| In This
Article:
We peel away some vinyl siding to find
the source of water intrusion. Then we use sheet metal and special
flashing to improve the water resistance of the wall.
|
Related
Articles:
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| Skill Level: 3 (Moderate) |
Time Taken: 5 Hours |
By Bruce W.
Maki, Editor
A Leak In A Basement isn't too hard to imagine,
even in a newer house. But when the owners of this home noticed water dripping
from the finished basement ceiling, they became concerned, especially
because the drip was close to the outer wall... of the walkout basement.
The house is built on a steep slope. At the front the basement wall is covered
with soil, and at the back there is a full 8 foot wall with windows and a door.
The drip occurred just inside the back wall. When the homeowners described the
problem to me over the phone, I was puzzled. When I saw the back of the house,
my suspicions immediately focused on one spot.
 |
The back of the house has two triangle-shaped
"bump-outs" that protrude from the wall. These protrusions rise
to the first floor level, and there is another floor above.
Where the roofs of these two bump-outs come together, they almost
touch. I immediately recognized this as a potential trouble spot. |
| The red arrow indicates approximately where the drip showed
up, inside the house. Measured horizontally, the drip was only about two
feet away from the suspected problem area. |
 |
To verify my suspicions, I set a ladder against the wall and pried a piece of
vinyl siding away. As I tugged on the siding, water trickled down my elbow. This
was my first clue.
When I had the siding's bottom edge pried free, I noticed that the back of
the siding was wet, and there were dirt marks where the water had trickled down.
That was my second clue.
I completely removed a few pieces of siding. To my horror, there were two
holes in the foam insulation board... and no wood sheathing underneath.
I could poke my finger in the holes and feel fiberglass insulation. That was my
third clue.
Disassembly:
 |
The first step of the repair was to remove a few pieces of
vinyl siding. I used a vinyl siding removal tool to disconnect a
panel of siding from the piece below. This tool, also called a
"J-hook" can also be used to re-connect a piece of siding that
has come loose from it's downstairs neighbor. (I didn't really need to
un-hook two pieces if siding, I just got carried away. One is enough to
get a start.) |
| I used a little pry bar to remove the roofing nails that
held the siding on. There were only two nails per panel. |
 |
 |
This dirt streaking is a symptom that indicated water had
been dripping behind the siding... for many years. |
| Ahhh, the work of professionals. I wonder if I should
look up the name of the general contractor and tell the public what
kind of work he does. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that for a while.
("Hey Bud, d'ya think I should do somethin' about
this hole I made." "Naw, after the vinyl's slapped on, nobody'll
ever notice.") |
 |
 |
The top-most pieces of vinyl siding were little triangles.
The dab of goop that had oozed out gave no hint of the difficulty I would
have in removing these.
I pulled for a good ten minutes with my J-hook before I gave up and
used my reciprocating saw to cut the nails that held the panel below. |
| It's hard to see... but that gray/shiny patch, at the tip of
the red arrow, is the foam insulation/sheathing. You remember, the stuff
with the holes in it.
This should not be visible here. There should have been a piece of
flashing installed behind the fascia. |
 |
 |
After the siding panels were removed, I pried out the nails
that held the J-channel in place.
Notice how, on the right side, the white fascia just abruptly ends at
the wall. This is a bad idea, but it is not necessarily a major source of
the leak. |
| Oh yeah, here's the other hole. Those are knife slits in the
foam... and they go all the way through.
The only thing I can figure is that the foam installers did their
cutting on a stack of foam, not caring about slicing the panels
underneath. Or maybe they were just jerks that day and felt like
playing Zorro with their utility knives. |
 |
Gee, the hole is right beneath the spot where the two roofs form a funnel.
Anybody see a potential problem here???
 |
Another view. There is OSB sheathing on part of the wall.
I take issue with builders who do this... foam insulation directly over
the studs. (They use a sheet of OSB or plywood at the corners to make the
wall stiffer, but use foam everywhere else.) There are many drawbacks to
this method. The insulation value gained, about R3 over and above the R19
in the 2x6 wall cavities, is not worth it, in my opinion. What I prefer is
to install OSB sheathing everywhere, with foam on top of that. But don't
expect to find that on many houses. |
The Repairs:
| To cover the holes with something thin and strong, I
installed several pieces of aluminum flashing, nailed to the studs. |
 |
The Wonder Product That Works Wonders:
 |
This is a strip of 6" wide Vycor® Plus, sold as a
self-adhering flashing material.
This asphalt material is soft and rubbery and sticks to everything,
including your fingers. It can be a little tricky to work with, but with a
little practice it goes on swiftly. |
| A Bit Of Praise:
Vycor® is an impressive product. This
material is also available in 3 foot wide rolls as Grace Ice and Water
Shield®. Ice and Water Shield is commonly applied to roof sheathing to
prevent leaks in problem-prone areas such as valleys and near the edge where
ice dams form.
An example of this product's
effectiveness is that the building code in at least two counties in my
area of Michigan (Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties) recently began to
require this type of product to be applied to the roof decking from the
lower edge to a line that is three feet horizontally inside of the outer
wall. Since Ice and Water Shield and similar products have the ability to seal every nail
puncture, it becomes an excellent guard against water penetration caused
by ice dams in winter and spring.
Ice and Water Shield and Vycor used to be called Bituthene, (as in
bituminous) and has been around for a long time. It has been
used to make basements waterproof as well as solve an array of difficult
water-sealing problems. It's manufacturer, W.R. Grace Company, deserves a
medal for their product. There are other brands available, although I have
not used them. |
| I found that I could peel the release paper away at one end
and press the sheet onto the wall as I pulled the paper from behind. Here
I am working from left to right as the release paper is removed.
It also helped to peel back the the top-right corner just a bit, to
tack the sheet in place so it didn't sag while I worked. |
 |
 |
Like everything else on a house, I applied this from the
bottom and worked upwards. The first sheet overlapped the vinyl siding by
about 1/4", just enough to keep water from going under the panel. |
| I installed the Vycor all the way to the top. I even went up
under the first siding panel above the roof line. If any water gets
behind the siding, it will trickle down and be kicked out at the bottom of
the Vycor. |
 |
 |
I installed a small piece of aluminum flashing behind each
aluminum fascia. |
| In this picture you can see how far back the flashing
goes... about two inches. |
 |
 |
This little piece of L-shaped flashing will be placed above
the previous flashing. |
| I tucked this flashing under the lowest step flashing that
the roofers installed. This should kick any water out and away from the
fascia-wall junction. |
 |
Replacing The Siding:
 |
The first piece I re-installed... the one that will cover
the point where the Vycor overlaps the vinyl... was drilled in about 6
places. These 1/8" weep holes will help trapped water drip out.
The vinyl siding comes with weep holes. There were two in this piece...
I just added more. |
| The siding was installed with 1-3/4" galvanized roofing
nails.
A major benefit of Vycor is it's ability to seal nail holes. |
 |
 |
I replaced the J-channels, and I also added another strip of
Vycor... just in case. |
| This is the back of the top-most piece of vinyl siding.
Notice the dirt streaks that lead from the bottom of the big notch
cut-outs. The fascia was directly above these points.
If this isn't an indicator of a water penetration problem... then what
is? |
 |
I call this a smoking gun for litigation against inept and/or careless
contractors.
 |
After all the vinyl was installed, I applied a little caulk
to the points where the J-channel meets the siding. This is to prevent
water from getting behind the siding in the first place. |
Warning: Caulking in places like this can cause more problems than it
solves. It is possible to create a dam effect with caulk, and stop or
slow the flow of water, making it back up and find an entry point somewhere
else.
The goal is not to seal everything... just to discourage water from getting
into places where it doesn't belong... and direct it somewhere else.
| All done. It's hard to guarantee that a spot won't leak
again, because who knows what other strange things might be going on
behind the walls.
But when there is that much evidence of a problem, and proper steps are
taken to remedy the problem, I have great confidence that this leak will
not appear again. |
|
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Tools Used:
- Vinyl Siding Removal Tool
- Hammer
- Knife
- Small Pry Bar or Nail Puller
- Caulk Gun
- Tape Measure
|
Materials Used:
- Vycor® Window/Door Flashing
- Sheet Aluminum Flashing
- Roofing Nails
- Caulk
|
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