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See the video.

I have a bad window leak. The water comes in during rainy days and makes its way from the 2nd story window to the first floor window and wall just below it. After much painful cluelessness I finally have a lead on a cause. Today it rained and I got heavy dripping coming from a hole in the bottom right corner of the frame.

What is this, what causes it and how can I get this fixed?Leaky Window

I think what is happening is that black goop (silicone?) that is all over the window has clogged up the weep holes. The water pools up and spills back into the house. There's a small crack in the wall on the right probably from water and that may be where the drip makes its way down to the first floor. You can see this happening realtime in the video 25 seconds in ending about 35 seconds in.

P.Brian.Mackey
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  • The places that the window is supposed to weep are filled with black gunk / mold (at the bottom of the frame) not the window. all the water coming in from above the window is an additional problem that needs to be fixed also or there will be way worse problems in the long run. – Ed Beal Jun 28 '16 at 13:39
  • @EdBeal - A couple of people told me the issue is likely due to water running down the front of the house because this section of the house has no guttering. Do you agree? What kind of contractor can fix this? – P.Brian.Mackey Jun 28 '16 at 18:07

2 Answers2

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Gutters would help a lot. I thought I saw water on the inside on the video. At the bottom of the window there should be 2 or more small weep slots / holes these allow the water that gets in the tray to drain out. I believe these are full of debris and probably plugged. If you open the window look outside at the bottom of the frame you should spot the weep holes or drain slots. now look inside at the same location they are probably full. A shop vacuum may help clean out the area but a small rag and a tooth pick can clear them. If you have horizontal lap siding it would be easy to take a piece of flashing and make a diverter slipping a few inches of flashing under the lowest overlap and fold it out so it creates a makeshift gutter and reduces the amount of water dripping into the window. other types of siding would be a touch harder to not look like a "back country red neck repair". Even a bead or RTV / silicone calking above the window 1' on 1 side in a straight line to just above the window may divert enough so it wont flow into the house once the weep holes are cleared. I would clear the holes it may take 20-30 minutes but this small fix could possibly solve your problem until it needs to be cleaned again. Good luck.

Ed Beal
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I had a professional come and check out the window. The seal that binds the glass to the frame had come undone. Water was seeping into the middle of the window and subsequently coming out the bottom of the frame. I had the glass replaced and the issue was solved.

P.Brian.Mackey
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