Sash window - water coming through

[rekamon]

Hi,
I have a a sash window in my bedroom and at the bottom edge, there is water coming through. There was alot of rain today and this is the first time this has happened. The water isn't coming through the whole of the bottom edge, just at one side. How can I remedy this?

I can feel air coming through and when I look at the bottom of the sash window, there is about a 1 cm gap between it and the wall.

Many thanks.
I'll get pics up shortly.

 

[rekamon]

Heres some pics:

This one shows the end of where the water is coming down:

More pics looking up at the where sash window meets the wall:

 

[oilman]

Afraid that just shows the water IS coming down. Close up photos are ok for TV producers, but not if you want to give information.

What's the leaky blue cushion?

 

[rekamon]

Leaky blue cushion? - thats a curtain.

Well, I'm not the expert, thats why I put the pics up to show where the water is coming in - I don't know what other info to give and thats why I ask here.

 

[noseall]

i'm afraid that perspective is lacking here. your photo's need to be less close and include something of a certain size that we can relate to.

like a tape rule or a human being for instance.

 

[rekamon]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be cheeky

I took another photo of the full sash window.

The bottom edge is 4 and a half feet long.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nige F]

That`s a big old sash London, or Kent, with those yellow bricks .....does the wind blow at that side of the house more than other angles..Prevailing wind?........gap the same on the outside?

 

[rekamon]

Yeah, I live in London and it is a big old sash window!!!

Winds is generally prevelant on that side of the flat, sometimes full face to the window or sideways (I don't know if I am describing this correctly)

Strange thing is there are no gaps on the outside of the sash window, I double-checked this today by hanging out of the window and looking down and round the edges.

This is the only time I seen the water ingress and I have been living in the flat for approx. 8 months.

Any suggestions / thoughts?

 

[ColJack]

is the water actually comming from round the frame, or from round / under the window itself?

this greatly affects the advice given..

if it's the frame then it might pay to have the windows re-fitted if they can do it, or the more bodge way of taking the trim off and expanding foam round the whole window.. then clear / brown silocone round the outside and white silicone / decoraters caulk round the inside after re-fitting the trim..

if it's just the windows then you might need to renew the weather proofing on them..

 

[JohnD]

Nice to see your neighbour has a damp chimney!

If you can possibly take some pictures of the outside (where the wet is getting in) that could be helpful. Try to show the gutters and downpipes as often a fault here leads to excessive water running down the wall. Also look for rot in the frame.

If you do any resealing it needs to be on the outside, not the inside.

I'm thinking the frame may not be a good fit in the wall any more. Do your door frames seem perfectly square? in much of East London bomb damage round the 1940's led to movement on the soft clay and the houses have often moved a bit.

 

[Nige F]

good description and it`s probably the wind forcing the rain thru .as the others have said .a "mastic" seal round...and I would add a couple of coats of Grangers proofing or Thompsons water seal to the brickwork........cover the window with plastic shhet taped on to stop splashes on glass etc.......and re paint it while your up there........all DIY able but you`ll need access to it from a tower scaffold or summat Leave the inside alone, and see what happens after your efforts

 

[rekamon]

Thanks for the info guys.

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is a mastic sealant? Can I use any external sealant for my needs?

Thanks.

 

[JohnD]

Mastic is a flexible, non-setting filler, like grey chewing gum. The original stuff has been in use for thousands of years. The ancient greeks actually chewed it. The term is commonly used for lots of non-setting fillers.

You can get silicone sealants as well these days. Nige is not very young, but not as old as the Greeks

But it would be best to investigate the gap and clean it out before deciding what to do.