How to stop water penetration between brickwall/cladding/metal?

[Frankie2]

Hi guys

I moved into a house a couple of years ago and been having few issues with leakages, unfortunately. Now I am trying to fix this problem where water gets inside one of my rooms, underneath the carpet. At first I thought gaps around the window would be the issue, but if you look at the last photo, the water is more towards the corner of the room, rather than below the window. I think it comes in between the cladding and the brick wall, and possibly also between the metal and the wall (see photos). The caulk doesn't seem to perfectly adhere to the wall anymore. 

I am not an expert but I want to try to fix this myself. My idea was to:

1. Remove the caulk between the wall and the cladding

2. I assume that would leave a large gap, so put a foam rod in, then re-caulk

3. Instead of re-caulking the area between metal and wall, I'd go for a waterproof membrane + reinforcing fabric, and also do this vertically all the way down, on both sides.

4. Seal all gaps in the cladding

5. Check the roof above and use the waterproofing membrane there too if needed

I was thinking of using Sika Pro Poly sealant and Gripset bitumen membrane with reinforcing fabric. 

Do you have any suggestion? 

Many thanks

[Jason]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Frankie2. We have loads of wonderful community members sharing helpful advice and inspiring projects on the site every day, so we're sure you'll get lots of value from becoming a member. 

Let me tag @EricL, @MikeTNZ and @Jewelleryrescue to see if they can kick off this discussion for you. I know from experience that it can be very, very challenging sometimes to track down the source of water ingress. 

Jason

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Frankie2   @Jason 

Water ingress is some times a little tricky and the actual leak may not be where you would expect. I can  see you all ready being targeting the area around the lower regions of the wall. What if the leak was into the wall above that awning? AS I can see water trickle dirt marks under it whats to say water is getting past it and also going into the wall there at the awning attachment points running down inside wall and pooling at floor level

I would not do awning first time  unless it is easy. Do every where  else.

So the shot gun  approach is  to seal that whole wall by that I mean look for ALL the cracks and openings and seal  them with the  best building sealer out there.  Leave nothing to chance. In some spots it would be best to pull out /cut out old  failed sealers ie vertical cracks  the brick work and timber. Seal the mortar cracks in bricks too  every thing.

I would highly recommend a  round pin wheel shape wire  brush on a drill (not the cup shape)  this will speed up surface prep 10 fold.  Hit any area  to be sealed with the wire brush and remove any remaining dirt dust.  I highly recommend  use of masking tape each side of joins for a neater job if  required. Seal around ALL the cracks after cleaning them of old sealant  ALL the window frames. WEAR Saftey goggles for any wire brushes as those wires will fly of regularly while in use, spinning at 1000s + RPMs

If  your first effort dosnt find the leak  look again the sika 11fc+ will fix it once found. It is a process of  weak spot elimination.

Sika 11FC+    This leaves silicon for dead as it bonds to  all major building materials as it is highly adhesive. is super flexable +/_ 35% 

This needs a  ideal bead of 1 -4mm for maximum performance.

Sika 300ml Grey Sikaflex 11FC Plus Polyurethane Adhesive Sealant  I/N: 0169992  $23.60

https://www.bunnings.com.au/sika-300ml-grey-sikaflex-11fc-plus-polyurethane-adhesive-sealant_p016999...

Sausage Sika is  more economical but I dont own a suasage gun either.

Plan B

Once  all the obvious and non obvious  joins sealed as a first task any way to maintain your building and it is still leaking try Getting a garden hose on near jet spray start at the  lower window/ floor  joins and spray water  at the building with  some one inside spot checking new water give each location a min or two before testing a new area around window etc  try no to blast water at up an angle the into the walls but at the walls (waterproofing is designed  for falling water sideways water is ok.)   Ramp up your water test at need but not hurting the building no pressure washers.

Good  luck  happy hunting

[Frankie2]

Thanks guys! 

@Jewelleryrescue that is very helpful.

I had already gone through possible cracks in the cladding and will do it again, checking the awning and window. I am not sure what's the exact material (weatherboard/hardie planks?) - but I really don't like it, it doesn't give me a feeling that has been installed properly and if I could I would get rid of it right now. . We've been having this issue for long time now.

I had used No More Gaps but noticed that around the window it doesn't really stick, although it did do a good job on other parts of the wall.

What makes the job a bit more difficult is the fact that basically I would be standing on a metal roof - the floor is basically the garage's roof and has a slope towards the right, which makes it tricky to go up with the ladder 

[EricL]

Hi @Frankie2

As an added suggestion to @Jewelleryrescue's excellent recommendation, I propose looking at Consolidated Alloys 100mm x 10m Weatherproof Byute Flash Flashing Tape. You can place this right over the entire area after you've put in the Sikaflex. The purpose of the flashing is to prevent water from bridging on the surface of that area to prevent the water from being guided into the gap between the panels. 

One other option is to engage the services of a professional roof repair person and have them install James Hardie 75 x 75mm Colorbond Corner Flashing. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Frankie2 

Please  take extreme care  up there as we arnt movie heros falling of buildlings and getting up un hurt. a 3metre fall can badly hurt anyone.

It would be good to cut the  failed no more gaps out with a  sharp stanely  or razor  knife as some no more gaps is indoor mostly it the no more gaps still whole no need to cut out if you think it  still sound.  Do you think  no more gaps fix the problem  for a while? If  true then that is were  leak might be.

So if you spot any  cracks any where eg the mortor in the bricks has cracks as per you photo seal them all as necessary  Seal everything

2   Seal around  all window timbers or better take that window trim off and seal the actual  window to the frame then re add your trim.

3  Seal along that horizontal to the wall  with the cracked no more gaps.

4 The top of that awning you need a longer ladder to safley climb to it?  I cant advise as i dont see full picture and your the saftey inspector at your  place.  Please do this  ultra safe

Ok final resort     when  your starting to loose your mind a over the water  leak opening the house wall to track source of leak.  There are eel cameras that only require  drill holes to look in wall space.  try every other thing first.  mabye rent one?

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Frankie2 

@EricL s flashing tape  might be easiest and quickest to  use ontop of  you awning as it will be  quick and   easy i hope to  install reducing your time in a  higher position.

Thanks @EricL 

[MikeTNZ]

Hi @Frankie2,

Water ingress is never a great thing, looking at your pictures I can see some issues first off:

Pic #1 - That flashing needs to be removed and see what is under it, if it is leaking it seems like either there was no sealant or barrier put under it before the whole thing was fitted

Or the sealing was so poor that it failed in a shorter time than it should have.

While you are in that area, I would check the "fall" (with a level and a ruler) on the roofing profiles below that flashing, from what I can see, it almost has a "negative fall" back into the area under the flashing.

I could be wrong, that's just how it looks to me, which could account for some of the water ingress below it.

Also suspect that junction between the wall and the flashing, water can get in by mere capillary action, as in it will flow upwards, it won't be a lot of water, just enough to cause damage.

Pic #2 - The wall has moved over time, meaning that the then installed flexible sealant has probably lost contact with the wall.

Easiest way to fix this is to strip all of that adhesive out and use a reputable primer on the surfaces before filling it with new flexible sealant/adhesive.

How old is this building?

It looks like every man and his dog has had a go at keeping it water-tight.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not having a laugh, anywhere where you suspect there might be leaks needs to be pulled apart and inspected, otherwise you aren't going to get to the bottom of this issue.

And especially the plaster-board inside the building around where the water has gathered needs to be removed and the timber and insulation in the wall allowed to dry out, this may also give you some clues as to where the water is coming from.

This won't be cheap, it will take a while and it will be annoying, but if you can get this sorted, it gives you peace of mind once it is finished.

If you need further advice, by all means, let us know as we'd like to see you get this sorted out.

Thanks,

Mike T.

[Frankie2]

Thanks all of you guys, I really appreciate the advices

I haven't yet had time to do anything, as work keeps me busy and now it has also started raining.

@MikeTNZ - in Pic1, if I understand what you mean, then the fall goes this direction \ (that is, downwards from the junction to the right of the picture) - hope it makes sense .So technically any water should flow that way to the outside of the building.

Believe it or not, the building is I believe just 8 years old, no more than that. And yes, it does seem whoever worked on it hasn't done a good job at all. Will keep you updated!