If an old cracked, dried and peeled caulking is often the main cause of water infiltration around doors and windows, it is not necessarily the UNIQUE. There are many others, such as the condition of the components of doors and windows (frames, cold cutters, seals around thermos windows, etc.), a roofing problem or the dilapidated seals around brick, aluminum or vinyl siding. It will therefore often be necessary to proceed by elimination in order to discover the main cause or causes.
Water seeps into the smallest cracks and rots the woods.
Visual inspection of the state of the caulking is the first step in the search for possible causes. It is confirmed quite quickly if the caulking is no longer as waterproof as in its first days. This can lead to water seeping into your walls through any cracks, no matter how small. It should be understood that water runoff inevitably follows all walls including doors and windows. Inevitably, the water always looks for the shortest way down and the cracks around the doors and windows offer excellent shortcuts.
Thermographic inspection
Water infiltration is among the most tenuous to detect when it is inside the walls. It is often perceived when it is too late, and the structure is already badly damaged. Thermographic inspection is currently the most reliable means of detecting water and air infiltration both preventively and in the search for the source of the problem. Check out our section on HD infrared camera thermography.
Replace the caulking joint
It is possible that replacing window caulking will radically eliminate the problem of water infiltration, but unfortunately this is not always the case. In fact, if the caulking is carried out according to current standards, the source or other sources of the problem will have to be searched elsewhere.
If the problem always appears to be the doors and windows, then careful consideration should be given to the condition of the materials including the assembly of the parts and components of the doors and windows.
Over the course of the seasons, the contraction and expansion of the materials and components of doors and windows eventually creates tiny spaces for water infiltration. A waterjet test is very often required to confirm this hypothesis. If this is the case, it is probably enough to add a sealant micro-joint to each of the joints of the frame components of the doors and windows.
This situation is not always foreseeable and may be subject to an additional (minimal) charge by the professional, which must be approved in advance by the client.
If water infiltration persists beyond these two operations, the client will need to consult a water infiltration specialist. Why not Elite Caulking?
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