Oxley Woods Living

It’s approaching 4pm on Friday and the guys from Wood Newton are just finishing putting the Trespa panels back on the side of our Oxley Woods eco house.

Today has been a very stressful day, and although more faults and problems have been found, it feels like we’re only scratching the surface, and that any genuine solutions seem a long way off.

Following on from this mornings work attention moved to the front of the property and bedroom two on the top floor. This was harder to pinpoint, and once again several holes were drilled on the inside walls to see what could be seen, as water was liberally sprayed, in different locations and at different rates, across, over and around the window.

Once again water could be seen coming in via the actual window frame, in the same way as on bedroom four. The channel where the Trespa settles into hasn’t been “sealed properly”, or whatever, and water is coming in down, into and through the window, and eventually through the interior wall and plasterboard and paint.

Then it appears that despite two previous “fixes” of caulking and then clear silicone enough water is coming through the window itself by the “door” panel, then making its way across the window/OSB/plasterboard and showing in the middle of the window. Which isn’t very reassuring, considering the new guy on site from Wood Newton (or at least, new to us) was suggesting the “fix” for the problem where Trespa meets window is basically stuffing it with clear silicone sealant.

While lengthy investigation of the top window was underway it turned out that the water being applied to, around, and over the widow and where the balcony joins wall had made its way down from the second floor to come through the ceiling above the kitchen window on the ground floor. This seemed to throw another curve ball and had everyone scratching heads and seeming completely unsure as to where the water is coming through, especially considering that window has got the Resistit flash banding “fix” as well as a “belt and braces” layer of Tyvek over the top of that.

So, the new plan is to take off all the panels on the front of the house on Monday and try and work out what the hell is going on with the water that is STILL appearing above the kitchen window.

I have to say I feel like we’re not really getting anywhere fast, totally downbeat, and just thoroughly miserable about the entire situation.

Well, actually, not quite half way.

So today is yet another “big day”, another day finding and plugging leaks, another day of our exterior panels being stripped off, another day of disruption, another day of lost sleep for our 16 month old daughter, another unproductive working day, and another day of seeing our house taken apart inside and out while workmen scratch their heads and try to find problems then fathom out solutions.

The first area of investigation has been water ingress in our living/dining room above and around the full length window. This has been put down to a few… apologies, train of through broken by phantom smoke/fire alarms ringing through the property… Anyway, this has been put down to a few possible causes, they’ve been sealed and all the other work…

It has now been put down to the fact the door directly above for our first floor Juliet balcony is letting rain water seep through below the door, down through the floor and showing on the ceiling and down the window frame below. We’ve seen it, it seems a good theory. We have no idea on the planned fix, because it’s all apparently been designed and fitted correctly. Work that one out, doors designed to not offer a full weather seal. Baffling.

Then moving up to the small bedroom four on the top floor. It seems the problem is at least two fold. We’ve had several holes drilled into the wall in our daughters room to see where water tracks when the widow area was sprayed with a hose.

Problem one appears to be largely by design. The windows have channels vertically notched into them where the Trespa goes into. This is apparently sealed and engineered so water cannot get through. Only it is. The suggested solution is to patch this area with clear silicone sealant.

The second, and possibly third issue like in the window construction itself. The timer has expanded and contracted due to the weather (amazing I know) and this has apparently given rise to cracks at joins in the frame, at junctions between two or more edges, where water can also enter through the frame. Also, it appears that the weather seals have been poorly installed and trap any water coming through, and allow it to pool, and pass over into the inside of the window frame. Again, it seems that simply patching and plugging these problems is the favoured option of the representatives on site.

Next up we believe is a water test using a hose of the kitchen window area(s), followed by working on the window on the top floor at the front of bedroom two.

Seriously stressful day, and nobody seems entirely pleased with the discovers being made.