I moved into a house recently and am noticing that there appears to be leaks in the exterior bottom sill corners of two windows (pictures attached).

I noticed signs of damage on the subfloor, and can see large gaps in the old caulking at the corners.

Questions:

1) Is there any further inspection you would suggest? (should I be looking behind the drywall or siding or anything like that?)

2) Would it be ok to just remove all exterior caulking and replace with new, or should I be replacing other components (sill, etc.)?




















I plan to look at the rest of the windows in the home and see if I notice anything similar. Hoping each one isn't a big project, but looking for suggestions.

Thanks! Mike

 

My guess would be that the wood under the cladding is probably rotten and that this will be a big project if you tear into it. Aside from tearing it all out, the only thing you CAN do is recaulk it, which I would generally not recommend since its already such a mess. And yes, you should unzip the siding below the sills just to see what kind of shape the wall is in at the bottom corners of the sill.

 

Thanks XSleeper. I'll look up about removing the siding - something I haven't done before. Behind that I'd expect to see housewrap and sheathing, right? Are you thinking look behind the housewrap to see the damage? Is that easy to look behind and put back up?

Since I am seeing the damage inside, I was thinking the water was leaking between the sheathing and the drywall and wasn't sure if I'd be able to see anything on the exterior side, but sounds like it would be worth a look.

 

What often happens is that you get a giant rotten hole in the sill nose (pictures 8 & 10) which can go straight down the wall.

Vimyl siding also directs water behind the siding at the bottom of the side j-channels. If there is no housewrap to protect the sheathing, this can also rot the wall sheathing, letting water into the wall.

Go to YouTube for videos on how to unzip vinyl siding. The tool you will need is a Malco Sideswiper.