Mold in outer wall, due to lack of secondary sealing

[E319]

Hello!

We bought a house four years ago that was built in 2004.

We discovered that the window sills were swelling, and more have swollen this summer. After many rounds, it turned out to be the frame that's leaking, quite a lot during heavy rain, which we often have here. Secondary sealing is missing, which I understand was not standard in 2004, but it has become so because many P-marked windows leak specifically in the frames. We have Elite windows that pretend not to know the problem, even though you can read that in 2007 they were involved in developing secondary sealing and descriptions for these.

Anyway, my question is how one normally proceeds, as the water has run down the outer walls, i.e., on the outside of the plastic. How much do you need to remediate after removing all the windows and sealing? The outer wall consists from the outside of,
Panel
Battens
Board
170 insulation
Plastic
45 insulation
Panel
Gypsum board.

It's the board and 170 insulation and parts of the frame that have gotten wet. What do you replace, what do you dry, and can anything remain as it is as long as it gets dry?

Hope the thread ended up in the right place, new to writing here

 

[Mats-S]

the water has run on the outer walls, i.e., on the outside of the plastic

It feels very strange that so much water has passed the panel, air gap, insulation, and then run along with the plastic? Because that's how I interpret it when you write "outside the plastic"? Correct me if I'm wrong

If that's the case (?), there must be some fundamental problem with your facade if so much water can get that far.

Basically, it's impossible to answer your question without having seen the damage and the construction on-site. Call your insurance company and have an inspector come over. Then you can take it from there depending on what their inspection shows.

 

[Kurtivan]

In principle, it's impossible to answer your question without having seen the damage and construction on-site. Call your insurance company and have an inspector come out. Then, you can proceed based on what their inspection reveals.

What do you mean the insurance company can contribute?

 

[E319]

It feels very strange that so much water has passed through the panel, air gap, and insulation only to run along the plastic? Is that how I should interpret it when you write "outside the plastic"? Correct me if I'm wrong

If that's the case (?), there must be some fundamental flaw with your facade if so much water can come that far.

It's virtually impossible to answer your question without seeing the damage and construction on-site. Call your insurance company and get an inspector there. Then you'll have to take it from there depending on what their inspection shows.

The problem is that the insurance company doesn't come out for these kinds of damages (Folksam Villa Stor). We have had two recommendation inspections, but no one has seen or has any idea why water is coming in. We've had to figure that out ourselves. We know it's the windows themselves that are leaking because we've tested lightly showering the window and caught the moisture below the window. It leaks in when we shower on the crack by the window hinge but not when we expose the flashing to water. Will send pictures of the damage shortly.

 

[E319]

What do you mean the insurance company can contribute?

 

[Mats-S]

Water leaks in when we shower at the gap by the window hinges

The first urgent measure is to apply duct tape along the leaking window gaps, you absolutely must stop the inflow of water now, then there might be a chance for it to dry out, but it's not certain.

EDIT
Is it possible to determine exactly where the frame permits water to pass to the structure? From the pictures, I interpret that it's the underlying stud below the window that absorbs the water, then passes it to the insulation and outside plastic? But exactly where does it seep through? My guess is in the inner corners?

If you know that, maybe a silicone seal can be applied there as a temporary solution to the problem?

 

[E319]

Here's a link where they show what the seal does and that it leaks in 17% of all tested p-marked windows when they are new.

Window installation - DiVA portal https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:962511/FULLTEXT01.pdf

 

[Mats-S]

Interesting link, I've saved it ... many pages there are

As a curiosity, I can tell you that I have a skylight on my 1½-story house that regularly needs to be resealed with silicone at the seam between the glass itself and the frame. I have to do it about every 10 years, and it works perfectly. The neighbors had similar windows but neglected the maintenance (despite me informing them about the issue), and they had to replace the entire windows at a considerable cost.

The last time I did it, I was a bit late (due to an extensive shoulder surgery), so last winter it started leaking. An emergency call-out with duct tape saved the situation, then I fixed the window in May, and not a single leak after that

 

[E319]

The first urgent action is to apply duct tape along the window gaps that are leaking; you absolutely need to stop the water inflow now, then maybe there's a chance it can dry out, but absolutely not certain.

EDIT
Is it possible to determine exactly where the frame is allowing water to pass to the structure? I interpret from the pictures that it is the underlying beam under the window that absorbs the water and then transfers it to the insulation and outer plastic?
But exactly where does it seep through? My guess is that it's in the inner corners?

If you know that, maybe you can make a silicone seal there that temporarily solves the problem?

Here in the seam, we can add a little water, and it drips under the window quite quickly. 10 drops in and 3 out.

 

[Mats-S]

OK, then we have the leak there!
Remove all the old caulking and redo it with fresh bathroom silicone. Just putting new silicone on top of the old one doesn't work. (see my problem with my skylight in the post above), a total cleaning is essential to make it watertight
The same applies to you, you need to keep an eye on this and maintain it before the sealing becomes bad again.

I would also unscrew the lock (?) that's in the corner, and ensure it seals properly against the frame, that goes for the screw as well.

The caulking now looks quite amateurish, just a lot of mess. I hope I haven't stepped on your toes now 😉