I have a strangely built house. It is a 2 story house, built in the early 80’s. Support beams run above the 1st floor ceiling and on the bottom of the 2nd floor. One beam is at the edge of my house. The house has stucco over wood on the upper floor. The stucco is on a vertical wall of the house. The beam of the house is flush with this stucco. The beam has a hardie board trim strip that runs the length of it (exterior). So, when it rains, the rain runs down the stucco wall, and is leaking into the upper edge of where the trim strip is attached to this beam. I think the builder had just caulked it, but now the caulking has failed, and water is leaking in. Can anyone tell me how to install flashing correctly where the stucco and beam meet? I could add a strip of flashing on top of the stucco and over the beam, but then water would get in at the top edge of the flashing, right? I am trying to do something permanent, besides just doing caulking that will fail over time. Thanks for your suggestions. I have added a photo. The circle shows where water is leaking in.
***I added another close up Photo****
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Can you post a close up picture of where you think the entry point is?
And, how does that recessed look at the floor in that corner?
Hi Calvin, I posted another close up photo.... From the inside of the house out -- There is the big wood beam, then a piece of Hardie Board attached to the beam (with a crack in the Hardie Board trim piece), then on top of that is the aluminum edge installed of the screen enclosure. Water is intruding perhaps where the Hardie Board is attached or the aluminum cross piece is attached. I think the right thing to do is chisel out the bottom 2 or 3 horizontal inches of the stucco, put in a piece of flashing that will come down over the hardie board. Then patch the stucco, replace the hardie board strip, and reattach the aluminum screen horizontal edge.... I am hoping for a simpler solution. Thank you so much.
Whenever I was called upon to find the leaks around windows, doors, or other penetrations I listened to the homeowners as they are there at or after any rain, snow or thaw. Their opinions often were correct.
Still, before doing their bidding I sometimes urged them to let me try a few things first. I took a moisture reading at the exit point as a baseline. Working from the bottom up I took a hose to potential entry points one at a time, and checked the moisture reading.
On jobs that were not “cut and dried”, this was a way to find a cause the first time. I hated being the guy they called after someone else caulked everything and it still leaked.
The pool cover framework, how is that transitioned to the beam?
Water flows to lowest point (behind finishes) but can also wick uphill.
Stucco isn’t easy to reflash.
Best of luck!
Is that an open porch? if so, that is part of the problem as well. water that gets on that floor needs to be handled.
Yes, the open porch has some drainage issues, but I think they are the same as the drainage of the stucco wall. When it rains, water washes down the screen and onto the porch floor, there are "weep holes" for the water to escape, but then the water runs down onto the top of the Hardie Board edge -- just like the water washing down the stucco walls. So, the water from the porch and the water from the stucco walls, both run down onto the top of this hardie Board trim edge. (I hope that makes sense)
I am thinking we will remove about 4 inches of the stucco across the edge where it meets the beam.. then install flashing that goes OVER the Hardie board trim strip, and thus over the Beam which is under the hardie board trim strip. That will solve the water intrusion where rains flows down the stucco and enters the edge of the trim strip and beam. Then, I have the open porch on the 2nd story... In an ideal world, I think there should have been flashing installed under the tile (this little porch has a tiled floor) and the flashing would then gor down over the Hardie Board trim strip, like the reast of that horizontal edge.... . So, not sure how to direct the water when it goes through the screen and onto the little tile floor. It is so exasperating. We bought this house as a fixer-upper over 20 years ago. We have continually dealt with water intrusion problems. It is obvious the original builder did not understand water/rain, etc.
Ref "It is obvious the original builder did not understand water/rain, etc." I remember a lady in Millwork in HD saying, "It's amazing how many contractors make a living off the work of other contractors."
I don't know of any remedy for your situation besides looking for all the instances of reverse shingling and opportunities for water to pool , then correcting them. You obviously understand the principles, although their execution can get complicated (and tedious) sometimes. I'd try to find a consultant, formal or informal, who you can discuss problems and possible solutions with- two heads are usually better than one. Try to figure out as many of them as you can in advance of starting work, because some of them will be interdependent.
Best of luck!