Jflaxen

Hey Tom. Check your PMs. I gave you a tip for something on your site. Anyone else who needs some computer/web help, feel free to PM me. Would be happy to show my appreciation by helping in my expertise.

Thanks again Tom. Whether or not that window is operating is open for debate I tried and cant open that window at all. In fact many of the windows in their house get stuck or have difficulty opening. So a rotten sash can be a leaky sash? Does it make sense that I cannot see the water coming in around the window when it rains hard? Once the leak is repaired, do you see a need to open the wall to dry it out? Or will it dry out on its own. Not sure how tight these houses are and if it becomes a closed system. Would putting a dehumidifier in the room for a week or so do the trick once the leak is repaired?

Thanks for the comments. I am not sure I see what your seeing. Can you point out how you can tell the bottom sash is rotten? Is the sash the actual window pane? Also what do you mean by an operating window? The only thing I saw was that gap at the top right behind that vinyl trim as shown in my attached image above? Is that what you mean? Or is that something else. What do you mean by this? To fix this is this something I should contact Pella about and have them replace it or can a local handyman take care of it? Sorry for all the questions, but I do not have much experience here as you can see. Thanks again

Also, is that white external trim purely decorative or is it there to protect the window from water? For example, can I take it off, fix the window, and leave it off until the window is ultimately replaced? Or do I need to add it back?

I have uploaded a bunch of pictures to a flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88603773@N ... 217410352/ While taking these pictures, I think I found the problem but not sure. It appears that the upper right external side of the window is actually coming out of the wall and that there is a large gap there, but I was not able to get close enough to really check. You can see this photo here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88603773@N04/9084537753/ Would it make sense though for the water to be coming in at the external upper right , but only affecting the drywall on the internal lower left side?

Thanks for the advice Marc. To be honest, I never knew home inspectors could be hired for those one off types of things. Thought they were primarily for entire home inspection. Will try and find a home inspector in my area who would be willing to do this.

Thanks all. Rob, I think it's a wooden casement window. Vinyl siding. I was told the best way to find the leak was to open the wall where it is damaged, which is in the lower left below the window, and spray a hose at it starting from the bottom. When you see moisture building it, you have the general area you need to focus on sealing. Thoughts on this? The windows on their first floor were going to be replaced in Sept or Oct. They want to wait till then to deal with this, while I think we should fix it now regardless of how long the leak has been there.

Also, can anyone recommend how to find where the window is leaking from?

I am not scared to admit it. When it comes to mold and bugs, I am a squeemish 13 year old. With that said, I swallow my fears and deal with it so my kids don't turn out like me and I do the right thing by my parents who can't do it for themselves. Costco had a cheap moisture meter/infrared thermometer sale going on last week so I picked em both up for $30. I have also been reading up on this before I did anything so I don't spend unnecessary money. I am by no means a do it yourselfer. Thanks Kurt for the very blunt and straightforward answer. It's what I needed. I think I will avoid the hazmat suits and just clean it up with a local handyman on my end. I assume removing the affected dry wall, removing insulation, rubbing down exterior walls with bleach and sealing it backup should be more than sufficient? Is it necessary to dry the space out for a few days before I seal it up or with the leak fixed should it dry out on its own?

I have just discovered that a window in my parent's house has been leaking for years. It has gotten to the point that the drywall under the Window has started splitting and the paint peeling. I didn't discover this until I moved a piece of furniture and saw it. When I questioned them about it, they said they noticed it a few years ago. With that said, I am going to have to assume that there is a nice biology experiment going on behind that wall even though there is no smell or visible mold/mildew evidence on the interior walls. They have also been complaining about little bugs called Springtails being found on the upstairs bedroom wall that is right above this leaking window. When examining the window I saw that there were quite a few of these bugs evident around the cracks in the window moulding and drywall. As these critters like damp places and live off fungus, I guess this is where the nest is located. I obviously need to fix the window leak, but at the same time will need to open the wall to find the leak. This will then expose the house to whatever is lurking (mold, bugs, etc) back there. I also assume that once I fix the leak, I need to open up the wall and let it dry out completely before sealing it back up? Can anyone provide some advise on the best way of tackling this so that the mold is contained? Do I contact a mold remediation service first, before fixing the windows? Do I fix the window and then bring in a mold remediation company? If there is mold, do I assume I will need to remove all drywall that even looks compromised until I see no evidence of mold, throw it out, let it dry, reinsulate, and seal it back up? When using a moisture meter, there is only one little area that is showing high moisture. Is it possible that it has not spread all over the place in there? Any suggestions and advice?