Weep hole

Trade jargonOhio homeowner glossaryCC-BY-4.0

TL;DR

A weep hole is a small, deliberate opening at the bottom of a wall or frame assembly, in brick veneer mortar joints, retaining walls, window sashes, and storm sills, that lets water trapped behind or inside the assembly drain out. In brick veneer they appear every couple of feet in the first course above flashing, draining the cavity behind the brick; in windows they empty the sill track outward.

Definition

What it means

A weep hole is a small, deliberate opening at the bottom of a wall or frame assembly, in brick veneer mortar joints, retaining walls, window sashes, and storm sills, that lets water trapped behind or inside the assembly drain out. In brick veneer they appear every couple of feet in the first course above flashing, draining the cavity behind the brick; in windows they empty the sill track outward. Sealing them during painting or caulking is a classic homeowner mistake that backs water into the wall, while inserts and screens exist to keep mice and wasps out without closing the path.

Category

Where it sits in the glossary

Weep hole is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.

Why this matters for Ohio homeowners

Why Ohio homeowners should know it

This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.

ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.

Tools that use this concept

ProFix tools that touch this term

See also

License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.

Emergency