Moisture Control Principles

The air gap in a stone veneer takes on multiple functions, including accommodating variations in stone size to hold the plane of the surface veneer and placing additional mortar to support the stone. Sure Cavity™’s rigid channels and mortar blocking fabric ensure a clear and continuous drainage gap along the entire backup wall. With Sure Cavity to maintain the air gap the rest of the cavity can be slushed full with grout. In the lab and on the jobsite, Sure Cavity rapidly drains and dries walls.

That water that you’ve drained to the bottom of the wall needs an exit strategy. We know that rope weeps and tubes don’t work, and that water doesn’t run uphill to drain from cell vents above the bed joint of mortar. The flashing is the lowest point in the cavity – so it makes sense that water should drain directly off the flashing. MTI’s Stone Cavity Weep™ is a self-spaced weep system that quickly rolls out on the flashing to create drainage tunnels for rapid drainage at the lowest point in the wall.

Weeps work when they create a path for drainage at the lowest point in the cavity wall – in this case, directly on the lintel or shelf angle flashing. Each Wall Opening Weep™ creates 5 weep tunnels directly on the flashing to keep your walls dry.

A ventilating a wall system with vented terminations at the top and bottom of the wall increases the drying power. Floor Edging™ maintains a pathway for ventilation from the air cavity to the exterior – simply tuck-point mortar between the top course of brick and Floor Edging, then score the Floor Edging at the face of the wall and snap off the excess.