What's with the tenant weep hole crusade?

Question

I just discovered a second tenant on a second rental that decided it was a good idea to fill up the house weep holes with that expanding yellow foam stuff. WTF!? I guess they are trying to make the house more weatherized or something.

Do they think the house was just built wrong with these holes spaced evenly all around the perimeter of the house?

Did they forget the part of the lease that states they are not to do any repairs or modifications to the place?

Is it just me?

Robert Steele · Answer

The weep holes are on the lowest tier of bricks. They are so the moisture and mold doesn't build up between the brick veneer and the sheathing. I made one tenant take it out. The second I discovered after they moved. Yes, getting the foam out of the holes is one thing. Getting it out between the bricks and the sheathing is not so easy.

Mike Franco · Answer

ignorant tenants. You need to educate them on the function of weep holes, and perhaps give them a one-time pass and clean out the weep holes yourself.

Jean Bolger · Answer

'weep hole crusade'! that title sure made me click....... funny!

I am sorry you have to deal with this..... but ya know, that expanding yellow foam stuff IS kind of fun. (and addictive, so watch out for any other orifices)

Stephen Masek · Answer

The foam behind the holes, if any, also needs to come out.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

Are these in the foundation I'm assuming, or in a block retaining wall of some sort?

This is the problem with DIY tips everywhere in a generation of physically uneducated people. They see on TV that 97% of energy is lost from a house and that air sealing helps, so they go out and start foaming everything. It would all be well and good if they had ever participated in construction at some point and knew what they were doing, but I guess that's a cost of doing business.

What is your plan for correcting the problem? I bet they don't "fix" anything anymore after spending an afternoon scraping foam out of weep holes.