We live in NE Texas and have recently built a spec house next to our own home. It is brick and stone -- leuders limestone. We had a similar situation(with all the rain here...., but the leak was in a wall. Our painter, who used to be a builder asked if we had sealed the brick and stone. We had not, but on a rare dry and sunny day, he did and we have not had a problem since.

Don't know where you are located, but with the rains we've had here, the painter said that many clients are having leak problems they've never had before.

Stone is not waterproof, nor is it supposed to be. Water WILL get behind it and a proper drainage plane and correct flashing is what will keep water from getting inside your house. I cant tell you where the problem is, but I would start with the flashing over the window and how it interfaces with the drainage plane.

All those people that are having leak problems with the heavy rains in the area likely have homes that were never flashed properly or their drainage planes were not properly constructed (or both). Very common, unfortunately.

Sad to say I would 100% agree with "jeff nj".

No siding material that I know of is rain proof, so flashing and drainage planes are used to channel water between the siding and framing without letting the water into the structure itself. The flashing has to be right, and has to be properly used along with the drainage plane to be effective. Take some time to educate yourself about this subject by searching the net, check out building science, then ask some questions of your builder and see if you like the answers, thats what I would do. Your builder may be an expert at this, and completely dumb-founded by the fact that this window is leaking, or not. One thing you have to consider is the fact that if this window isn't right, there is a good chance none of them are, nor any other flashings. So while you see water here, other key areas may be getting wet as well, only out of sight. This also may not be the case at all, you may very well have one of the best built homes around, just one bad spot. Again none of us can say for sure where your leak is coming from, but many, many times this is the answer.

Ditto the two posts above.

Do not seal the stone. If the sealer actually works, vapour pressure from the inside out will likely result in spalling of the material as it gets trapped by the sealer.

I hate to sound really stupid, but what exactly is "flashing" and the "drainage plane"? And how do I find out if other areas are getting wet?

Hire a professional to inspect the work, find the cause of the leak, and advise you how to remedy it. Document everything in writing and photographically.

It's not usually possible to solve water infiltration problems over the internet or teach you what you need to know to solve it yourself.

Good luck

go to building science

I'd start with using a hose and spray an area look for water - wait a little between spraying a certain area in case it is delayed a little. Is it the window or is coming from or the roof and just happens to coming into the wall above the window and thus you see it. Do you have any valleys or areas that would require flashing above the window? With above I mean follow the path of the water all the way up to the roof and ceiling framing as water could come in from higher and travel along a rafter and then go into the wall.

Is the sheet rock or trim wet around where it is coming in?

I have marked with masking tape the areas that are leaking. There are four spots along the top line of the window where water drips. There is no water on the sheet rock. or trim. Hope this helps.

As posters pointed out, no exterior siding material is 100% waterproof. Some amount of water *will* penetrate at some time or another. The construction method has to allow a path for this water to drain, and/or allow it to evaporate into the air, rather than remaining trapped. That's what the "drain plane" does.

One other important thing: you cannot stop a water leak by caulking the window in the *inside* or your house. You have to stop the water at its *source*. Once the outer siding material is penetrated, that water *will* find a way into your house if the window is not flashed properly on the outside, and a proper drain plane is not provided.

Proper flashing diverts the water away from the window openings, and a proper drain plane allows an easy path for the water to drain. Otherwise, the water would find another easy way to enter your house, or it would collect inside the wall and lead to rot and mold.

That really sucks. Your windows probably have their raincoats tucked into their pants, so when it rains they get water down their pants (figuratively). The "drainage plane" that people are talking about is the raincoat - it's some sort of moisture barrier like tar paper, felt, tyvek, etc that covers the sides of the house from top to bottom. Your windows have their own moisture barrier (the pants) - the flashing that everyone is talking about. The flashing at the top of the window should be tucked under the house's moisture barrier, in effect hanging the raincoat over the pants.

You should take this very seriously. Do find an expert, or at the very least contact your window manufacturer and read their installation installations and see if you can get one of their reps out. At a minimum I expect you'll have to remove the siding above the window to see if the drainage plane and flashing are properly installed.

Here is a link that might be useful: I think this is what jca1 is recommending

What type of "inspector" or "professional" should I contact? BTW, the window mfr. has been out to the house three times, and replaced the window about 3 weeks ago. The hose test was done at both the first floor and second floor, and no water got in. The contractor says this type of leak wouldn't be the fault of the window mfr. because of where the leak is (see picture above).

It's not the mfr's fault, it's the installers fault. You need to have this fixed, or this will be only the beginning of much worse moisture problems.

I apologize for hijacking this thread; however, is flashing handled the same way on an ICF house? I had assumed it was waterproof but it sounds like flashing and and a drainage plane would still be required.

Thanks,

Teresa

If you've tried the water hose on the window and above it and it doesn't leak, how about the roof. Maybe water is getting in somewhere into that wall from the roof and just seeping out where that particular window is.

Was the replacement photographed by someone? Can you show us how it was installed?

This was similar to part of SuzieSnowFlake's problem, if her old threads are on here yet. I never knew what this stuff was either until I heard her explain it. Now it's plain that many builders simply skip the drainage plane altogether. Though this particular problem wasn't like the one I had, I can tell you that a construction defect dispute is a nightmare if you are forced down that path. Do be sure to get all the problems fixed before closing if it's not too late, because trying to get a builder to fix it later is usually not going to work out. Link below might be of use particularly if your builder didn't even do a drainage plane. I unfortunately agree with the others who said this could be a big problem, but hopefully for your sake it is just a minor one.

Here is a link that might be useful: HADD

You mentioned stone but you don't show the exterior condition. Is it a veneer system with a cavity? Do you have photos and a detail of how it is built?

We are having the same problem. We have been in the house since February, but with such a drought, we have not had the rain to know there is a problem.

Beachgirl, hope you solve the problem soon. Would you please post to let us know what it was and how it was solved.
Chiefneil, I clipped your post. I'll be checking those pants and raincoats as we build. Thanks!