Climbing Ivy on Your Brick Wall Can Hide the Roof Line

Ivy and Virginia creeper look tidy from the sidewalk in July, but on a brick wall they do more than decorate. Their holdfasts grip mortar joints, their stems push under the edges of flashing and into the gap behind a shingle course, and their leaves hold water against the brick at the roof line. By the time a stain shows on the ceiling below, the damage may have been building for several seasons. If you are deciding whether to book an inspection this fall, the vines are a reason to ask specific questions before the walk, not after.

What the vines hide from the ground

Most homeowners look at the roof from the yard, and a wall covered in green leaves blocks the view of the parts that matter most. The step flashing where a sloped roof meets a brick wall, the counterflashing set into the mortar joint, and the first two or three shingle courses against the wall are usually all covered. An inspector standing at the eave with a camera may photograph foliage instead of metal.

Ask the inspector whether the vines will be cut back on the wall before the roof walk, or whether they will stay put and be noted as a limit. Either answer is useful. A limit written into the report tells you what was not seen, and that is different from a clean result.

Where ivy does its damage

Three places tend to take the worst of it in St. Louis.

• The step flashing at the wall. Stems that grow up the brick slide under the flashing edge and lift it away from the shingle face, which opens a path for wind-driven rain.
• The counterflashing in the mortar. Holdfasts can pry at the joints and loosen the seal at the reglet, especially where the mortar has already weathered.
• The gutter line and fascia. Dense growth drops debris into the trough and holds moisture on the fascia board through the freeze thaw cycle, which softens wood at the ends of the rafter tails.

Each of these is a separate question for the inspector. A single photo of green wall does not answer any of them.

Freeze and thaw changes the picture

In St. Louis the freeze thaw cycle works on any gap that holds water. Moisture that sits in a vine mat behind a flashing edge can freeze in January, expand, and push the flashing a little farther off the brick each winter. Ice at the eave adds to the problem, because the same wet growth that holds water on the wall can keep meltwater near the roof edge. An inspector looking in late October can see last season's staining on the brick and the top course of shingles, but a stain is only a record of what got wet. It does not show what will freeze next.

If ice forms at the eave in winter, mention the vines when you book. The location of the growth and the location of the ice are often on the same side of the house, and the inspector should know that before walking the slope.

What to ask before the walk

1. Will the vines be cut back from the wall, and will the cutting be done before or during the walk?
2. Will the step flashing and counterflashing be photographed at close range, with the vine removed from the frame?
3. Will the report say which parts of the wall were not visible, and why?
4. If the wall needs to be cleared, who will do that work and who pays for it?
5. Will the inspector check the attic side of the wall for staining on the sheathing or the top plate?

The last question is easy to skip. Water that runs behind the vines often shows up first on the inside of the wall, at the header or the rafter tail, long before the brick shows anything. The attic hatch is a good place to look, and an inspector who checks it can tell you whether the growth has been wet long enough to matter.

Removing the vines is its own job

Pulling ivy off brick is not the same as cutting the stems at the base. The holdfasts stay in the mortar joints after the vine is gone, and pulling hard can take mortar with them. Cut the stems at the ground, let the dead growth dry for a few weeks, then remove it gently with a putty knife or a stiff brush. Some owners prefer to leave the holdfasts in place and let them weather off, but that works only where the flashing was never disturbed. If the flashing is loose, the vines should come off on a schedule that allows the flashing to be reset and sealed before the next rain.

Keep a record before the cut

Before any vine comes off, take a set of dated photos of the wall from the ground and from an upstairs window if you have one. Include the step flashing if you can see it, the mortar joints at the roof line, and the gutter where it meets the brick. Keep the original files on your phone or in a cloud folder, not only as screenshots. These photos show the condition the wall was in before anyone touched it, and they help you compare what the inspector sees with what you saw from the yard.

If the ivy has been on the house for years, the photos may also show growth patterns that tell the inspector where to look first. A dense band at the eave usually means water has been sitting there. Growth that stops below the roof line may mean the flashing kept the vine off the shingles, which is worth knowing too.

What Keys will and will not do on the wall

Keys Roofing documents what the inspector finds, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and can attend as the contractor when the wall is opened. If the flashing needs resetting, the scope should name the metal and the sealant, and it should say whether the brick needs repointing before the new flashing goes in. Call (314) 220-2333 to ask what a wall-side inspection would include before you decide what to do about the ivy.

What to do this month

Before the first hard freeze, walk the outside of the wall with a phone. Photograph the vine from the same spot each time, and take a close shot of the brick where the roof meets it. Note whether the growth is on the wall, the gutter line, or both. Then book the inspection with the vine question written in the request, so the walk is planned around what you need seen. A clear wall will photograph better than a green one, and an honest note about what was hidden is worth more than a clean-looking report that skipped the wall.