So heres my situation… while doing a bathroom and daylight basement renovation we have discovered that the felt pager membrain on the outside wall has failed and in letting rain water through into the stud cavities. While the long term fix for us will be to completly re-side the house and install a new moisture barrier and 1 or 2″ foam board butwe dont have the time nor money to tackle this right now and we need our bathroom back.
So I am looking for advise on how we can fix this issue from the inside until next spring when we can install new siding.
I thought maybe a light coating of spray foam or sealing membrain but also dont want to make it a hugh mess when we have to re-side.
Thanks
Ryan
Replies
Ryan
" the felt pager membrain on the outside wall has failed "
I'm a little unsure what you mean by the above. Felt paper behind the siding? failed? allowing water entry into the stud cavity?
You've found moisture behind the siding/felt/sheathing and think it's the felt that failed? Have you looked higher up for a place of water entry?
In the scheme of things, any water that got behind the siding should drain down the outside face of the felt (or housewrap) and exit at the bottom. For water to behind the felt, it would have to have entered or made it's way behind it, say at a window opening or siding transition. While I've seen that happen, for water to then get behind the sheathing and into the stud cavity it, it would have to find another separation for entry (like that same window opening or other).
Have you positively traced the problem to just felt paper being the problem starter?
I'd look for the source of entry for the water and fix that. The felt isn't the primary water barrier, the siding is, and very little water should be getting through to the felt. Either there's a gap/crack in the siding or (more likely) a problem with flashing. (Or it could be you're seeing evidence of wintertime condensation -- hard to tell from the description.)
More info
Our home is braced 2x4 construction with thin felt paper and cedar clapboard siding. the felt paper is torn and crumbling in a lot of places leaving the siding exposed. This wall faces south, has very short eves and has alot of exposure to wind/rain.
There is a window in the bathroom which could be a point of water entry but since the felt paper has deteriorated around it as well I am not sure how to seal it back in without pulling all of the siding back. And I have a feeling that once I start pulling siding I am going to cause more damage to the existing felt and it will turn into a whole re-side of this two story wall. While we want to reside I am hoping to limp through till spring till we can afford it.
Also we live in the seattle area.
Thanks,
Ryan
Zak
Are there windows above this area?
Can you get a picture of this side of the house and of the exposed areas from the inside. Post them here and maybe someone will be able to come up with an idea on how to deal with it.
Ryan, as others have said, more information is needed. When you say, "the felt paper is torn and crumbling in a lot of places leaving the siding exposed," it sounds strange; usually, if the siding were damaged, the underlying felt would be "exposed," not the other way around. How can you see the felt paper if it's under the siding? Or do you mean the plywood (or OSB) "sheathing" that's underneath the felt paper?
Photos, photos, photos!
Hok
I'm thinking he's got no sheathing.
Siding, paper, studs.
wall fix
It would help to know where your house is. Alaska or Arizona ? How old is the house?
Others here have mentioned that it could be a condensation problem or a leak
(incorrect flashing around windows etc.). Was there evidence of the problem before you opened the wall?
I need more information before I could give ideas on how to proceed.
Poor Initial Framing
I've seen this in my area on tract houses built between '69-'72. Wood stud framing with only 30 lb felt as the sheathing, siding applied directly. I've repaired by putting new tar paper up as far as possible; Hardi-Plank to replace the original Masonite; doors rot too. The one's I've seen in my area are bull dozer fodder.
Good Luck ;-)
-mark
Thanks all for your comments,
To answer some questions, we live in the puget sound area of Washington so we get a good amount of rain. Our house was built in 1980 and there is no sheating between the siding and the wall studs like Mark described, its wall framing, what appears to be 15# or less felt paper and then cedar clapboard siding. So you can clearly see the felt from the inside of the exposed wall.
We did have a new window installed and I looked over that area carefully. When it was installed the felt paper that surronds the window is litteraly falling apart and while flashing (grace vycore) was installed it is just adheared to the crumbling felt and providing little protection.
After inspecting the window I feel this is where most of the water is coming from and my thought is to take the window trim off and slid in some new felt around the window, re-flash and caulk.
Ryan,
Ryan
Without sheathing behind the siding you are going to be hard pressed to properly flash openings as there's not much to fasten felt, house wrap, or peel and stick type products. It would be good to hear from someone familiar with the no sheeting type bldg method.
leaky siding
Put a tarp over the affected area and wait until you have the money to fix it properly