Missing or blocked weep holes (chantepleures): what they are, how serious, what it costs

A brick wall is not waterproof: some water always gets behind it, into the air space that separates it from the house wall. Weep holes, « chantepleures » in a French report, are small openings, often vertical joints left empty, at the bottom of the wall and above windows and doors. They let that water out and the air move.

You usually see one roughly every 80 cm. Reports say “no weep holes” or “blocked weep holes” (by mortar, soil, landscaping).

Without weep holes, the water stays trapped behind the brick. Over the years, it can rot the wood sheathing and the wall framing, rust the lintels and whiten the brick with efflorescence. Nothing shows from inside for a long time.

On its own, it is rarely urgent. It becomes so when the report also notes moisture, damaged brick or rusted lintels on the same wall.

Clearing blocked weep holes, or creating them in a wall that has none: $250 to $500 for a few joints, $400 to $900 for one side of the house.

If water has already damaged the wall behind, a mason prices the repair once it is opened.

These are ballpark figures for Quebec, to be confirmed with quotes.

1. Which walls are missing weep holes, or have them blocked?
2. Did you see signs of moisture behind that wall: efflorescence, crumbling brick, stains inside?
3. Are the lintels above the windows on that wall rusted?

Does your report mention weep holes? Upload it: in five minutes, I tell you what comes first, what to have checked and what to ask the seller.

No, they must stay open. There are inserts made for this, which stop insects without blocking water.