Brick Veneer Installation & Repair

In Northern Illinois, a brick veneer wall is not simply an aesthetic choice — it's a rain screen system that must manage moisture, temperature differentials, and structural movement simultaneously. The brick itself is the outermost layer; behind it sits a critical 1-inch air gap, a water-resistive barrier (WRB), and weep holes at the base that allow any moisture that penetrates the brick to drain out of the wall cavity. When any of these components fail or are omitted during construction, the consequences in our freeze-thaw climate are severe and expensive.

The most common brick veneer failure we repair in McHenry and Lake County is "moisture trapping." When a mason fills the drainage cavity with excess mortar (called "mortar droppings") during construction, or when weep holes are blocked or omitted, water that penetrates the veneer has no exit path. It saturates the sheathing, freezes during winter, and creates a cascading failure: rotted OSB sheathing, corroded brick ties, efflorescence on the brick face, and eventually bowing or bulging sections of wall. By the time the homeowner notices exterior symptoms, the hidden damage is often extensive.

Brick selection for new veneer in our climate requires understanding absorption rates. Bricks with high initial rate of absorption (IRA) — above 30 grams per minute — suck moisture out of the mortar too quickly, creating a weak bond at the mortar-brick interface. This weak bond allows water to penetrate the joint during driving rain, which then freezes and pops the brick face. We select bricks with an IRA between 5-25 g/min for Northern Illinois installations, and we pre-wet high-absorption bricks before laying to ensure the mortar achieves full bond strength. We also specify Type N mortar for veneer work — it provides the ideal balance of bond strength and flexibility that allows the wall to accommodate the thermal expansion our climate demands.

Brick ties — the metal connectors that anchor the veneer to the structural wall — are the hidden structural component that determines whether your veneer stays attached for 100 years or separates from the building within 20. In Lake County's freeze-thaw environment, we exclusively use stainless steel corrugated ties at 16" on center vertically and every stud horizontally, with additional ties around all window and door openings. Galvanized ties corrode in as few as 15-20 years when exposed to moisture in the wall cavity, eventually losing their grip and allowing the veneer to pull away from the structure — a safety hazard that requires complete wall reconstruction to fix.

Brick veneer isn't just for residential homes. We install brick cladding and brick facades on commercial buildings, retail storefronts, restaurants, office buildings, and multi-family properties throughout McHenry and Lake County. Commercial brick veneer projects require different engineering than residential — larger wall areas mean more thermal expansion stress, higher wind loads require closer tie spacing, and commercial building codes (IBC) have stricter requirements for fire ratings, cavity barriers, and flashing details.

For commercial new construction, we work directly with architects and general contractors to ensure the brick veneer specification meets both the design intent and structural requirements. We're experienced with running bond, stacked bond, Flemish bond, and herringbone patterns — each creating a distinct architectural character. We also install brick veneer over steel stud framing (common in commercial construction), which requires adjustable brick ties that accommodate the larger deflection tolerances of steel versus wood framing.

For commercial renovations and tenant improvements, thin brick veneer panels are an excellent solution. They can be installed over existing block, concrete, or drywall surfaces with minimal disruption to business operations. Restaurants, breweries, and retail spaces across Lake Zurich, Vernon Hills, and Wauconda use interior thin brick to create an authentic industrial or loft aesthetic that attracts customers.