New construction Brick ledge

[Justbeck101]

Hi, I am new to the forum.
Can you tell me when the brick ledge should be poured?
I thought it was supposed to be poured with the slab.
We are building a new home and we realized today that there is not a brick ledge. We thought that the slab was supposed to include room for the ledge. Please let me know if you have any idea! I do not want to offend my builder if I am wrong!
Thank you

 

[larry4406]

I am a builder in Northern VA, so things may be built different here but I'll try to help.

For slab on grade homes (no basement) with brick, there are two typical ways to pour the slab. Option 1 is a monolithic pour (poured all at once) and the end of the slab is turned down and integral with the footing (frost footing in some parts of the country). In this case, the footing should provide the brick ledge since your framing will be aligned with the slab edge and the brick will start below the framing from the footing. This way, the slab is not visible when completed. Option 2 is to pour the footings first with allowance for a brick ledge, followed by a second pour for the slab, held back to allow for the brick. Again, the slab is not visible when completed.

For homes with basements, we use aluminum forms for the foundation. The concrete contractor stands the forms and uses styrofoam in the form to provide the void for the brickledge.

hope this helps

 

[CraigFL]

Hi, I am new to the forum.
Can you tell me when the brick ledge should be poured?
I thought it was supposed to be poured with the slab.
We are building a new home and we realized today that there is not a brick ledge. We thought that the slab was supposed to include room for the ledge. Please let me know if you have any idea! I do not want to offend my builder if I am wrong!
Thank you

You shouldn't be afraid of offending your builder by asking questions. Just ask how the brick will be integrated into the slab(rather than "Why is there no brick ledge?"). If this is one of his homes, it's probably well under control. If it's a custom home per your plans, you will need to keep a close watch on some builders to be sure they are building per your specifications and don't get too far off track.

 

[bobbyd]

Without knowing more details, I would be concerned. If the slab has been poured already, then there should be a noticable ledge for the brick to set on, either where the slab sits on the footing or built into the slab itself.

Now, there are some brick products that do not require a brickledge. They are a veneer that is adhered to the wall (kinda like gluing ceramic tile to a wall). Did you specify full brick?

If the builder in fact missed the brick ledge, don't let him just set it on top of the slab. That makes for an excellent place for water to get in. Any water that got into the joint between the brick and slab will migrate directly under the stud wall inside. I don't care how good the flashing gets installed, water will get in. Plus, as Larry said, you will see the edge of the slab from the outside.

 

[snorvet]

For homes with basements, we use aluminum forms for the foundation. The concrete contractor stands the forms and uses styrofoam in the form to provide the void for the brickledge.

My concrete guy formed my brickledge like larry said