Water Leaking Behind Wood Siding

At yanish we find water damage behind the siding of roughly 1 in 6 homes.

Water leaking behind wood siding.

It easily hides beneath siding materials and often shows no obvious signs to untrained eyes. See water barriers exterior. Some areas were extremely heavy while others were just a single streak. Water from rain or melting snow running down a building exterior wall can pass behind the siding where it encounters a gap in siding butt joints if the gap is not backed by flashing and if water entry at the gap is not blocked by the choice of siding exposure depth and by having staggered butt joints so that the gap is closed by the siding course below.

At some point in the past an owner had vinyl siding installed over old siding. During a very heavy 2 days of rain water began running from between pieces of siding. Water damage is risky business. Water passing over wood and other building materials but behind the vinyl siding can easily pick up pigments that stain the foundation wall outside.

If you find mold growing the wood floor plates behind the. Examine walls and floors beneath sinks around tubs and showers and around the water heater for signs of water leaks or discoloration. Leaks in other areas of the home besides windows and doors are not as common as they may be for homes with wood siding but they still may happen. The problem rainwater leaking from a gutter ends up behind siding and causes a wall to rot.

If you do find such an area remove the siding and inspect the walls behind it to determine how the water is getting in. Check to be sure weep holes are open along bottom of window openings. Inspect the area above the leak including both indoors and out. In most communities building codes require a moisture barrier.

This is true of brick wood and stucco as well as the newest composite materials. Not all have wood rot but the damage would progress to rot in time. Some areas were extremely heavy. The extra thickness of.

In this video this old house general contractor tom silva shows how to prevent water from leaking in behind vinyl siding. Water entry at siding butt joint gaps. If the builder failed to install a weather barrier this sort of staining is more likely.