Defect / Water Leak Remediation

Our first trip to this handsome structure in Jefferson Oregon was in 2010, just two years after the home was built.

I think this is called Stucco Veneer/Reinforced Concrete Block type construction. Aka as CMU or CBS Construction.

Four years later, after receiving a bid from us to reinstall the windows & exhausting the litigation process in pursuit of the now defunct builder, our client had us back to fix the problem. Notice the lawn that now exists. Starting here with the Master Bedroom, we removed one large mulled Marvin wood-clad assembly and two smaller crank-out casement windows around the corner…

…to discover some of the likely reasons these windows leaked. They did not possess the stereotypical backer-rod and caulking joint around the top & sides at the exterior. And the back-dam of the sill-pans were flattened for some reason. Also, the side-dams were not sealed to the vertical rough-openings in any manner. And of course, the corner seams between the side & back dams were not sealed.

Add to that, the sills had a rake to towards the interior. If you enlarge the photo above by clicking on it, you may be able to make out the bubble in the torpedo level indicating this condition.

All three openings had to be chiseled back to allow us to achieve a good half-inch space between the masonry structure and the window assemblies to allow the proper installation of backer-rod & caulking for the top & sides.

These spaces around the window assemblies were originally covered with a rigid copper barrier that was held in place by being inserted into a kerf in the masonry wall, but was not properly sealed to the window jambs, allowing wind-driven moisture to find access.

The new sill pans we designed are put in place.

Working with our client, she approved our idea to cover the masonry sills entirely. These seams between the various sill-segments (see above) also drew suspicion of possibly allowing water-penetration.

After the windows were reinstalled, the exterior receives another top-coat of masonry stucco.