1

I need help!

In February, we noticed that there were some brown water drips on the window frame above our kitchen sink, not in a crevice or corner, just hanging from the middle of the wood frame!

Shortly after, we noticed brown staining / water on the small drywall section above the sink and around the canister light. Outside, we had large brownish icicles hanging from the window.

I called a bunch of people but had trouble getting help, until one nice roofer suggested turn off our whole house humidifier, that seemed to help. We didn’t have any water again until today, it didn’t rain today but it has been damp.

The window is on the first floor of our house and our bathroom shower is directly above.

It is hard to get anyone out at the moment due to the World Wide Pandemic, Covid 19.

Any ideas????

Thank you!!

The outside pics are from February, hence the icicles. There is no condensation on any of the windows in the house. Also, FYI, our house was built in 1919.

For the picture of inside the house: The water also drips, like one drop hanging in suspension, from the frame. I wiped it up so it isn’t clear in the picture.

enter image description here

enter image description here

Original Photo links

https://i.stack.imgur.com/ORFyk.jpg

https://i.stack.imgur.com/d8VdX.jpg

Update: This is a picture of the upstairs bath where the window directly above is located.

enter image description here

Alaska Man
  • 13,381
  • 2
  • 18
  • 30
Sarah
  • 13
  • 4
  • Anyone coming over to take a look at it would probably take a look. So, maybe, one or two photos? – Johannes_B Apr 24 '20 at 04:16
  • 1
    We need a lot of info here, pictures of the window, pictures of the ceiling above window, what is outside, what is right above it. By your paragraph it could be 1 of 4-5 issues. – DMoore Apr 24 '20 at 04:56
  • Sounds like a dehumidifier is needed, what it your humidity level in the house? – Ed Beal Apr 24 '20 at 14:16
  • 1
    @EdBeal - she may be able to install the dehumidifier right next to the humidifier :) – DMoore Apr 24 '20 at 16:57
  • Sorry I did not initially add pictures! Two are up now. For the picture of inside the house: The water also drips (like one drop hanging in suspension) from the frame, but I wiped it up so it isn’t clear in the picture. The outside pics are from February, hence the icicles. There is no condensation on any of the windows in the house. Also, FYI, our house was built in 1919. Thanks for already considering my issue! – Sarah Apr 24 '20 at 17:40
  • 1
    The window with the water coming out from the bottom is right under the shower, right? I would look for a leak from the shower pan, if there are no indications of water in the bathroom itself or its window. Note also that once water gets behind the siding or weatherproofing membrane (house wrap), it can run for quite a distance until it shows up at a light fixture or something. – SteveSh Apr 24 '20 at 18:03
  • Are you able to remove the light fixture and look in the ceiling space? – Programmer66 Apr 24 '20 at 18:11
  • OK those pictures were really helpful. Can you take a picture in the bathroom above in the exact same orientation that you did the window? I am looking for what is sitting against that wall above and if it is a shower where is the shower head located. Also include part of the shower flooring/pan if the shower is there. I really hate to be the bearer of bad news but this looks to be a pretty difficult issue. – DMoore Apr 24 '20 at 18:22
  • So, the window is at the back of the bath/shower - not by the shower head. There is a funky little window in there but really no water ever gets that far. We do need to do some re-grouting/re-caulking - but I actually do not notice that there is water downstairs after we take a shower. It doesn’t seem to correlate but I do understand it can take a while to travel.... the thing is, we didn’t see water for two months and all along we were using that shower. It is a good idea to take the light out. I will have my husband help me with that... anything we should look for? Thank you all so much! – Sarah Apr 24 '20 at 20:09

1 Answers1

0

I think you could be having a plumbing issue or leakage around the tub. Even if you had really poor grouting and things like that I doubt you would be getting enough water to make icicles. Mold maybe not icicles. You may have a leaky pipe - that is still in the picture for issues.

My suggestion though is to take that shower window out of the equation of possible issues. There are two way to do this.

  1. Clean up window below, try to make sure things are as dry as possible. Then dump water on the window and back edge of tub, see if you notice water coming in.
  2. Get an extra shower curtain. Wrap the back of your shower with it - I know it is a pain. But after cleaning window off below and seeing it dry for a week it is pretty apparent that the window above it taking in water (and possibly some of the tile).

My guess would be it is the window. This is a PITA because it is impossible to seal a window like this forever - it is just poor design. Having a window in a shower is one thing, this low... begging for issues.

Report back after doing one of the things above and we can troubleshoot further. Just FYI a leaking window or tile is way easier to deal with than a leaky pipe. So it isn't as bad as it could be.

DMoore
  • 47,296
  • 15
  • 79
  • 187
  • Hmmm. Most tubs I've seen have a 1/4" or so lip around the top, that's supposed to be behind the tiles. Like this SE post: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/32068/should-the-backer-board-be-in-front-of-or-behind-the-tub-flange So even if there was some grout missing, it would be difficult for water to make it up around the lip, unless you were training a hose on it. – SteveSh Apr 24 '20 at 22:03
  • @SteveSh - I agree. Given the time period it probably has a huge lip. That is why I would pick the window as the culprit not the tiles right now. Also if it is the window just maybe one person at the house takes a shower once in a while and likes to shave or something so they take the shower head and shoot it at the wall so it doesn't interfere... so then you have water blasting a window when Sally or John shaves. How it is happening intermittently makes me almost think it has to be the window. – DMoore Apr 24 '20 at 22:07
  • Just to close the loop on this case - We found a small “crack” in the grout where the window meets the tile wall and sealed it - it hasn’t leaked since! We are now in the process of grouting the entire shower so we don’t have any more problems. Thanks to all for sharing your insight and expertise! – Sarah Sep 06 '20 at 15:21