I have an issue with a window that is leaking and has been leaking since shortly after we moved in. Frustrating because our inspector missed that there was a ton of caulk clearly trying to stop a leak. I had an exterior company come out about 4 years ago and they discovered that both stacked windows didn't have any flashing and water damage to the "Queen Beam" I believe they called it. They said I would need a contractor to repair that and so I was hoping if the leak could be repaired that it would be fine. They added flashing and new J-Channels etc. so I thought it would be all set.

However, the leak turned out not to be fixed from the work they did. It doesn't leak with every rain, it needs to be pretty heavy and wind driven against that side of the house. It's confusing because the bottom window is the only one that leaks but the beam damage was between the two windows so they said it was the top window that was actually letting the water in.

I had been putting off getting it looked at again but we are putting a nursery close to that area of the house so it is bothering me even more. I had a contractor that did some work for me before, come out and he did a garden hose test to try to pinpoint where the leak was but we weren’t getting anything. I tried for longer the next day and using the ladder got to the top of the top window and it seemed like that was when I was able to get some to leak thru.

The contractor told me the damage wasn’t enough to worry about but I’m thinking these pictures are also 4 years old so it could be worse now even tho they put plywood over it so hopefully that is protecting it some too.

I also tried doing an isolation tests by hooking up one of those Halloween/theatre fog machines to the header but it didn’t really work.

So now I was thinking just replacing both windows would be the best way to be done with it once and for all but the first quote I just got from that contractor was for $8k which seemed crazy to me even for pretty large windows.

I am attaching some pictures from when the exterior co had the siding off and you can see the damage as well as what they did to try and fix it. Then a picture of the inside of the bottom window where you can see where it is leaking where the drywall is damaged.

My questions for anyone willing to offer their advice:

• Would replacing both windows likely be the best way to fix the leak once and for all?
• Since most signs seem to be pointing to the top window being the issue, and it being smaller, would it make sense to try to replace that one first to see if it stops the leaking?
• Would renting one of those thermal imaging cameras likely help to see where the water is coming in?
• Recommendations on types of companies to get help from? Window companies seem to just want to replace all your windows. Exterior companies don’t always do repairs, and general contractors maybe don’t have the best window prices?

-Any other thoughts on ways to repair it or what is likely to be the issue?

I really appreciate the help this issue has really been weighing on me to hopefully get it finally figured out.