Stone and Brick Veneer in DeWitt

In the Town of DeWitt, 28.9 percent of the mapped soil area is classed poorly drained, somewhat poorly drained or very poorly drained, and 26.8 percent is classed well drained. Niagara silt loam is the largest single map unit at about 11.8 percent, and a further quarter of the town carries no natural drainage class at all because it is mapped as urban land at about 8.9 percent, quarries at about 6.5 percent and cut and fill land at about 6.1 percent.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Geographic Database for Onondaga County New York, survey area NY067, queried through the Soil Data Access service, accessed 2026-09-14

There is no state-wide or county-wide frost depth figure in the New York code. Section R301.2 states that additional criteria shall be established by the local jurisdiction and set forth in Table R301.2(1), and the table's own footnote for the frost line depth column reads: the jurisdiction shall fill in the frost line depth column with the minimum depth of footing below finish grade. The column is published blank.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R301.2 and Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

New York's own code agency confirms it. Technical Bulletin TB-1009-RCNYS from the Department of State Division of Building Standards and Codes states, under Subject to damage from Frost Line Depth, that the local jurisdiction shall provide the minimum depth of footing below finish grade, and that the considerations a local jurisdiction can use when developing its frost line depth include, but are not limited to, air freezing index, soil type, water table depth, local historical data and field experience. The bulletin also notes that where an authority having jurisdiction spans multiple municipalities the data should be filled out for each municipality individually.

Source: New York State Department of State, Division of Building Standards and Codes, Technical Bulletin TB-1009-RCNYS, Requirements for Completing Table R301.2(1) in the 2020 Residential Code of New York State, accessed 2026-09-14

The Census Building Permits Survey counts new single-family housing units authorized by each permit-issuing place, which is the closest published proxy for where new masonry is actually being built. Across 2022, 2023 and 2024 combined, Onondaga County municipalities authorized new single-family units as follows: Town of Lysander 178, Town of Clay 89, Town of Camillus 86, Town of Onondaga 83, City of Syracuse 56, Town of Cicero 37, Town of Manlius 34, Town of Skaneateles 23, Town of DeWitt 17, Town of Van Buren 15, Town of Marcellus 14, Marcellus village 13, Town of Geddes 11, Skaneateles village 9, Manlius village 8, Town of Salina 8, Solvay village 4, Baldwinsville village 2, Fayetteville village 2, Liverpool village 1, and Camillus village, East Syracuse village and North Syracuse village 0 each. In 2024 alone the county authorized 323 new single-family units with a combined reported construction value of about 101.3 million dollars.

Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, annual place-level data for the Northeast Region, 2022, 2023 and 2024, accessed 2026-09-14

Ranked by the share of housing units built in 2000 or later, the era in which adhered stone veneer and segmental paver hardscape became the dominant new masonry products, the places of this metro spread very widely. Radisson, the census place inside the Town of Clay, leads at 32.4 percent, followed by the Town of Lysander at 25.8 percent, the Town of Van Buren at 21.9 percent, Baldwinsville village at 20.1 percent, the Town of Cicero at 19.1 percent, the Town of Clay at 15.4 percent, the Town of Camillus at 15.2 percent, the Town of Manlius at 11.6 percent, the Town of Marcellus at 11.3 percent, the Town of Skaneateles at 11.2 percent, Marcellus village at 9.9 percent, the Town of DeWitt at 8.7 percent, Skaneateles village at 8.4 percent, Fayetteville village at 8.1 percent, the Town of Salina at 7.0 percent, the City of Syracuse at 6.4 percent, Camillus village at 6.4 percent, Liverpool village at 6.1 percent, North Syracuse village at 4.7 percent, Manlius village at 4.5 percent, and both East Syracuse village and Solvay village at 0.0 percent. The county figure is 11.6 percent.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034 Year Structure Built and table B25035 Median Year Structure Built, accessed 2026-09-14

Section R703.12.2 of the Residential Code of New York State, Flashing at Foundation, requires that for adhered masonry veneer on exterior stud walls a corrosion-resistant screed or flashing of a minimum 0.019 inch, or 26 gage, galvanized or plastic, with a minimum vertical attachment flange of 3 1/2 inches, shall be installed to extend a minimum of 1 inch below the foundation plate line.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R703, Exterior Covering, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

Section R703.12.3 requires a water-resistive barrier behind adhered masonry veneer and states that the water-resistive barrier shall lap over the exterior of the attachment flange of the screed or flashing provided in accordance with Section R703.12.2. The lap direction is the whole point: the barrier over the flange carries water out of the wall, and the barrier behind the flange carries it in.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R703, Exterior Covering, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

Section R703.1.1 of the Residential Code of New York State states the governing principle for every cladding on a frame wall: the exterior wall envelope shall be designed and constructed in a manner that prevents the accumulation of water within the wall assembly by providing a water-resistant barrier behind the exterior cladding as required by Section R703.2, and a means of draining to the exterior water that penetrates the exterior cladding.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R703, Exterior Covering, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

The masonry industry's own construction specification sets its cold weather trigger at 40 degrees Fahrenheit, not at freezing. Brick Industry Association Technical Note 1 states that the primary purpose of the cold weather construction procedures is to achieve complete hydration of the cement, which occurs only when material temperatures are 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and that as ambient temperatures fall the chemical reaction slows and may stop completely unless adequate heat is maintained in the mortar or grout. The consequence it names is incomplete cement hydration producing soft, friable mortar with reduced durability.

Source: Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 1, Hot and Cold Weather Construction, accessed 2026-09-14