Evening, gents.
Got an issue with a recurring leaking window frame on a bay window that I have yet to solve, but think I'm on the right track now. This has probably been happening for years, but I only noticed when I ripped off the PVC window board during a redecoration in order to replace it with an MDF one.
There, I noticed on the left edge of the window frame, was water ingress that was soaking into the wood. This would occur after rain, usually when it was fairly heavy rain. At first, I thought the seals on the outside of the window were the culprit, as they were coming undone at the bottom of the frame, but that didn't seem to fix it either.
Then I learned about drainage channels, and today (after more rain and noticing it leaking again), discovered that my drainage channels appear to be blocked off by mastic that I just replaced (!). I have yet to remove it again and test to see if the holes are now unblocked, but wanted to get you guys input on this. I did pour water into the drainage hole of this particular window after pulling the window out of the frame, and did indeed have water trickle out of the open edge of the frame that I have pictured, where the water was ingressing, so it feels like the culprit to me.
I have uploaded pictures showing:
1) The area where the water is ingressing, you can see the wood that has become wet there.
2) The actual location the water is coming in from. It appears to be coming in from those channels at the edge of the frame... are those holes supposed to be sealed off at the sides? I had to hack away at foam to get here, but as foam isn't waterproof, that wouldn't exactly count as sealing. Circled area I'm talking about in red.
3) The outside of the window frame, before I (incorrectly) sealed it back up. I have concerns about that black line above the 'lip' at the back of the sill. Is that supposed to be there, or has the frame been fitted incorrectly? If it has, what do I do? Would sealing in the gap (but leaving the drainage holes exposed) work? Again, circled in red.
Got an issue with a recurring leaking window frame on a bay window that I have yet to solve, but think I'm on the right track now. This has probably been happening for years, but I only noticed when I ripped off the PVC window board during a redecoration in order to replace it with an MDF one.
There, I noticed on the left edge of the window frame, was water ingress that was soaking into the wood. This would occur after rain, usually when it was fairly heavy rain. At first, I thought the seals on the outside of the window were the culprit, as they were coming undone at the bottom of the frame, but that didn't seem to fix it either.
Then I learned about drainage channels, and today (after more rain and noticing it leaking again), discovered that my drainage channels appear to be blocked off by mastic that I just replaced (!). I have yet to remove it again and test to see if the holes are now unblocked, but wanted to get you guys input on this. I did pour water into the drainage hole of this particular window after pulling the window out of the frame, and did indeed have water trickle out of the open edge of the frame that I have pictured, where the water was ingressing, so it feels like the culprit to me.
I have uploaded pictures showing:
1) The area where the water is ingressing, you can see the wood that has become wet there.
2) The actual location the water is coming in from. It appears to be coming in from those channels at the edge of the frame... are those holes supposed to be sealed off at the sides? I had to hack away at foam to get here, but as foam isn't waterproof, that wouldn't exactly count as sealing. Circled area I'm talking about in red.
3) The outside of the window frame, before I (incorrectly) sealed it back up. I have concerns about that black line above the 'lip' at the back of the sill. Is that supposed to be there, or has the frame been fitted incorrectly? If it has, what do I do? Would sealing in the gap (but leaving the drainage holes exposed) work? Again, circled in red.
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