Aluminium Windows - Leaking

[alfieconn]

Is this a common event or would i be expecting too much for then too be water tight, the builders excuse is that there are no overhangs (modern design house) and at the same time telling me that all aluminium windows leak, on the back of the house there is an overhang and the water still comes in.

It just seems to me that the windows are a very bad design with the added bonus of incompetent fitters which together don't make for a good result.

[slapout]

If the water is coming around the frame it is probably due to no seal was put in place. Even with a overhang, windblown rain will find a way into the house, if the window unit is not sealed properly. It is the same with the al. framed sliding doors.

They do not like to box in windows/doors and install seals unless you insist and watch them do it. Final check, garden hose spay onto/around windows/doors, prior to paying for the job.

[Naam]

at the same time telling me that all aluminium windows leak

yeah right! if all of them leaked i would have my house pressure-washed

every three months at that since nearly six years.

[alfieconn]

If the water is coming around the frame it is probably due to no seal was put in place. Even with a overhang, windblown rain will find a way into the house, if the window unit is not sealed properly. It is the same with the al. framed sliding doors.

They do not like to box in windows/doors and install seals unless you insist and watch them do it. Final check, garden hose spay onto/around windows/doors, prior to paying for the job.

Most of the windows are sliding but even the normal design of opening are leaking.

It seems like the frames fiil up with water then leak into the house from there, usually between the frame and window sill.

[bbradsby]

Ah, it must be the rainy season - here's the annual window leak thread.

Water leaks can be hard to track to their source(s), since the pathways are often concealed and water moves by gravity, capillary action, simple wind pressure and under air pressure differential in confined spaces. Not saying youre wrong, but a drip could start at your roof ridge, run down a rafter, run along an out-of-level sill, find a loose grout joint & enter wall, run down to window head frame, track across frame til the end & run down jamb & leak out at the sill - Eureka, a 'window leak!'

But I'm not calling you a liar! Typical Thai 'builder house' practice for window details are just plain: Stick the frame in the hole, period.

If you've investigated and you're sure it's not coming from higher up, your leak is likely from unsealed aluminum frame corners, fasteners/fixings that penetrate the frame where water is present, or at a faulty perimeter sealant (caulk to the layman) joint, or... my favorite: grout used at frame perimeter where sealant should have been installed. In the US, I'd add a bad head or sill flashing detail or installation to the List, but no builders here use any kind of flashing! YOUR job, should you decide to accept it, is to find the holes, and seal them... but only after proper surface prep per the manufacturer's instructions!

Test with a water hose, being reasonable to approximate non-hurricane-driven horizontal rainfall at your locale. There are engineered window systems ( various industry grades exist, based on performance criteria such as high-rise wind conditions) that will repel wind-driven rain under high pressure, without overhangs, but they are not cheap.

[tutsiwarrior]

houses 'breathe' and if there is not an effective seal around window openings then there shall be moisture ingress...simply apply silicon around the window openings until you are satisfied...we had this problem years ago and it's no biggie...

[lopburi3]

As said silicon can be your best friend (in housing too).

[tutsiwarrior]

As said silicon can be your best friend (in housing too).

yeah...it flexes with expansion and still does its job as as a sealant...

[Kwasaki]

What's it all about Alfie.

Any pictures, type of ali window, how is it fitted and what too etc.

Edited June 9, 2012 by Kwasaki