We recently came across an article that provides an excellent summary of water damage in walls. Self-proclaimed Energy Nerd and all-around green building guru Martin Holladay takes a look at the building conditions and installation errors that most often lead to unsightly and unsafe wall structures. Accompanied by insightful (and frightful) photography, the article identifies seven likely causes of walls turning into mush. Even these might not be enough to ruin a wall were it not that the backup ventilated air gap or rainscreen is often missing or poorly executed. Holladay summarizes:
“So if you don’t want to come back in a few years and fix more rotten sheathing at the same house, here’s what you have to do: fix all those flashing problems, lower the exterior grade, seal the air leaks on the inside of the house — and be sure to install the siding over a rainscreen.”
Read the article “All About Wall Rot” and see the photos over at the excellent online journal GreenBuildingAdvisor.com. And here’s a few photos of how these phenomena can be detected with thermal imaging cameras:
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