water intrusion on house

[redneck joe]

I found it a few years back and thought the window was the location thought at the time; just around the window but it traveled a bit on the sill plate / rim joist so wasn't sure. Tried patching all visible mortar spots, used a high dollar sealant on the front of the house which I thought fixed it but turns out just checked times when there had not been a bunch of rain.

Pulling the nasty carpet up to put in new hard floors this week and yep, all around the window. Nothing too visible up top on the surface but stains in the subfloor, HVAC vent has a nail all rusted to hell and the kicker was the carpet tack strip nails were rusted about 1 foot either side of the window. Sounding the OSB house skin tells me there is space between that and the brick so should not be a sweating issue. There was plenty of insulation. Moisture meter tells me close to ok on the house, just dripping wet rim joist down.


My thinking at this point, prior to cutting into the bricks which I will soon is either one or both of the following:

The slop from the mortar has jammed against the house not allowing flow to the outside of the foundation
the Tyvek (or similar product) was not installed properly/shorted/who knows.


Thoughts?

 

[jbcurt00]

I would look above the window header for a leak source, possible all the way up to the eave......

But I'd bet the water moves to the inside thru a gap in the house wrap around the windiw opening corner details, possibly quite a ways from where the water enters the brick..

 

[redneck joe]

well most houses I've seen is the cut the wrap at a 45 so no corners really get good coverage.

 

[jakedaawg]

I would look above the window header for a leak source, possible all the way up to the eave......

But I'd bet the water moves to the inside thru a gap in the house wrap around the windiw opening corner details, possibly quite a ways from where the water enters the brick..

Before breaking brick I would investigate this if possible. Without seeing it's hard to know if you can get window out with out removing the brick siding.

 

[jbcurt00]

well most houses I've seen is the cut the wrap at a 45 so no corners really get good coverage.

Yep........ I'd bet thats where the water crosses from behind the brick to thru the tyvek into the framing, but the water gets in elsewhere.....

 

[redneck joe]

Before breaking brick I would investigate this if possible. Without seeing it's hard to know if you can get window out with out removing the brick siding.

the nail fin is behind the brick. I could cut and re-install but this also has an arch on op of it, which may be the actual issue.


I've sealed the crap out of the brick with mortar on anything that looked like a hole plus a high dollar penetrating sealant after that. I'm thinnking it is inside the window somehow.

.

So here's my last night few-drinks-into-it-thoughts.

If it was bad wrap at the actual frame I would have had water intrusion on the wood right at the sill frame and or along the ~15" of the sheathing, somewhere. All is fine and no excessive moisture in the wood (I have a meter) The moisture ONLY gets higher at the 2x4 that is the bottom of the wall sitting on the subfloor and then the subfloor is even higher - but not dramatically higher. Enough to have surface rusted a few nails (house is pushing 20 years old) and stain the subfloor. That could be capillary upwards.

So in my mind wrap at the window opening is not the issue or there would be evidence of water higher up.

This would tend to make me believe that the issue is the wrap didn't get completed all the way lower than the subfloor / sill plate / rim joist. The wrap should be applied to below any wood, to the concrete (or in my case, block) walls for the very reason that if water is intruding that it does not touch wood, only concrete.

My brother is here encapsulating the crawl, i'll put my ceramic heater in the area with the water to dry up and we'll see. My wife will hate me but I think I am going to plastic and duct tap up the windows for a few months (facing the road of course) and see what I see. At a minimum that will tell me if window or brick/mortar. If window and I cannot find obvious entry point a replacement window will be easier and cheaper than cutting and replacing the brick i would think. Which BTW I have enough leftover original brick to cover about 100 sq ft, plus anything that could be salvaged after removal.


more drinking tonight to study on the problem further...

 

[redneck joe]

Yep........ I'd bet thats where the water crosses from behind the brick to thru the tyvek into the framing, but the water gets in elsewhere.....

as a boater i am all too aware of the ability or a small leak to travel to the other side of the universe...

 

[foodfisher]

My guess- plugged weep holes allow water to build and search for a flaw in window construction, possibly a crack at a corner.

 

[redneck joe]

My guess- plugged weep holes allow water to build and search for a flaw in window construction, possibly a crack at a corner.

so one of the two were. the whole underneath 'chamber' should be connected, no? in the corner, if you open the window, there is well of sorts at each corner. The right one started flowing pretty quick the left did not - and I started on the left so not sure flowing across the whole thing. I was using a squeeze bottle (think restaurant ketchup bottle) so i could aim well and not 'confuse' my water flows with my sloppiness. To clear it I just did a heavy shot into it. What that does't tell me is where it is coming from just yet. It is highly unlikely that it is entering at the point I tested; when the window is closed it seals very well. the unit does have a top, have circle arch so it is a two piece unit. Have to check that next.

 

[foodfisher]

Aluminum should be one channel. Vinyl could be compartmental. Source could be dew. A "well of sorts" doesn't make sense unless the weep holes are at the bottom of the well.