Water Behind Siding

Walls longer than 16 feet.

Water behind siding.

When water and snow create moisture behind it the siding no longer offers the protection necessary to keep your home safe. Wrinkled housewraps are manufactured with small corrugations in the surface a feature that is designed to turn the material into a drainage plane behind the siding. See below for a shopping list and tools subscr. Water passing over wood and other building materials but behind the vinyl siding can easily pick up pigments that stain the foundation wall outside.

This old house general contractor tom silva shows how to prevent water from leaking in behind vinyl siding. Planks are 12 feet long x 5 16 inches thick and they come in a half dozen widths which means weather exposures can vary from 4 inches to 10 3 4 inches. When siding is put back behind the gutter the lowest piece of flashing running down the pitch of the roof above must be fashioned to divert water into the gutter not behind the siding. But siding is more than just a pretty face.

Accessory pieces install before the siding strips to prevent water from running behind the siding in these areas. At yanish we find water damage behind the siding of roughly 1 in 6 homes. Water damage is risky business. If the builder failed to install a weather barrier this sort of staining is more likely.

Inspect the area above the leak including both indoors and out. Vinyl siding comes in 16 foot strips. There s no universal agreement on how effective these very shallow undulations are in allowing water to drain away. The siding made from portland cement sand cellulose and other additives is available with smooth or simulated wood grain finishes.

The damage can compromise a building s structural integrity. Not all have wood rot but the damage would progress to rot in time. It easily hides beneath siding materials and often shows no obvious signs to untrained eyes. Check to be sure weep holes are open along bottom of window openings.