Water driving through window frame-help!

simonhgreen

Hi all

I have a problem I just haven't been able to crack (pun intended) and was after some ideas;

One of my windows at the front of the house is fine until.....when the rain is driving against the house (I live in Wales!) it leaks through and ends up on the inside wall under the window. It's not flooding in but enough to cause damage over time.

It's now cracked the plaster, which has come off (about 3ft sq). I've sealed the window and sill top & bottom but it appears that it just can't cope with driving rain.

I saw on another thread someone recommended teleseal for sealing baths, which is like a thick tape barrier and was wondering if anyone knew of anything similar that could be used on an exterior location.

Any advice/ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks

tigger2

How thick is the gap the rain is driving in?

There are many ways to fix it If a small gap builders mastic if a large gap cover strips etc? Even foam can help If the rain is driving in it needs sorting as your brickwork could get damp.
Are the windows PVC or wooden?

simonhgreen

tigger2 wrote:

How thick is the gap the rain is driving in?

There are many ways to fix it If a small gap builders mastic if a large gap cover strips etc? Even foam can help If the rain is driving in it needs sorting as your brickwork could get damp.
Are the windows PVC or wooden?

The problem is I can't see any gap!

It's got mastic around it & it's fine normally, it's the combination of wind & rain that causes the problem.

The window is uPVC.

Can you give me some info about cover strips, where to get them, brand names, etc??

Thanks

jennifernil

Where exactly does the water appear to be coming in?

boogiemaster

If the seal around the window is ok then you will have to look at the window itself for the cause.
Maybe the vents on the window are letting in water, some water will get into you window, but there is a channel that the water runs down to escape.
Sometimes the channel gets blocked and the water builds up and holds in a certain place until you get rid of the blockage!

penrhyn

PVCu windows do not have a watertight seal between the frame and the glass, so they have to have internal drainage.
Its possible these have got blocked which is causing the problem.
If you open the window and look along the inside bottom edge of the opening light you should see a couple of drainage slots.
There will also be drainage holes in the bottom of the frame which drain onto the outside sill, or there may be a couple of outlets on the face of the frame.

Hope this helps.

simonhgreen

penrhyn wrote:

PVCu windows do not have a watertight seal between the frame and the glass, so they have to have internal drainage.
Its possible these have got blocked which is causing the problem.
If you open the window and look along the inside bottom edge of the opening light you should see a couple of drainage slots.
There will also be drainage holes in the bottom of the frame which drain onto the outside sill, or there may be a couple of outlets on the face of the frame.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your thoughts. The window doesn't open, but there are a couple of vents on the front of the frame.

What's confusing me is I would have thought that if it was a blocked vent water would come through fairly consistently, but it's only when it's raining hard and windy that it happens.

tigger2

Have you tried a hose pipe at the window to see if you can find out where it is comming from?

dora37

We had this problem last year and only happened in driving rain. It affected the front bedroom window(over a length of time, quite badly) and the living room window (slightly).

Apparently the putty between the window and the brick (outside) had eroded/crumbled - it was all scraped out and filled with a better sealant/filler (sorry,don't know what) and that did the trick - it has never happened since. :j

Might be worth a look.