In masonry, a water table is a horizontal course of brick or stone, often with a projecting drip edge, set near the base of a wall to physically shed rainwater outward and away from the foundation below it.
A water table does double duty on a masonry wall: it marks a visual transition, often between a stone or rougher base course and the brick above, and it functions as a small roof for the wall below it. The projecting course, sometimes finished with a sloped brick or a stone cap, throws water clear of the wall face instead of letting it run straight down and pool at grade, which keeps the part of the wall closest to the ground drier.
On older homes around Hillsville and Galax we still see original stone or brick water tables that have lost their drip edge to decades of weathering, which lets water sheet straight down the foundation instead of kicking away from it. Rebuilding a proper water table detail during a foundation or lower-wall repair is a small change that meaningfully cuts down on the water reaching the base of the wall each winter.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
Chelo's Brick & Stone serves Hillsville, Galax, Wytheville, Fancy Gap, and Independence, VA. Call for a straight answer and a free on-site estimate.
