Problem with Siding that Leaks

[Karen]

We are renovating an older mobile home that was saved from demolition and moved to a piece of property before we bought the piece a couple of years ago. We’ve replaced all the flooring with Advantech and now it’s time to put up the drywall. The problem is that we can’t get the leaks in the walls to stop and we’re at a stand still. The exterior wall construction is a odd one so I’m inserting a pic here.



The seam just above the outlet that connects the gray and white sections is the major problem. We’ve sealed the seam with caulking but continue to have leaks. My question: Is it pointless to continue to try fixing the leaks of this inferior design and instead put new siding up? If so, what is the least expensive way to do it? Our intentions were to live in the mobile home for 5 years or so then build but it’s costing way more then we thought it would.

[Brenda OH]

I had this same siding probably the exact same model, and the leak was coming from around the outlet, and from missing screw, which had left the screw holes open.....

Brenda (OH)

[Karen]

Thanks Brenda. We did have some leaking around that outlet. But our biggest problem is that we have had numerous leaks around the entire trailer. Some we've fixed. Some we haven't been able to fix. And new ones pop up on occasion maybe because of the way the wind was hitting us. Most of the leaks center around the seam midway up the wall. Has anyone had any experience with some type of wall coating that can be sprayed on to seal up the siding? We'd love to find a way to avoid putting up new siding, but if we need to, would like to do it the least expensive way possible.

[Brenda OH]

Karen,

if water runs down the sides of the home, you are risking leaks. I have used j channel with caulk as a replacement gutter under the drip channel... it ran me about $1.10 a foot. So it was about $200 to do the home... it was my first home I renovated for resale. I now stand out side on a rainy day, and add a diverter to areas that water runs down the home. the diverters are aluminum 8 inch wide flashing bent into an l shape...

If you have an oven range vent, that is a common area to have water come in. it needs a diverter above it, either at the roof, or on the wall.

windows also often have the sealant break down across the top, and water gets in.

It will be interesting to see what other feedback you get, this is not that uncommon a siding set up.

Brenda (OH)

[JD]

If you are saying that the leak appears from the horizontal seam of gray and white, I would suspect that the leak is from the roof or siding above that joint or possibly from the window. That horizontal siding part is like a custom Z-bar, where the back lip of this piece should be a couple of inches tall behind the gray siding.

This siding is pretty easy to work with. You may be able to check it after a rain by removing a lot of the screws and just lifting the siding off a little bit. You should be able to see that the leak is coming from higher than this horizontal trim piece.

The very top of the picture shows just a little bit of the top of the siding. It looks like a gutter or something has been removed from this area. The leak could be coming from this area. As the rain comes off of the roof, it could be working it's way into the top of the siding. It could be a leak at the drip rail at the top of that wall or edge of the roof in that area.

While this type of siding is old school. it is still pretty efficient and easy to work with, unless there are dents at the vertical seams where the gray siding pieces come together. It can still be taken apart and put back together, but the dents will make it more difficult. This siding can be ordered, but it is very expensive because of shipping. I am guess $100 per 4x8 sheet. The horizontal trim piece should not need replacing, but some sort of replacement is possible using the same siding material. All-Rite Aluminum Products sells this type of siding and makes custom trim pieces. Your siding pattern looks like - 4" Mesa 3 w/ reverse and this type of siding usually has the Pittsburg Edge. Here is a link.
http://www.all-rite.com/aluminum-siding-p-53.html

The cheapest repair would be to repair the siding that you have. After the repair, the home should be painted to look right. Again, I suspect the top of the siding or the edge of the roof, which shouldn't require siding or a lot in material costs for a spot repair.

Pictures showing the roof edge, the top of the siding, all seams of siding and trim in the area, and the window might help us get a better picture as to where the water is coming from.

JMO
JD