[srelliott83]

Hi Everyone,

I am hoping to get some advice on a window that occasionally leaks in my living room. I do not have any good photos at the moment so I will try and describe it to my best ability.

The window a standard slider, probably six feet wide by four feet tall. It is on the north wall of my living room. The room is on the first floor with no floors above. The roof overhangs the window by about four feet. There is a peak above the window which diverts the water down the sides, east and west. The valleys do not end above the window. The roof is also new, about 3 years old.

Now the leaking; Once in a while during rain or when snow is melting water will drip in from above the window. It drips down through the drywall that runs perpendicular to the wall. It pools on the sill and is usually somewhat brown colored.

I cannot determine where the leak is coming from, and whether it is a roof issue, window issue, or wall issue where the siding meets the roof. It does not happen every time it rains. Sometimes it rains incredibly hard for a day and the window is bone dry. Other days the rain seems relatively light and it will drip. I will sometimes go for months without any trouble at all.

This past weekend I used a hose to try and recreate the problem while my wife watched inside of the house. I heavy soaked several areas and got nothing. I tried hosing the area where the window meets the siding to see if it was the flashing and saw no water penetration. I tried just above the window to see if it was a caulking issue, nothing. I then went up on the roof and tried everywhere uphill of the window. A ton of water made its way down the valleys and things seemed dry. I also tried the chimney flashing which is uphill of the window and got no water.

There is a square roof vent near the top of the peak that is above the window. I really hosed around this area at different angles and nothing came in.

At this point I really don't know what to do. There is no attic in that part of my house, so short of tearing my ceiling out I can't inspect the inside of the roof to look for signs of water. There are no signs of water damage on the drywall around or above the window, including the ceiling.

Could it be that under certain conditions the roof vent I mentioned lets water in which is causing my problem? If this is the case what can I do? I think I was pretty thorough with my water test. It seems like it never happens when I'm home so I can't really judge the direction of the rain, etc. I'm not even sure who I would call to get an opinion, a window company, a roofer?

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[SPS-1]

Sounds like you did a thorough test. The hose is normally an excellent instrument for finding leaks. Make sure you run the hose for a good 30 minutes --- it might take a while for water to penetrate.

Pictures would certainly help. But if your roof overhangs 4 feet, I can't see how the upper half of your window can even get wet on a typical rain storm. So I would be inclined to think its coming from the roof. Not necessarily directly above the window --- leak could be much further up the roof, and water running down the slope of the rafters. Yes, it could be the roof vent if not flashed properly.

A roofer would be my first call. Be careful that the guy doesn't suggest re-roofing your house just to "see if it helps".

 

[Phases]

Water is a tricky breast. It could be running down a beam at any angle on top or bottom, from some point much higher on the roof. Could be windy rains, coming in at angles?

Tricky indeed. Pictures inside and out with where water first is visible would be good.

The further away it starts, as mentioned by SPS, the longer you'll need to run the hose to get the leak to start, then continue on long enough for the water to make it all the way to where you see it..

Sounds frustrating! But at the very least, it doesn't sound like it's often enough to do real damage quickly.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I had an issue in my house where water got in an improperly flashing roof/wall seam, and ran a good 20ft over and into a window. It only seemed to happen with some heavy rains, and probably a certain wind direction

So it could be getting in somewhere above in the roof, or around a vent/chimeny and coming in the window.

Did you have this before the re-roof? Because it could have been a mistake during that time.

 

[SPS-1]

But at the very least, it doesn't sound like it's often enough to do real damage quickly.

Sounds like he is only seeing it indoors recently, but it could have been leaking for 5 or 10 years. Really don't know if there is rot damage. Got to find it.

 

[Phases]

Sounds like he is only seeing it indoors recently, but it could have been leaking for 5 or 10 years. Really don't know if there is rot damage. Got to find it.

Fair enough, good point.

 

[srelliott83]

Did you have this before the re-roof? Because it could have been a mistake during that time.

I did not have the problem before the re-roof. The first time the issue showed up was probably about two years afterwards.

Guess who did the roof (me). I've visually inspected everything up there and cannot find any obvious spots water would be getting in. As mentioned there is one roof vent that I think it could be related to, but as far as I can tell it is installed properly. I'll try to post some pics later for feedback.

 

[srelliott83]

I'm not at home but I actually grabbed a couple of photos off of Google Street view just so you could get an idea. The water drips in mostly in the right hand (from the picture) third of the window.

 

[SPS-1]

A close up photo of the circled area might be helpful. I will leave it to a pro to define how this detail should be done properly, but in your first post, you mentioned caulking, but not flashing.

 

[srelliott83]

A close up photo of the circled area might be helpful. I will leave it to a pro to define how this detail should be done properly, but in your first post, you mentioned caulking, but not flashing.

I'm not sure what kind of flashing is back there (hopefully there is some). I did soak that area pretty good with a hose and didn't see any water come in. Where you circled happens to be exactly where the water flows in. I have yet to go so far as to take the siding off the house in that area, but that may be in my future if I can't find a source any other way.

 

[Windows on Wash]

I am going to guess there is no drip cap.

 

[srelliott83]

I wondered about the drip cap. All I would have to do is pull the siding, check, and install one if needed correct?

Thanks!

 

[Seattle2k]

yep.



have you gone into the attic, to check for water spots?

 

[srelliott83]

yep.



have you gone into the attic, to check for water spots?

Unfortunately there is no attic in that portion of the house. I'll exhaust all other options before I start tearing the ceiling down.

 

[FrodoOne]

Your pictures show that there is a valley between the chimney and the front of the house where the window is situated. Therefore, any leak attributable to the flashing around the chimney would be likely to cause problems underneath this valley - several feet back from the window. Hence, I believe that a problem in the chimney area can be discounted.

I note three statements which seem to give some indication of what the problem could be: -

1. Once in a while during rain or when snow is melting water will drip in from above the window. It drips down through the drywall that runs perpendicular to the wall. It pools on the sill and is usually somewhat brown
2. There is a square roof vent near the top of the peak that is above the window. I really hosed around this area at different angles and nothing came in. (Post #1)
3.The water drips in mostly in the right hand (from the picture) third of the window. (Post #8)

Because of these statements I deduce that there may be a "nail hole" sized leak in the flashing associated with the roof vent - which is on the right hand side of the window.
Apart from the location, you stated that it occurs "during rain or when snow is melting" and I would ask
"Is it during rain which is continuous (yet, perhaps, low in volume) for several days?"
Both of these events would produce a slow but continuous trickle of water through such a "nail-hole". Such a trickle down the timbers of the roof would absorb "tannins" from the timbers and may become "somewhat brown."

I discovered a similar "nail-hole" problem near the top of a roof valley - almost at the base of the "V" of the valley, so that it could not be seen from underneath. This "trickle" never caused any actual problems, except that ceiling inspections revealed drip patterns on the loose-fill ceiling insulation.
External close inspection of the valley revealed the nail-hole left (in error) by the original roofer and a dab of silicone was all that was necessary to effect a cure.

 

[Windows on Wash]

I wondered about the drip cap. All I would have to do is pull the siding, check, and install one if needed correct?

Thanks!

You would see it with the naked eye. A proper drip cap needs to come out and over the window/trim as pictured.