Window leak along frame - worried

[MrBrindle]

Hi all,

We discovered recently that we have a window leak along the top frame in our living room. It's not in a corner, but around 6 inches from the top left corner. We only moved into the house back in March btw.

We live on top of a hill, and the living room side gets the brunt of the weather, driving wind and rain. The plasterboard slowly saturates along the frame in heavy windy rain, and the spreads along the top, creating a damp patch of around 8 x 2 inches. There's also a bit of water inside the frame - when I open the window I can see a little bit of water coming out from a hole above.

We had a window fitter out last week, who resealed the edges of the exterior of the window, but not the top. He did the same for all other windows that needed doing. However the problem remains.

After reading things online, I'm a bit petrified that this is a bigger issue.

The living room window is below a bedroom window of an identical size, and the fitter suggested water was probably coming down through gaps there because the sealing was a bit knackered on that as well. The window comprises of a metal lintel (not sure what type) and like a decorative stone lintel arrangement on top.

However if that's happening, surely there's a fault in the build? The house is timber framed (13 years old), so if there's water running down inside the cavity or something then that's a pretty major issue. Surely the lintel and dpm of the wooden frame should be diverting water out if it's coming from above?

Needless to say I'm very concerned that this could have been a build error that's going to cost us thousands to rectify

Hoping someone can give me some reassurance that its a simple fix, and hopefully not a major catastrophe to the timber frame. I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder, so I don't know if I'm worrying too much here, but it doesn't feel right.....

 

[terryplumb]

Your third photo shows an area of concern. Top right hand side of the wall appears to have a gap ,where the wall doesnt meet the decorative section. Ask a reputable builder to take a look ,may well be a simple thing to sort out.

 

[Gazman16]

Why didn't he seal the top of the window?
I would check the seals on the upstairs window too next
A good coat of paint never hurts, caulk any cracks and gaps in the render

 

[MrBrindle]

Thanks both.

I have a local builder who are used by the council coming round this morning. I'm not sure why he didn't seal the top, there's no obvious issues there though? Or could water get in somewhere where there isn't any visible issues in the caulk? The only bit is right in the top right hand corner, again don't know why he didn't seal all the way.

He sealed some parts of the upper window as well, however, and I don't know if this is common practice, but he just went over the old caulk with a bead of new caulk.....I'm sure I've read online you should strip off the old caulk first.

Also, we did have water on the sill of the upper window after storm callum, which I told him. I've read online that's probably a fault in the frame though?

Hoping the builder manages to get the bottom of it, sounds pathetic, but I can't live with this over winter!

 

[MrBrindle]

Well builder came and he hasn't filled me with confidence. Even suggested siliconing the gap between the lintel and the decorative stone! I'm sure that's where the water is meant to be directed out!?

 

[Gazman16]

To be honest that was one of the things I was thinking too even if only temporarily to rule it out as a cause. Maybe seal it but leave 2 or 3 10mm gaps for water to get out as it could be driving rain getting in there.

Leaks are a pain in the butt and unless its something obvious you need to use a process of elimination, Start with the cheap easy things first (sealing gaps, cracks and painting a good weather seal) then progress to more expensive things.
Possibly remove the windows one at a time to see if there are any telltail damp patches showing where its getting in.
Worst case scenario maybe making a hole in the wall to see if the lintel is fitted correctly and maybe fit a a cavity tray of some type

 

[MrBrindle]

Thanks mate, seeing as the house is only fairly young, I was hoping a cavity tray and a proper lintel would have been used to ensure water is directed out. When you say painting, do you mean painting the house?

I've looked around the decorative stone and there are quite a few places where there's gaps between the stone and wall. Some around 2-3mm wide. I don't know if water would get in that way though.

Where the leak is, the guttering was blocked above that, but we cleared all that not long after moving in. Unless the the guttering has eroded some of render away around the stone causing entrance holes.

I just want to find a builder that can help sort this out.

 

[Gazman16]

Is it painted render or is it K rend stuff?

Personally assuming it is painted render a good coat of paint will never make things worse, It helps to seal small cracks and gaps too. Again its a cheap and somewhat easy task that helps to eliminate a possibility off the list.

 

[MrBrindle]

Its k rend, but its been painted. I dont know if that opens another can of worms because youre not meant to paint krend are you? Even though other houses on the street have.

Think we've got a major problem here......what if the paint is trapping water in the render and blocks.....

 

[Gazman16]

I don't know much about krend. Only thing I have heard is when it comes to painting it the first time it takes loads of coats as it soaks up the paint quickly.