Stone-Veneer Chase Rebuilt and Re-Sided

Problem

A vertical gap ran most of the height of the chase where the stone veneer met the brick wall. From the driveway it read as a mortar joint that needed pointing. Water hitting that seam in a storm had nowhere to go but behind the stone, and nothing back there was designed to drain.

Diagnosis

We scaffolded the chase and pulled one section of veneer to see the wall behind it. The sheathing under that section was dark and delaminated, and the soft area kept extending as we opened more of the face, which moved the job from a patch to a full tear-off. Flagstone veneer on a wood-framed chase is heavy work in the first place, and once its joints crack it holds water against the sheathing instead of shedding it.

Solution

• 01Scaffolded the chase to full height and tarped the flagstone patio and beds below
• 02Took the veneer off by hand and cleared the debris out of the work area
• 03Opened the sheathing to find the edges of the rot, then removed it down to the studs
• 04Replaced the framing members that had gone soft and left the sound ones in place
• 05New OSB sheathing, then house wrap lapped bottom over top so water runs out, not in
• 06Lap siding and corner trim installed to match the existing exterior

Outcome

The chase came out of the scaffolding closed in with new sheathing, a weather barrier, and a cladding that belongs to the house rather than sitting on it as a stone box. Straight trade-off: siding wants paint and caulk attention every few years and the veneer wanted none, right up until the day it failed. What veneer will not do is let you see the wall going bad underneath it. We took the surface that shows its problems early.