Hello!
It looks like the builders never installed J-channels around the windows, and we've noticed some water coming into the house through the window frame during heavy rain and wind. The internet tells me it's possible to slide some J-channel under the existing siding but I can only find videos on doing it before the siding goes on.
Any help would be appreciated :)
Edit 1: this only happened one during a very intense rain, not all the time.
Edit: Figured I'd update in case it can help anyone. I got in touch with someone to come take a look, and it turns out these windows have built-in J-channels so that wasn't the issue at all.
The problem was where the house wrap actually went behind the window, making that J-channel useless basically. While it was still taped across, that's really the only place water could have come in so there must have been a gap in the seal. So he sliced the wrap, inserted another barrier under it and layered it so that water could never get behind it again.
Also confirmed no water damage/stains around the windows so it's likely all the water that came in was caught inside by our towels.
Old house? 'Cause if it's not, tell your insurance and you'll have that fixed in a jiffy.
Depending on your insurance, it may not even need to be a newly built house. But your insurance will have a field day with a new build.
Wow, is this to say insurance might pay for it to be installed? It's about 5 years old but we've owned it for 3-4, so it's fairly new but we've been sitting on this issue for a while. Thanks for your help either way!
I used to be an insurance adjuster. Coverage for this is questionable and the damages would likely be under your deductible. This is a workmanship issue, so the J channel itself isn't covered. The (hopefully minimal) ensuing water damage would likely be covered, though. My main concern is water inside the wall saturating insulation and creating a mold issue.
If there was significant water inside the wall, the amount of covered damage could escalate to the point that it would be worth putting in a claim. Just know that coverage isn't as straightforward as the previous comment made it sound.
Thanks so much for the extra info... sounds like I'm on the hook for getting it added but that's what I expected anyways :)