2 storey house with balcony on top floor which is immediately above the room below, The room smells musty and looks like the carpet is rotting slightly next to the skirting. on the outside wall. How can I determine if its the butynol waterproofing on the balcony (which lies underneath decking timber) and looks fine and undamaged, or if its coming through at ground level ? What sort of tradesperson could investigate for me please and fix ?
flagheaven,
Feb 28, 6:57pm
sell the house ?
survivalkiwi,
Feb 28, 7:40pm
As a builder I would not go near it. The problem with looking for leaks is once you try to help the owner you also own the problem. Sell the house.
Infra red as above is the way to go. There are other companies doing it.
Most will have an infrared camera and also a moisture meter and generally, pretty foolproof method of seeing where the problems are.
happychappy50,
Feb 28, 8:06pm
I would suspect it is coming from the deck,not much to determine,check to see what turn up is on the butynol,is there a ranchslider onto the deck? could be poor flashings around that,if it faces your prevailing weather water could be tracking from the door,can’t really tell till you start pulling things apart.Repaired many in Australia where the main cause was poor flashings or none at all.With what I have seen here scince being back it’s similar . good luck.If you can find a good builder & I mean GOOD,they are out there . good luck
happychappy50,
Feb 28, 8:08pm
FYI I used infra red cameras & they did not always pick up where the ingress point was,they are helpful tho
pauline999,
Mar 1, 5:44pm
There is about 5 inches butynol turn up.on 3 sides of the deck and there is flashing under the ranchslider ledge( which sits about 2 inches above the decking timber) The house is about 16 years old. I will try find a good builder - what are you doing at the weekend happychappy ? (joking !)
grrrahaaam,
Mar 1, 8:45pm
I would remove the skirting board and some gib (presumably) next to the carpet showing deterioration. Look at the ground level outside that area, is it potentially at risk of being a leak source? is the floor level well above ground level to prevent water soaking through. If its leaking down the inside of the wall you can probably trace it higher, timber will be stained. Take off more gib. Not much more to replace a large amount of gib than a small piece so don't be shy, you need to expose the framing that potentially has deteriorated so it can be replaced. I imagine it shouldn't be difficult to find the leak. Presumably there is a ranch slider or something on the second level, possibly that is a potential leak if the deck is OK. Can potentially be more than one leak source. I am not a builder but I can dismantle cladding readily enough.
happychappy50,
Mar 1, 9:28pm
Ok op,sounds as tho there is sufficient turn up,but the inside cavity could be the problem,where the frame of the ranchslider joins at the bottom,that joint can wick water,if the flashings inside the cavity are ok that prevents it.Cut ot a section of Gib adjacent the ranchslider,that will show you if there is a decent flashing if not you may have to remove the ranchslider & create one . not hard if you know what you are doing.Let me know as I can walk you through it.
happychappy50,
Mar 1, 9:35pm
Also,another thing often overlooked is the weep holes on the bottom track of the ranchslider,they can block up with dirt,there is a cover panel remove that & clean the weep holes or as I have done make the holes bigger to allow water to get out.
grrrahaaam,
Mar 2, 2:40am
Probably if you look at the exposed bottom plate (the framing timber on the floor) adjacent the carpet damage you will see if water is seeping under the plate from the ground outside or if it is flowing down inside the wall. Presumably it doesn't have a cavity? If the water is from the second level the top of the plate, bottom of studs will show staining or deterioration. If it is a ground level leak more than likely the bottom of the timber against the floor will show evidence of being damp.
pauline999,
Mar 2, 4:49pm
OK everyone - I'm on to it. Thank you all so much for your help and advice.
colin433,
Dec 13, 9:54am
that was my first thought. and I'm of the fairer sex
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