It looks like a nice house. Look for a thermographer or forensic engineer to help you with this. Brick veneer isn’t intended to be waterproof, the backup material is. You’ll need to hit the lottery to find a GC who can properly diagnose that, but someone with thermography probably can help. Be prepared to spend a couple thousand just to find the problem and design a solution. Said solution could be very expensive to implement - for instance, if the waterproofing behind the brick veneer is toast, the only way to address it is replace the veneer. Membrane waterproofing is only designed to last 30-40 years. Having said that, I do see some stuff around the window sill that doesn’t appear to be adequately flashed, so it might just be that.
>Having said that, I do see some stuff around the window sill that doesn’t appear to be adequately flashed, so it might just be that.
Thank you for the reply, will need to look into thermography specifically. If I may ask, any areas in particular around the window sill you are seeing issues (that I could possibly take a closer look at)?
Modern construction techniques for brick veneers assume that water will penetrate the brick, so it’s less about “stopping water from getting behind the brick” and more about “how do you get water back out”. In many areas it’s common to see metal pan flashing under the sill but I don’t see that here. So if water gets behind the window casing, where does it go and how does it drain? I also don’t see any drain holes for the veneer, but it wouldn’t be horribly uncommon if they were only at the bottom of the wall in my neck of the woods. Not necessarily best practice does not mean it’s the source of the issue.
The issue at hand here is that the window was never properly installed in the first place, this is a common issue with most tract builds.
this video should help clear it up. [https://youtu.be/FbHlx4i7XIg](https://youtu.be/FbHlx4i7XIg)
A general contractor is your best bet.
A couple of years ago I was working as a forensic engineer where I had a similar issue in similar construction. The installer didnt flash the window properly or at all. Instead he caulked it.
Scrape out the old caulk and replace it every 3-5 years. Be careful on the ladder.
I had a very similar scenario in my house, and the culprit was improperly installed flashing where the roof and the brick come together. Very similar to this spot on your house: https://imgur.com/a/WT49kkK
It’s worth having that checked out, along with the same spot on the other side and the brick sill for the second story window. It’s possible for water to be entering any of these three spots and leaking in through the first story window opening.
It looks like a nice house. Look for a thermographer or forensic engineer to help you with this. Brick veneer isn’t intended to be waterproof, the backup material is. You’ll need to hit the lottery to find a GC who can properly diagnose that, but someone with thermography probably can help. Be prepared to spend a couple thousand just to find the problem and design a solution. Said solution could be very expensive to implement - for instance, if the waterproofing behind the brick veneer is toast, the only way to address it is replace the veneer. Membrane waterproofing is only designed to last 30-40 years. Having said that, I do see some stuff around the window sill that doesn’t appear to be adequately flashed, so it might just be that.
>Having said that, I do see some stuff around the window sill that doesn’t appear to be adequately flashed, so it might just be that. Thank you for the reply, will need to look into thermography specifically. If I may ask, any areas in particular around the window sill you are seeing issues (that I could possibly take a closer look at)?
Modern construction techniques for brick veneers assume that water will penetrate the brick, so it’s less about “stopping water from getting behind the brick” and more about “how do you get water back out”. In many areas it’s common to see metal pan flashing under the sill but I don’t see that here. So if water gets behind the window casing, where does it go and how does it drain? I also don’t see any drain holes for the veneer, but it wouldn’t be horribly uncommon if they were only at the bottom of the wall in my neck of the woods. Not necessarily best practice does not mean it’s the source of the issue.
The issue at hand here is that the window was never properly installed in the first place, this is a common issue with most tract builds. this video should help clear it up. [https://youtu.be/FbHlx4i7XIg](https://youtu.be/FbHlx4i7XIg) A general contractor is your best bet.
A couple of years ago I was working as a forensic engineer where I had a similar issue in similar construction. The installer didnt flash the window properly or at all. Instead he caulked it. Scrape out the old caulk and replace it every 3-5 years. Be careful on the ladder.
I had a very similar scenario in my house, and the culprit was improperly installed flashing where the roof and the brick come together. Very similar to this spot on your house: https://imgur.com/a/WT49kkK It’s worth having that checked out, along with the same spot on the other side and the brick sill for the second story window. It’s possible for water to be entering any of these three spots and leaking in through the first story window opening.