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Having had a crazy rain storm yesterday, I discovered that my window leaks. There was a pool of water on the floor that was coming from the bottom moulding.

Any ideas as how to fix this (ideally without removing the window)?

UPDATE: I had a window guy come down and check out the issue. We pulled off the white trim on the outside of the windows, which revealed there was NO insulation OR any cladding. In fact, the trim was keeping the water from escaping, bringing it into our house. Previous house flipper was clearly out of his mind. . .

Inside WindowOutside Windowenter image description here

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  • I had a guy come down and check out the issue. We pulled off the white trim on the outside of the windows, which revealed there was NO insulation OR any cladding. In fact, the trim was keeping the water from escaping, bringing it into our house. Previous house flipper was clearly out of his mind. . . Is this a simple project? His quote for 3 windows seemed a tad high ($1700).
    – Shinobii
    Commented May 25, 2017 at 23:44
  • Just to add, is it the flashing that he meant (not cladding)? I am not too familiar with window lingo.
    – Shinobii
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 13:13

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Were it my home I'd be removing the gray exterior casing to find out just exactly how the window is flashed. You can't fix bad flashing from inside. You can stop the interior leak, but the water will go on its merry way rotting your wall out.

I'd also want to know what kind of drain plane is behind the stucco, if any. That will determine whether you should flash behind or in front of the stucco.

Can't say much more with what I know from your post. Update if you decide to get into it.

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  • Thanks, I'll try taking a look today. One thing I should add, the leaking occurred in a storm (winds gusting up to 100 km/hr). Steady rain does not result in leaking.
    – Shinobii
    Commented May 25, 2017 at 18:31
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    It could simply be from wind driven rain, which I understand it, windows may not be as well protected against. Try to use a hose and spray above the window and see it it drips inside. If not, then spray the hose onto the window and see if you can find where the rain is coming in from there. If its the wind driven, perhaps there are small openings that can be closed off with newer wiper seals around the window.
    – David Neiss
    Commented May 25, 2017 at 20:43
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    Yeah, you'll need to decide whether the occasional sideways torrent will be enough of a problem to warrant a repair.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 25, 2017 at 20:50
  • @isherwood -- even sideways torrents can be dealt with by a correct flashing setup and pressure equalization across the outside seal. See BSI-004 for the details on this.
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 0:31
  • True. Why is that directed at me?
    – isherwood
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 12:17

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