Stone and Brick Veneer in the City of Syracuse

In the City of Syracuse, 1.5 percent of the mapped soil area is classed poorly drained, somewhat poorly drained or very poorly drained, and 54.0 percent is classed well drained. About 22.0 percent of the city is mapped as urban land with no natural drainage class, and the largest natural soils are Palmyra gravelly loam on 0 to 3 percent slopes at about 9.4 percent and on 3 to 8 percent slopes at about 6.7 percent. Palmyra is well drained hydrologic group A, the fastest-infiltrating group there is, and Honeoye silt loam adds a further 11.9 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

The City of Syracuse issues residential construction permits for one and two family homes and names the work that needs one, including retaining wall, driveway, fence, deck, porch, gazebo and pergola, shed and garage, and a miscellaneous category covering chimney and foundation or site work. Its published list of work needing no permit includes sealing or adding an additional layer of tarvia to a driveway, but does not include building a new driveway. Neither list names a patio at grade.

Source: City of Syracuse, Central Permit Office, Residential Construction Permits, accessed 2026-09-14

Onondaga County's Green Improvement Fund does fund porous pavement, but not for homeowners. The program describes itself as supporting green infrastructure on commercial, business and not-for-profit owned properties in the Clinton, Harbor Brook and Midland combined sewersheds, which are select areas within the City of Syracuse. Eligible measures include rain gardens, bioretention, dry wells, underground infiltration systems, green roofs, porous pavement, tree plantings, planter boxes and cistern systems. The program reports over 11.6 million dollars awarded across 98 completed projects, and its page states that it is not currently accepting applications.

Source: Onondaga County, Save the Rain, Green Improvement Fund, 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