Black Stai Observed at Brick ledge

[Cody Atkinson]

I observed a Black Stain at the front left corner. House is a Post Tension Slab.

[Scott Patterson]

Looks like something was pushed up against the side of the house at sometime. Does not look like a problem in the picture. If it was the PT cable rusting you would see a rust color stain.

[wayne soper]

First rule when you see a stain, Look up.

[Jerry Peck]

First rule when you see a stain, Look up.

Good advice.

Almost looks like someone set off some firecrackers there.

[Richard Stanley]

Is that a removable cover to something?? or the perimeter of a room addition??

[Cody Atkinson]

Perimeter. I see stains all the time on houses (and always look up), but this almost look like something burned in the area. No mouisture detected in area. Flower bed sprinkler system nearby. Nothing observed inside the house at same area. No efflorecence. Thanks for the feedback

[John Ghent]

I observed a Black Stain at the front left corner. House is a Post Tension Slab.

Was this a question or a statement of fact? If you are asking, make it clear. The biggest part of this profession is how we report things.

[Kevin Barre]

Based on what I see, I have to vote for some sort of water issue. I enlarged the pic, and some things stood out. First, there is a vertical division in the brick veneer on the left side of the stain. That indicates a break, a difference in construction techniques on either side of the joint. The brick is on different vertical planes to either side of the joint. A few observations:

1. The black stains basically do not cross the vertical line to the left.
2. The pattern of the staining is not consistent with a fire. It's not larger at the bottom than the top. Nor is the color consistent. I would think a fire would stain the brick and concrete roughly the same.
3. More importantly, there does appear to be some efflorescence in the pic. If not, what is the whitish material in the mortar joints below the brick and on the side of the slab? If efflorescence is the case, what is the answer other than moisture moving through the wall?
4. The mulch color is darker in front of the stained area on the wall and to the right of it. May be coincidence...but may not be. The outside grade seems to slope down from left to right. In any case, moisture working its way thru the wall would explain the efflorescence. (Nothing else that I am aware of would.)

So where is the water entering? I don't know from just this one pic. But as Wayne more or less said, "Look up." If that doesn't answer it, them look everywhere else. One thing is for certain: water runs downhill.

The issue may be as simple and "relatively" harmless* as water standing on the exposed edge of the slab and then seeping in under the brick into the wall cavity -- until the weep holes which I "assume" are there allow it to drain out. But we all know that weep holes are not always placed properly, or a clear path left open for water to find its way to the holes. For instance, I see no flashing at the base of your brick veneer where it sits on the slab.



* assuming the the floor line is well above the foundation line and there are proper weep holes in the veneer.

[Mike Schulz]

Looks like a burn mark to me. Maybe the owner sprayed lighter fluid on some ants and lit it or worse yet termite tube. Looks like started from grade and flame upwards.