How to fix leaking exterior wall?

[JustinMcAbbe]

Hello,

I have an edge of the external cladding/wall that leaks after heavy rain. I believe it's just water ingress between the cladding panels. I was thinking of sealing it up and painting over it. I’ve checked the roof and there are no visible leaks. All the houses on this block have the same issue at the edges, so I think it's just due to the design and angle. Any thoughts?

I did quick replacement of the rotting wood not worried a out that, just want to stop the water engress.

[JacobZ]

Hi @JustinMcAbbe,

Thank you for your question.

The last thing you want to do is seal the location where the water is draining from. If you do that, the water will have nowhere to drain and will sit behind the cladding, rotting everything and creating mould.

You're going to have to locate where the water is getting in and stop it at the source.

It could be that the cladding was installed incorrectly, and the horizontal gaps between the cladding are allowing water in.

If this is the source of the water, then you will need to seal the lines between the cladding with No More Gaps Exterior Gap Filler and then paint over it.

If this is not the source of the leak, I would suggest you contact a leak detection specialist for their assistance locating the source of the water.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[JustinMcAbbe]

Hello,

I have a leak that is deteriorating the external walls, as shown in the attached photos. I did a quick replacement of the rotting wood using liquid nails. There isn’t a visible leak on the top of the roof—it just seems to be due to the angle and water drainage down this corner of the wayy. I was thinking of sealing the cladding and painting over it, but I’d appreciate any ideas.

[JacobZ]

Hi @JustinMcAbbe,

Have you tried spraying the cladding with a hose and observing what happens?

Is the water getting in behind the cladding?

Does the water track down the outside of the cladding and then, through surface tension, run around the timber to the underside of the eave?

If so, creating a drip edge at the bottom of the cladding could certainly help. This is usually done with aluminium flashing that is installed underneath the cladding. You might be able to slip a z-flashing in behind the bottom board to create a drip edge.

The advice from your earlier post about using gap filler to seal up the cladding and then painting over it still seems like a good solution and would likely help greatly with your issue. It certainly looks like the gaps in the cladding are unsealed, and water can get in the sides and between the boards.

Perhaps @Nailbag and @Dave-1 can think of some other solutions.

Jacob

[Dave-1 · Accepted solution]

Good Evening @JustinMcAbbe 

My thoughts went the same way as @JacobZ has described, even tho it seems a fair "hook" for the water to curl down and up again Ive seen it do 15mm easily on my eaves. Id spray water on the wall as JaconZ has suggested and see, (get someone to sparay so you can determine if its coming down and curling underneath or coming down the inside.

The only other suggestion I have is to have a close inspection of the spines of the boards, maybe one is broken (was missing a section when installed) and the water flows down the wall and every join it wants to curl but cant, except for a broken spine?

Dave

[JustinMcAbbe]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will do a spray test. Visually, i think it is external as it would be much worse if it was a crack.

Just in terms of the Gap filler and/or paint, what wold be good products for that?

There seems to be some solutions for 'Drip Edge' 'weather drip cladding edge' 

https://harleyroofing.com.au/how-to-install-drip-edge-flashing/

https://www.jameshardie.com.au/productrange/hardieedge

https://www.archiexpo.com/prod/dani-alu/product-429-1711566.html

I might get the whole cladding redone properly with weather proof and this drip edge.. Not sure. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @JustinMcAbbe,

@JacobZ has suggested No More Gaps Exterior Gap Filler, which would work well. You can paint over the area with Dulux Weathershield.

I just wanted to reiterate that this is more of a situation where the entry point for the water needs to be located rather than filling gaps and painting over the area. Having the cladding and leak assessed by a professional would be a good idea.

Mitchell

[Nailbag]

Hi @JustinMcAbbe 

I 100% agree with this additional comments by @MitchellMc. The most important factor here is to resolve whats causing the water ingress and then follow up with the cosmetics. using a leak detection service that utilises high-end infrared scanners over off-the-shelf ones will be a good investment long term.

Nailbag