Anderson casement caulking permissible?

Thanks for the answers so far guys!

Was gonna take pics this eve., but damn camera was dead!!

If the bottom J-channel (horizontal) was bent down slightly, and rain blew in just right, wouldn't that allow water in over the foundation edge?

>>>> Reason I'm saying this:
* I MAY have accidentally bent this horiz. channel down slightly a few years ago when I was compacting soil at the foundation edge.
* Added lots of dirt next to house, and was hand-tamping it down firm, to create a good slope.

So...could that be a cause?!

Faron

OK...got some pics now:

Overall view of west side. Leaker is lower-right window.


Lower-right of NON-leaker...



Caulked LR of leaker...


Closer view of caulking (just above scratches), just below window casing/in J-channel...



View of J-chnl caulking, with rubber cane-tips holding siding back.


Caulked top of leaker, with rubber-tips holding siding back, and caulk applied...


Lower bedroom where water leaked onto floor. Slight hole cut out behind trim. Drywall NOT wet!! Scanned with a moisture-tester. Water must be coming behind the foamboard insul.



More coming if needed!

Faron

Average heavy rainfall (and we've had a LOT this year!) & snowmelt DIDN'T cause it to leak.
ONLY strong wind-driven rains made it leak below(?) that bedroom window.

My forced leak happened when I directed strong garden-hose water blast from 4'-5' away, parallel to ground, at the lowest siding run below window. Some water-spray went in the now caulked J-chnl too. MOST water was directed at the siding, moving back & forth below the casing.

NOTE: You can barely see a rubber cane-tip behind J-chnl. where I was streaming water at that lower stretch of siding.
The tip wasn't there during my test, and siding was in its "natural bowed slightly forward" position, where it's been for 15 years....

Water MUST'VE be coming up over that lowest run of siding, and some into/behind J-chnl?!?!

I s'pose there's a chance of a foundation crack, but again, the dirt & rocks have a good slope away from foundation. Heavy plastic is under the rocks.
It's never leaked after general rains, or even after this years' heavy snow-melt.

Faron

It appears that you have a block or concrete foundation wall that is just about the same height as your grade. It's common practice and code in many areas to have a minimum of 8" from top of foundation wall to grade.

Burying the bottom edge of the siding lends itself to moisture problems and possible insect infestations as well.

If you have another wind driven rain/leak event, I would look up at the second floor window as a possible issue as well. Improper flashing and water management details could easily cause moisture problems to surface at the window below. I've seen this on more than one occasion when tape over the top flange of the window is depended upon for waterproofing.

The water gets behind the tape, is channeled behind the flange, runs along the head jamb of the window and down the side jambs. The moisture typically shows up below the window, where it finds a spot to pool.

Thanks again guys!

I hear what you're sayin' Loneframer...
It's a poured foundation, and yes, I've built-up the grade possibly too high.
Again, actual dirt level is ~3" below bottom of siding.

I s'pose it's possible to be a window above, but the ONLY 2 times it's happened in 15 years, is 2 hard, wind-driven rain events. The most recent was this past Mem.-Day. The other was last October.

The foundation-grading has been this way for ~ 4yrs.

Thing is....I had the Wife in the bedroom below when I was sprayin' water at the siding below the window. Within ONE MINUTE, water was comin' onto the floor below.
Other points:
* As in the pix, the siding below window had a "bow" towards the front. Both above and below window.
* Thus...I had the idea to use the rubber cane-tips to easily push back the siding to contact the windows' flanges/sheathing.

See this pic, where siding has been sitting for years...nearly touching back of top J-chnl....


Here I am pushing siding back to contact sheathing/etc.



It's the same way UNDER each of the windows, where I was blasting the water.

Could this "bowing forward" of the siding underneath leaking window allow water to come under siding and OVER the foundation?!!

Faron

I'd dig down outside to check for foundation issues. If there's a crack, you fix it.
If there's no crack, I'd pull of all the siding exposing both lower windows and check for installation issues. If it's the window installation, it probably exists in the whole house. It probably showed here first as this side, "faces" the weather.
I had a customer who bought a weekend house in upstate NY built in 2000. The floor buckled under a window as a result of a torrential storm with very high winds.
The sheetrock was fine. The baseboards were fine. I removed the vinyl siding and found the OSB sheathing was rotted under the window. The wind drove the rain behind the vinyl, behind the window(not installed properly) and the house wrap.
The windows were just caulked behind the nailing flange and nailed to the sheathing.
This was the weather side of the house.
This was a MW wood core, vinyl clad window. The wood was rotted.
All around the house, every window was in various stages of rot because they were installed incorrectly. The sheathing under the windows were also in various stages of decay.
All the windows need to be replaced. A good deal of the sheathing needs to be replaced. and most of the houses siding will need to come off and be reinstalled.
I'd make real sure what the issue is with your house before you close the book on this repair.

It looks as though the siding above the window is behind the J-channel. This should not be. You should never need caulk on the top J-channel. The top J-channel should be continuous across the top of the window with down turned legs at each end leading into the jamb J-channels. The nailing flange of the J-channel should always be behind the siding. The jamb J-channels should extend to the bottom of the sill J-channel.

The common misconception with construction today is caulked joints. No matter what the warranty, no matter the installation, caulk fails. All openings and joints should be flashed to expel water without the use of caulk. Caulk should only be used as an enhancement of the installed flashing.

To fix your leak I would remove the siding around the window, install rubberized flashing and correctly install the J-channels.

Also, as many others have said above, get that dirt away from the top of foundation. It is a code violation and is leaving you open to mold, rot, and insect infestation (especially termites if you're in their zone).

The fact of the matter is, the siding is nothing more than a water-shed, to carry away the majority of water.

As you can see, the siding inside the J-channel at all 4 sides of the window is designed to float freely. This prevents distortion of the siding due to expansion of the siding material.

The reality is, the substrate, in conjunction with window and door installation, as well as flashing details, is what keeps the water on the outside of the building and out from between the WRB and the sheathing.

If you were able to force a leak with the garden hose by spraying it against the siding/accessories/window, there is a failure somewhere in the preparation stage of the project.

Moisture will find a way behind the siding, period.

Whether it be from condensation, migration or precipitation is irrelevant.

With grade so close to the top of the foundation wall, it could just as easily be splashing up behind the siding and being drawn in by differences in pressure due to the wind.