Luxury Home Feature - Heated Outside Steps

If you live in a cold climate then you know that outside steps can be dangerous in the winter. Driveways can be tedious and inconvenient to shovel.

Installing heating systems within your steps and landings and drives outdoors is the ultimate luxury home feature. These systems are generally powered by:

1. Electric heating strips/cables. These are ideal for small areas.

2. Hydronic (liquid) piping loops tied to a boiler or heat pump. These are ideal for larger areas, but are trickier to install. These systems can also be tied to geothermal systems for even more energy savings.

3. Heated mats. An inexpensive option which can be removed during the warm season.

How Exterior Brick Facade Is Installed

Do you know how brick is installed on the outside of a home? Don’t worry, some professionals don’t even know.

At about 50-60 pounds per square foot (PSF) this brick is quite heavy and requires both careful structural consideration as well as quality water management details.

The arrangement, planning and installation are quite interesting. Below is a typical cross section of a wall on a typical home.

As you can see above, all of the brick weight is supported at the bottom of the brick, and then the brick is occasionally “tied” to the structural wall with anchors. These ties support the brick horizontally.

The gap behind the brick allows moisture which will get through the brick to run down to the base of the wall and then drain out of the wall through “Weeps” or holes/gaps in the bottom course of brick. Typically these weep holes will be set slightly above the ground.

Sometimes you need to install brick on a wall which is not directly over the foundation below. This typically requires the installation of steel framing in the home to support the weight. This is common over wall opening such as windows and doors, but can also occur on 2nd story walls which are over roofs as shown below.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial decisions. There are no sponsors of this newsletter.