Yesterday at two. Wind, horizontal rain and appalling amounts of it* in a very short time. The gullies let go, the driveway was a river…
…and the river was a flood…
Had it been just a little harder and lasted longer, it would have been one for the books. But what I was waiting for was a storm where the wind came out of the north. Because that’s the direction where the cabin has always leaked like the wall was just a polite fiction, and I wanted to know what difference all that siding made.
The door leaked, of course. The door always leaks, and the only way to fix it would be with a better door. Two monsoons ago I sewed up this big dumb snake with a bunch of scrounged towels and a worn-out pair of sweatpants, and that works. Sort of. But what I was really interested in was the north window…
I couldn’t tell you how much caulk I’ve expended on that window since it went in the wall, and water still just poured in when the wind was from the north. Of course it’s really not designed to work without its flange being covered with siding. But none of the other windows leaked that bad. Be that as it may, the only thing that I could imagine fixing it was the siding. That having been installed and sealed, the window should henceforth be watertight. But all monsoon the wind refused to blow from the north.
Yesterday it finally did. And the water stayed out. So, yay.
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*Private to Landlady: Barn flooded big-time, like the gutter wasn’t even there.
Always something… innit? I had water come in under the window when it rained really hard from the north a few weeks ago, but it only lasted about 15 minutes. The last bad storm here sent water in between the roof and the logs on my south side. We don’t get much hard rain from that direction, so I have no idea how long it’s been that way, of course. I don’t know exactly why it happened either, since I can’t get up there to look – and wouldn’t know what I was looking at probably anyway. Have to find someone to see to it. I’m going to have to find some kind of handiman soon, or this place will really start to fall apart. sigh
Hm. There are various kinds of sweeps you can get to attach to the bottom of doors. Many different models for different purposes Might be something to check out next time you’re at Lowes or Home Depot. Or look at them online then concoct your own?
If the door swings out, some flashing in a loose Z shape that attaches to the face of the door and extends below the lower edge might do it. If the door opens in, I have no idea what will fix it except putting a front porch on the lair.
BTW, is that a cat door? I’m hoping it’s not a drain…..
“And the water stayed out.” Oh great! I have been wondering about that. Water intrusion in a frame building is a seriously bad thing.