Defect / Water Leak Remediation

A stately, if modest home by some of Lake Oswego standards.

Our client reports water dripping in at the top interior of the back facing family room vinyl windows.

The exploratory surgery begins. First, at the top of the window where the evidence is showing up. We are looking for how the water is getting in past the moisture barrier.

As we suspected while performing the preliminary inspection, those intersecting relationships up at the top of the wall of various rooflines, gutter and siding possessed all trappings so frequently associated with potential water intrusion problems.

But the water penetration we found there getting in behind the moisture barrier was just the beginning of this walls woes. Just above the wall we found a hole in the cedar shake roofing, channeling water in upon some extremely weather worn felt paper.

As we continued to remove the cedar lap siding, we ran into your stereotypical flashing missteps. Moisture-barrier overlapping the bottom window nailing fin.

Sheathing sitting directly upon the concrete patio and the not too surprising consequences. This was of course, unrelated to water showing up at the top of the window, but water damage problem nonetheless. So we removed all the siding from the wall and removed the windows.

Working our way up to the top, the water damaged components are replaced. Wall components not showing water damage, though possibly exposed to moisture are treated with fungicide.

The moisture-barrier is obviously replaced in keeping with the latest building codes and products, and the windows are installed as specified by most of the various window manufactures. Some of whom we have received documented training.

Notice in the previous photo, how the moisture barrier is held up & away from the openings until the windows are reinstalled, after which (see above) it is brought down to overlap the top nailing fins.