Advice on likely source of water ingress at lintel

[Juno 60]

There is water ingress at the lintel above my lounge window. The affected area is only damp after particularly heavy driving rain, but obviously remains stained when dry. The window is an Anglia-fitted UPVC unit fitted in 2000, so I'm pretty sure it's not a problem with the window seal. I have noticed that the pointing between the single layer of vertical bricks above the window is no longer flush and has a few cracks and holes - is this the most likely source of ingress, or should I be looking further up?

Also, is there a suitable sealer paint product that I can use to paint over the stained area, which is white textured wallpaper?

Your advice would be much appreciated.

 

[masona]

I have noticed that the pointing between the single layer of vertical bricks above the window is no longer flush and has a few cracks and holes - is this the most likely source of ingress,

Could be but best to make goods to the wall anyway and take it from there. Is the holes like slot type ? maybe an old hole for the scaffolding when the house was built. Has the window also have sealant all the way round ? if not then use sealant all round the window.

 

[Juno 60]

Cheers for reply Masona.

The 2 holes that I can see in the broken pointing are about half an inch wide and look pretty uniform - could well be related to scaffolding. The sealing around the window looks good.

I agree that it's a good idea to repoint the affected area whether its the source of water ingress or not. The layer of vertical bricks above the window looks to have moved downwards slightly over the 46 years since the bungalow was built - they are no longer perfectly horizontal. I guess this has contributed to the breaks in the pointing. The pointing around the rest of the bungalow is very good, fortunately.

Is it quite common for water to make its way through faulty pointing?

 

[masona]

Is it quite common for water to make its way through faulty pointing?

Not always, I think what happening is the window recess is stopping the rain continue down the wall so therefore run along under the brick or going through the pointing.