal (1 5/8" actual) dimen- and location of the vapor retarder based
cavity, between the two wythes for sion. However, beyond 4 1/2" in width, on a condensation analysis.
drainage. Flashing and weep holes, to a wall tie analysis must be done to make Cavity drainage inserts have been
collect moisture and drain the space, are sure the ties can transfer the loads to introduced into cavity wall construction
also part of a cavity wall system. the interior wythe over the longer to assist with keeping the flashing and
A cavity wall addresses moisture cavity span. weeps relatively clear of mortar drop-
Insulation and vapor retarders are pings. There are many types of cavity
penetration by realizing that, during the
life of a building, it is likely that water
will penetrate the exterior wythe of the
wall. It can enter through top caps,
copings, sills, at windows, doors and
many other locations. Wind-driven rain
may find its way through hairline fissures
between the mortar and the masonry
units, and larger cracks may occur over
time, allowing moisture to penetrate.
The cavity wall system recognizes that
water will get through the exterior wythe
at some time in the building’s life, so it
is designed to drain that water through
the cavity and direct it to the exterior
through the flashing and weep system.
Four essential components for proper
cavity wall performance, in addition to
the masonry wythes, are:

I Drainage Cavity (also called

air space)
I Flashing
I Weeps Bricklayers maintain a two-inch clear airspace drainage cavity between the rigid insulation
I Workmanship and the back of the face brick.

drainage inserts on the market, and
while they do add cost to the wall, most
are effective at helping to keep the
weeps clear and the cavity draining. Not
all drainage inserts perform equally, so
exercise care when specifying. Cavity
inserts can provide extra assurance of
clean cavities, but they should never be
a substitute for good workmanship.
Union bricklayers are trained during
their apprenticeship to keep cavities
clean, and they are known for their
superior workmanship.
Flashing
Flashing collects water that
penetrates the exterior masonry and
prevents it from entering the building
interior. It also can provide a slip plane
between dissimilar masonry materials.
Three general categories of flashing are
used in masonry cavity walls: metals,
membranes and composites. Each type
has distinct advantages and disadvan-
tages. The designer considers the
project requirements and selects a flash-
ing material that is appropriate for that
project. There are several important
practices that should be followed,
regardless of flashing material selection:
I Flashing must be located at the
base of all cavity walls, over
Bituminous copper flashing pieces at the pier base are sealed for watertightness.
shelf angles, lintels, openings,
under sills, copings and caps, at
wall/roof intersections, parapets
and any other location where
water may collect or enter the
cavity.
I The flashing must be installed
properly lapped and sealed so
water can not penetrate under it,
or the lap.
I It should be run vertically up the
backup wall approximately 6" to
8" in most cases, and returned
into the backup wythe.
I It must be continued, at a mini-
mum, to the face of the exterior
wythe and not terminated in the
wall itself. Generally, drip edges
are good details to include with
any flashing system, as they
drain the water away from the wall
rather than risking it reentering
the exterior units. Since some
flashing materials degrade under
exposure to ultraviolet rays,
separate metal drip edge pieces
can be used with those materials.
I When flashing terminates
horizontally, such as at the end of
a sill or lintel, the end of the
flashing must be turned up to
form an end dam, which directs
the water back to the exterior.
Masonry Cavity Walls - page 2
The stainless steel flashing above the
window returns up to form an end dam.
Weeps
If you think of flashing as the gutter
system of the cavity wall, then the weeps
are the downspouts. They allow the
water collected on the flashing to drain
out and escape to the exterior. Depend-
ing on the type, they can also facilitate
a flow of air through the cavity, allow-
ing the wall to breathe, which can
result in evaporation of moisture within
the cavity.
There are many choices for weeps.
Some of the most effective are weep
vents and open head joints. These
allow air to circulate through the wall.
Vents come in many different sizes,
materials and colors to match mortar
joints. They must be properly installed
and maintained throughout the life of
the building, as should all weeps. Open
head joints offer the largest open area
for drainage and airflow, but can
produce undesired shadow lines. Oiled
rods removed to leave a small hole, and
cotton sash cords provide only small
drainage areas, and may be easily
plugged by small mortar droppings in
the cavity or by debris on the outside of
the building. For those reasons, if they
are chosen as the weep system, it is
recommended that they be installed at
closer intervals than weep vents or open
head joints. Plastic weep tubes are not

recommended because they are easily
plugged with mortar, it is difficult to keep
them flat in the cavity, and if they turn
up, the water has to rise to the level of
the tube inside the cavity before it will
drain. Vents or open head joints should
be spaced 24" o.c. max., and other
weeps, if used, should be spaced 16"
o.c. max.
Workmanship
The skills of the bricklayers are
essential to the overall performance of
any masonry wall, especially cavity
walls. Union contractors and bricklay-
ers have the training and experience to
provide expert installation of flashings,
weeps and other components of the
cavity wall system.
Keeping the cavity relatively free and
clear of mortar droppings is an impor-
tant consideration. The purpose of the
cavity is to drain any water penetrating
the exterior. If the cavity is clean enough
to do this, it is an acceptable cavity.
Generally, mortar droppings and projec-
tions should be kept to a minimum, but
some should be expected.
Techniques to keep the cavity clean
vary. Beveling the mortar bed back
slightly from the cavity side of the unit
works well, as does parging excess fins
with the tip of the trowel. Inserting a
board into the cavity to catch mortar
droppings and then drawing it up as wall
construction progresses is a practice that
does not work well in the field. The
board can impact the newly constructed
masonry, breaking the bond, and it is
difficult to raise the board while keep-
ing it level. In cases, this has resulted in
the mortar droppings on the board
falling back into the cavity. The mason
contractor should be instructed simply
to keep the cavity clean so it drains, with
the specific technique worked out on
the job site sample panel to the
satisfaction of the designer and the
contractor.
Proper tooling of the mortar joints on
the exterior wythe plays a major role in
reducing the water penetration into the
cavity. Concave or V-shaped joints that
are tooled when thumbprint-hard and
compressed slightly into the units form
a better weathering surface. Other
This cavity insert will assure that the weep holes will
be unobstructed by mortar falling into the cavity.
joint profiles can be used, especially in
dry or moderate climates where water
infiltration and freeze/thaw concerns are
not as severe as in the northern regions.
Full head joints and bed joints, when
using solid units, are also important
workmanship issues, again to keep the
water from entering the cavity. The term
“full,” however, is hard to quantify. The
entire masonry wall is laid one unit at a
time by hand, in all weather, under all
jobsite conditions. It is not possible, or
necessary, to have every single head and
bed joint on the building 100% full, front
to back. It is possible to make sure that
every attempt is made to try to reach
that goal. The industry is attempting to
quantify what is an acceptable level of
“full,” but to date, no consensus has
been reached. The job site sample panel
can be used as a communication tool to
reach an agreement between the
designer and the mason contractor as
to what is acceptable on this job. The
goal of a cavity wall is to minimize water
that penetrates the exterior wythe; a
drainage system is in place to collect
and direct any moisture that does enter
back to the outside.
Masonry Cavity Walls - page 3
Other Design Considerations
The metal wall tie system that con-
nects the two wythes of masonry should
be an adjustable system, allowing the
two wythes to expand and contract
independently. It also must transfer
loads from the exterior wythe to the
interior backup wall. The tie system
must have the ability to adjust and move,
while being rigid enough to transfer the
loads structurally.
The exterior masonry experiences a
wider variation of temperature and
thermal stresses than the interior
masonry wythe because the interior wall
is only exposed to the conditioned space
on one side and isolated from some of
the impact of the outside temperatures
by the cavity insulation on the other side.
Frequently, cavity walls are built of
different types of masonry units - clay
brick on the exterior and concrete
masonry units (CMU) on the interior,
for example. Since brick expands and
concrete block shrinks, differential
movement between the two wythes
results. If the two wythes are tied
together too tightly by the tie system,
this movement cannot be accommo-
dated and cracks result.
 Masonry Cavity Walls - page 4

Expansion and/or control joints are

also used in cavity walls, as well as in
other masonry wall systems. Masonry
expansion joints are provided in clay
brick walls to accommodate moisture
growth and thermal movement. Control
joints are provided in concrete masonry
walls to accommodate unit shrinkage
and provide for thermal movement.
These movement joints should be clearly
located and detailed on the project
drawings.

Summary
The purpose of this article is to
outline the function and major compo-
nents of the cavity wall system. It is not
all-inclusive, but gives an outline of the
major components of the system and the
way they function. A cavity wall is
forgiving by nature, with several layers
of built-in insurance to minimize Beveling the bed joint minimizes mortar droppings into the cavity, a technique often used
interior moisture penetration, character- by trained, union bricklayers.
istics not found in most other wall
systems. Cavity walls are considered the
best performing masonry wall system
because they offer this excellent resis-
tance to interior moisture penetration
when properly designed, specified and
constructed by union mason contractors
and bricklayers.

Photos feature St. Vincent de Paul

Center, Daughters of Charity,
Chicago, Illinois.
Architect: VOA Associates, Inc.
General Contractor:
Walsh Construction
Mason Contractor: A.L.L. Masonry
Bricklayers: BAC Local 21 Illinois
Providing full head joints, as shown here, is one line of defense against moisture getting
into the masonry wall.

This document is intended for the use of industry professionals who are competent to evaluate the significance and
limitations of the information provided herein. This publication should not be used as the sole guide for masonry design and
construction, and IMI disclaims any and all legal responsibility for the consequences of applying the information.

© IMI 2000. All Rights Reserved.

International Masonry Institute I 42 East Street I Annapolis, MD 21401 I 1-800-IMI-0988 I www.imiweb.org