Stone and Brick Veneer in Salina

In the Town of Salina, which contains Liverpool village, 22.8 percent of the mapped soil area is classed poorly drained, somewhat poorly drained or very poorly drained, and 16.1 percent is classed well drained. Salina is more made ground than natural soil: about 12.0 percent of the mapped area is water, about 10.9 percent is cut and fill land and about 7.9 percent is urban land, together more than a fifth of the town with no natural drainage class. The largest natural soils are Collamer silt loam at about 4.6 percent, Arkport very fine sandy loam at about 4.3 percent and Lairdsville silt loam at about 3.6 percent, the last of which is hydrologic group D.

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

The specification treats subsurface drainage as a design item rather than an extra. It states that free-standing water saturating the soil should be removed, that low wet areas can be stabilized with a layer of crushed stone or cement, and that a typical assembly is a 4 inch diameter perforated drainage pipe surrounded by a minimum 3 inch of No. 57 or similar open-graded stone, wrapped in geotextile, set with the top of the stone even with the compacted subgrade and run along the pavement perimeter to remove excess water from the subgrade and base, sloped and directed to outlets. It states that drain pipes are recommended in clay soils or other slow draining soils, and that subgrade drainage extends pavement performance to the extent that the small additional investment is returned many times in additional pavement service years.

Source: Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements, 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

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

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