On a hill in Happy Valley. The initial evidence of a leak can at first seem almost innocuous. A little water dripping from the top of…

…a window on the interior. Perhaps the window needs a little caulking on the exterior to plug a hole?

MDF window surround material can end up looking like this even if you just overwater a plant on your window sill. It’s like cardboard. No need to panic.

A little more than a little investigation translates into the need to begin removing stone, as we discover water damaged sheathing behind the stone facade.

Alright, now it’s O.K. to panic. We’re almost having to rebuild the exterior wall in its entirety. Hard to believe the leaking could go on for so long before it showed up on the interior.

All the way up to the roof. As with almost all the projects in our little portfolio here attest to, the cause of this almost catastrophic damage is quite simply a lack of quality-control when applying proper flashing technique to these exterior walls.

We go about replacing the 2nd story exterior envelope components while letting the mastic cure a bit before replacing the stone work on the ground floor. And no…the original stone is not reused.

…back together.
We don’t have room for the photos to show it, but we also did some work on the protruding wall on the opposite side of the deck, up around the 2nd story windows, and there is more to be done here…but limited funds have…

…put the kibosh on any further repairs, for the time being anyway.
Once again…literally better than brand new!

The Raleigh Hills area. The backside of this house really gets hammered by the sun and the prevalent incoming weather systems out of the southwest.

Almost every window assembly had some degree of water-damage.

Mostly jamb assembly issues, of which the exterior brick moulding is a part. And the exterior window sills are almost always the first component to show damage.

But what began as a wood window repair project quickly translated into some exterior wall repairs as we traced down where the water funneling through those holes in the sills was ending up.

This necessitated that we remove several courses of siding beneath a number of the window assemblies. And of course cedar lap-siding almost always breaks when removed, so it was replaced.

Here’s an example of some of the type of water damage we encountered from some of the water getting through those damaged window sills.

If you enlarge the above photo by clicking on it, you may be able to better make out the progression of steps taken to repair the exterior wall below these windows.

One more piece of siding to be installed around the exterior electrical outlet.

There were also several very exposed dormer-windows at the far end, above the garage. Repairing these necessitated temporary removal so that we could disassemble and reassemble with much more reasonable access to the various window components.

Necessity being the mother of invention has necessitated that we become quite adept at setting up ad-hoc temporary shops. It’s nice when the weather cooperates with this process such as with this project. But ultimately, if there isn’t a garage, carport or covered porch, we can bring out and set up various types of coverings when the weather isn’t so accommodating.

The Crestwood Neighborhood in Southwest Portland near Multnomah Village. I didn’t have opportunity…

…to inspect this wall or take any “before” photos that illustrated how our client came to believe they had…

…water penetration issues. Our technicians Steve Hilt and David Castro, along with my staff, handled all that.

But it was determined that the wall should have all the siding removed, any damaged sheathing replaced, new…

…moisture-barrier installed and new siding installed.

For all the problems and costs which improper application of the moisture-barrier and flashing create, it seems necessary that we stress the fact that proper application is really an elemental proposition.

As they say, …it isn’t rocket science.? Many of these projects have shown windows with the moisture-barrier covering the “bottom-nailing fin.” Well here is what it looks…

…like when it’s done properly. If you look closely, you can see the vinyl fin on the bottom of the window lying “over” the top of the flashing membrane and the moisture-barrier.

And Steve is (previous photo) holding up the moisture-barrier at the top of the window to further illustrate this most basic of principals…”that which is above must overlap that which is below.”

David Castro demonstrates the fine art of juggling long pieces of Hardiplank siding while balancing upon a narrow aluminum plank without tripping over his safety rope and getting hurt.

The Mount Scott – Arleta area of Southeast Portland.

Calling this window opening a wee bit unusual may be considered an understatement by some, but we think someone deserves…

…credit for a creative attempt to highlight the shower stall with a daylight opening that still met the need for privacy. If they had composite trim…

…materials back when this was installed, and if maybe the siding had been something other than vinyl or if the opening had more protection from the elements, it just might have worked.

But as you can see, what our client was hoping would be a relatively painless replacement of some exterior trim quickly unraveled into her bank-accounts worst nightmare. To really appreciate the devastation, you might click the photo to enlarge it.

Even the structural-supports beneath the tub needed to be replaced. Fortunately, we were able to achieve this short of having to pull the tub. Bruce Hinkenlooper readies the new wall stud structure for installation.

The wall is assembled with a new Vinyl window installed to our client’s specifications. Working with our client to try and keep the costs minimized, we re-used what original Vinyl siding we could…

…along with some extra pieces she had on hand, and finished out the top of the exterior wall with our own attempt at creative problem solving. Obviously, this wouldn’t have been our first choice.

And we realize some contractors would have refused to even do a project like this if the funds were not available to make their work look like the creme de la creme of projects, and we think we know what that’s all about.

However, we try our best to avoid looking down our noses at folks of limited means, since in truth…that describes each and every one of us. It’s all relative, is it not? Our technician Tim Afonin puts on the finishing touches by installing some vinyl corner-trim around the new interior window opening.

The Conquistador on S.E. Belmont Street in Portland.

There is water showing up at the top of the lower windows. So holes are cut in the drywall in the ceiling to trace back the water trail.

And upstairs, more holes are cut below those windows to confirm the suspicion that the 2nd story windows are the point of entry by which the…

…water infiltration is accessing the tops of the ground-floor windows. And indeed, confirmed it was.

No siding to remove here. The solution is actually fairly simple on this one. Provide & install “Sill-Pans” below the top-floor windows to reroute the water back out to the exterior if the sealant fails.

So the first Vinyl Window is removed from the masonry rough-opening.

Conan goes about cleaning the excess sealants from both the windows and the rough-openings…

…while Tim Afonin goes about field-fabricating several aluminum sill-pans.

Another mystery solved and another problem resolved.

A very nice home up on a hill high above Newberg with a million dollar view of the coast range from which the dominant jet stream brings in most of the severe storms off of the southwestern pacific ocean.

This poor house had so many issues related to poor design and poor products that my space here will only allow me a mere smidgen of the photos and repairs that we ended up being contracted to make.

This is obviously up on the southwestern facing deck with 3 of the five exterior door assemblies with very serious substandard materials and weather related issues. You can only see two of three deck doors in this photo.

All three of the deck doors had storm doors on them, and yet all the exterior brick molding around the doors looked like this. Absolutely disintegrated. Simply funneling the water on through to the jamb assemblies.

When I began going over this project with some of my crew, I prefaced it by saying that I had never seen rotten brickmoulding so severely obliterated, and several of them rolled their eyes at me because we see it all.

But of course nobody had seen anything quite this extreme. It looked as though perhaps the brickmould was not only finger-jointed material (which is a sin), but that maybe it was left with only the factory prime-coat, which isn’t really a real prime-coat.

Our initial proposal involved replacing the jambs and exterior trim around five exterior single-entry fiberglass doors, reusing the original doors and then rehanging the storm doors. But of course, once the jambs were removed, there was damage…

…in the walls discovered and the scope of work was transformed to substantial rebuilding of the exterior walls on this side of the house, both above and below this deck. As some of the photos reflect, we had to detach the deck from the house to some degree to…

…affect the repairs properly. I haven’t mentioned yet that the siding was LP siding which should help explain some of the issues our poor client was saddled with.
Above we see beneath the deck, the fourth of the five doors with rotten jambs. I don’t have room here to show you the fifth one.

But please note our ability to rehang original-doors into new jambs. Or new doors into original jambs. The point being that our technicians are real door and window mechanics. Not merely your run-of-the-mill handymen. And whether you know it or not…there are many qualities inherent in our services that exist because of those problem solving skills, no matter what we get hired to do.

A turn-of-the-last-century house in La Center Washington. Yep, that is like 113 years old. Old enough to have had its windows upgraded a time or two.

What began as a window-sash replacement job (those are Andersen brand windows), turned into a water-remediation job when the repair of several window sills required that the window jamb assemblies be removed.

Upon removing the jamb assemblies, it was discovered that the rough-opening components beneath the windows were also damaged.

This led to the removal of some of the siding beneath said window openings which led to the discovery of extensive wall damage. This job went on for weeks as we made our way around the house opening and closing exterior walls.

As anybody who works construction in the great Pacific Northwest knows, you have to be prepared for any contingency related to the weather.

If you click on the photo, you may be able to see the water stains on the plywood sheathing that corresponds with the vertical sides of the window opening. And no, the black Grace Vycor flashing membrane was not beneath the exterior trim when we removed it. That is something which we installed before this photo was taken.

And then, upon removing the plywood, we frequently discovered that the structural components were damaged as well. Again, if you click on the photo, you may be able to see the dark-brown and black wall-studs, indicating an advanced state of decay. And that white stuff? That is mold.

We are CSI Portland/Vancouver. Construction Scene Investigators. But instead of following the money, its follow the water stains.

And if you click on the photo, you can tell by the expression on David Castros face, that he takes his job in construction forensics very seriously.

O.K., but seriously, the science behind the proper application of exterior envelopes is not rocket-science, which is the real crime behind that which leads to the wanton destruction of folks exterior walls.

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.

Condos on the Columbia River, immediately northwest of the Portland Airport.

The backside of one particular condo that is being readied for sale.

Our client has noticed that some of the window trim is looking a little the worse for wear.

Not too surprising. The water has been getting in through or around the trim. Note that the moisture barrier is not even touching the window, let alone properly flashed to it. And thus please note the water damaged sheathing. See the dark stains? You may enlarge the photo by clicking on it.

And so, what began as a simple exterior trim replacement job has suddenly grown into a full-fledged water damage remediation project.

More exterior trim and siding removal confirms that the lapses in proper flashing technique is systemic. Time to get the ladder-jacks out and work our way up the wall.

Much of the sheathing is in need of replacement.

And some of it was so deteriorated that water was accessing the wall cavities, damaging the structural wall components. Enlarge the photo to get a good view of it.

Of course you know, and we know that this entire structure was buttoned up by the same folks who did this one condo. The longer they wait to check it and get it properly flashed, the worse the damage will be.

Instead of thousands of dollars, it will be tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. Above, our technicians are just finishing the clean-up at the end of a productive day. Tomorrow, the exterior trim and the new Hardiplank siding will begin to be installed.

A remodeled turn of the last century house. Our client knows they need a new door because it is leaking like sieve on the interior side of the door panel…

…around the bottom of the glass (red arrow). If you click & enlarge the photo collage, you may be able to see the water stains.

They know it’s a fairly serious issue, because of the water-stains showing up at the top of the double-entry door jamb directly below on the ground floor. But it’s not (of course) until we execute some investigative procedures (removing siding) that anyone realizes the damage in…

…the wall above double-entry doors. On a side note, you might notice the metal Z-flashing & the moisture barrier? See something wrong? Not that it would have prevented the water that got in the wall above, even if it had been done correctly, but it tends to reflect the lack of expertise that is so prevalent that leads to this type of damage.

Here we see the damage to the rough-opening components directly below the sill of the 2nd story deck door which we discovered after we removed the door assembly.

As it turns out, the problem at hand is much more than the door assembly alone. The ledger-board that fastens the deck to the exterior wall was never properly flashed. So at our client’s request, we removed it, repaired the wall, and then installed a new ledger board.

Back up on the deck, looking down at where the deck fastens to the wall just below the single-entry door opening here, you can see the metal L-Flashing we will install before installing the new door or replacing the siding or the decking we’ve removed.

All water damaged components are replaced and the new door jamb is installed after the rough-opening is properly sealed with the latest flashing products, including a sill-pan that runs out to the…

…exterior and overlaps that L-Flashing we installed, as does the siding and the moisture-barrier we’ve modified.

If you enlarge the photo, you may be able to make out the siding we replaced above the upper deck door (and the double-doors below), that facilitated our properly tying the metal header flashing into the moisture barrier above. No more water in the walls.