Looking for advise on how to resolve this issue. This weekend I had a strange casement window leak occur, apparently during wind driven rain. Somehow water appears to have gotten behind the drywall and onto the floor, causing some damage to start to occur to the wood floor. This is closest to the lower corner of the window near the crank/hinge side. The sill on the inside did not seem wet, so it seems the water somehow made it's way from the window to behind the drywall without dripping over the (inside sill I was not in the room when it happened, but not seeing evidence that the sill on the inside got wet). I probed the drywall below window with moisture meter and drywall was excessively moist. The wallpaper on the drywall is not wet (only probing it with detector reveals that it is excessively moist) Again, the inner sill did not seem wet. Drywall on the side and above the window was dry according to moisture meter. This makes me suspect it to be more likely to be a window leak issue rather than water getting behind the siding. Can I be SURE of this though?
Was wondering how to determine EXACTLY where the water penetration into the wall is happening. The wet floor and drywall are on the side where the crank is located. I'm not understanding how water that hits the window from the outside is ultimately making it's way behind the inner drywall wall without seeing any evidence of drippage onto the inside sill in this particular incident. Also the wallpaper is not wet either.
Questions about seals:
1) Was wondering if V-shaped seals on the sides of the sash (the flap style seals) are intended to prevent water leakage?2) I recently ALREADY replaced the V-shaped seal at the TOP of the sash, but I see it has flattened somewhat. I'm planning on putting a d-profile rubber strip underneath the flap to give it more pressure upward. Would this likely help? I'm also planning on replacing the v-shaped flap on the side of the sash where the crank and hinge are. Do I need to be replacing all four of the v-shaped seals?
2) Do I also need to be replacing the bulb-style seal on the INSIDE frame that faces outward toward the window frame? I have this replacement seal but it looks like it will be hard to replace it near the hinge. Is this type of seal of for the purpose of preventing water leakage?Since I don't trust these windows even if I do replace all the existing seals, one idea I have as an extra safeguard to prevent leakage would be to attach a self adhesive V-seal to the top of the outer frame but in such a way so that it folds downward and functions as a flap that hangs over the top of the window. Would this help as an extra safeguard, or be useless?
I see that the crank has a metal plate mounted to the outer sill. Should I putting some small amounts of caulk on the edges of the metal plate, and maybe on top of some screws just in case water is getting inderneath this metal plate that is mounted?
I'm told these are self-sealing windows that don't require caulking at the top of the outer frame. Was actually told that caulking the gap at the outer frame might be problematic if water ever did get behind the siding above the window (since caulk woud trap the water). Is this true?
There is no drip-cap or any type of hood above the window. Just the metal frame itself. Would a drip-cap help make it less prone to leakage?
As a last resort I'm actually considering having the window caulked totally shut. This would at least rule-out that it isn't a siding issue, is this correct?
If I did eventually opt for complete window replacement, I live in a condo, and so I was wondering if window replacement could be properly done from the inside without having to remove any siding on the outside of the building. By the way, I'm paranoid that replacing the entire window might still result in leakage if whomever installs it doesn't do a proper job, or if I have to replace it with yet another casement window that rely on rubber or vinyl seals that wear out. By the way, this is actually a double casement window (two casement windows side by side), and I need to address this issue for both windows.
Frankly, I'm starting to wish I had NOT bought an end unit.
J