I have vinyl windows in my bedroom that leak from one bottom corner in heavy rain. I'm sure it's due to improper installation, because the house was remodeled by a terrible contractor before I bought it, but I haven't been able to track down what exactly he did wrong.
I know the weep holes aren't blocked, because I can pour water into the outer track (next to the screen), and it just runs onto the outside sill with no leaks inside. I also thoroughly recaulked all the way around the outside of the window.
I was able to reproduce the leak by hitting the lower right part of the window with a hose, so it looks like the water is getting into the inside track and then leaking out into the wall. There's just that brushy weather stripping in between the window and that lip separating the inner and outer tracks, which clearly isn't waterproof, so I'm assuming there's supposed to be some way for the water to get back to the outside when it makes its way into that inner track. The bottom surface of each track isn't easy to pull up, and I wasn't sure if it was meant to come up at all, so I haven't looked underneath.
Is there any chance this is something I can fix without completely removing and reinstalling the windows?
I know the weep holes aren't blocked, because I can pour water into the outer track (next to the screen), and it just runs onto the outside sill with no leaks inside. I also thoroughly recaulked all the way around the outside of the window.
I was able to reproduce the leak by hitting the lower right part of the window with a hose, so it looks like the water is getting into the inside track and then leaking out into the wall. There's just that brushy weather stripping in between the window and that lip separating the inner and outer tracks, which clearly isn't waterproof, so I'm assuming there's supposed to be some way for the water to get back to the outside when it makes its way into that inner track. The bottom surface of each track isn't easy to pull up, and I wasn't sure if it was meant to come up at all, so I haven't looked underneath.
Is there any chance this is something I can fix without completely removing and reinstalling the windows?
