I'm a new homeowner and I've noticed that a section of my brick house just won't dry completely, even though there's no visible leak. This area faces north and is quite shaded, but it hasn't rained in northwest Georgia for several days. Should I be concerned? This section is also right under two windows. I've included an update with a picture here: https://i.imgur.com/ka39lcA.jpeg.
1 Answer
Bricks are really porous, so they can hold onto moisture pretty well. The white stuff under the left windows is actually salt residue from the water that got trapped in the bricks, which means it can take a while to fully dry out. A good rule of thumb is to allow about a month for every inch of brick thickness to dry!
That sounds about right! It rains a lot in the summer here, so that could be why. Other areas of my brick dry out fine, but the shaded spot takes longer. I'm also considering trimming back the tree next summer to help it out.