I have a leaky apartment, anything I can do?

[alm99]

This happens everytime it rains hard, gets cold outside and warm inside. Condensaton builds on the window frames and then it drips onto wall, the windowsill and down into the carpet. We have mentioned this several times to are leasing office, but they say there is nothing they can do and that if we had an apartment that got more sunlight this wouldn't happen. Is there anything I can do?

Top of the window, livingroom
Windowsill, livingroom
Windowsill, livingroom2
Top of the window, bedroom
Side of the window, bedroom
Windowsill, bedroom

 

[Turkish]

Dude, your leasing office is stupid. There must be town regulations on conditions of rental properties, and as I see from those pictures, your apartment is nowhere close to those regulations. Definetly go talk to them again, and do not ask if they can do anything about it. Tell them to do something about it or you`ll file a report to the Town Council.

 

[Ornery]

Sounds like the drip caps are toast. Does the building have a brick veneer? Take pictures of the drip cap on the exterior. You may be able to patch it with $4.00 worth of caulk. It should hold till you move out.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: alm99...they say there is nothing they can do...

But will they try to charge you for the damage when you move out?
You need better air circulation. Cracking a window or two may help.

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: alm99...they say there is nothing they can do...

But will they try to charge you for the damage when you move out?
You need better air circulation. Cracking a window or two may help.

I agree with the air circulation thing. Tell your leasing office to find a solution, and believe me, they will.

 

[conjur]

I'd be calling in the health dept. and the housing authority. That could lead to mold and all kinds of health issues!

 

[alm99]

I am taking the pictures to the leasing office today when they open. I was going to look into regulations concerning mold and such. This is beginning to become a living hazard. I'd crack a window, but there is hardly insulation as it is.

 

[Squisher]

Yes, turning on a fan would work or removing the moisture itself with a dehumidifier.

You could also put up plastic on the windows to minimize the temperature differential between the two sides of the glass.

 

[Ornery]

That ain't a moisture problem, that's a leak!

Edit: On second thought, maybe it is condensation. If they use radiant or electric heat, there may not be anything they can do. You might have to run a dehumidifier to take care of it. They actually need better storm windows, but that's an expensive proposition.

 

[Savij]

Originally posted by: Ornery
That ain't a moisture problem, that's a leak!

Edit: On second thought, maybe it is condensation. If they use radiant or electric heat, there may not be anything they can do. You might have to run a dehumidifier to take care of it. They actually need better storm windows, but that's an expensive proposition.

I think it's a leak. I've never had condensation that occurred only when it rained hard, the amount of water is way too much for it to be pulled out of the air, and usually you will get condensation on the glass, not the frame. It sounds like water is getting in from somewhere (the dripcaps as suggested earlier?) and finding its way to the the frames and leaking in from there. Take the pictures, talk to the leasing office and let them know that you think it's a leak. If they continue to not do anything, send a certified letter to them stating the problem and how long it's been going on and and see what their reponse is.

It sounds to me like they don't know the extent of the problem in which case showing them the pictures should be enough.

 

[Ornery]

How cold does it get down in Georgia? Maybe they don't even have storm windows on there!

 

[alm99]

It doesn't get too cold, maybe 20s at night on really cold nights. Usually the high 30s low 40s. We do use central electric heat/air. Apartment is all electric. The leasing office cam and looked at it before and said there was nothingthey could do because its a metal frame window, but this is ridiculous. Its on the wall, the carpet, windowsill, etc. If we had anything under the window against the wall it would be ruined.

 

[Ornery]

20 degrees in Georgia! Holy crap, I had no idea! :Q

It is interesting that it only does this when it rains, though. If it is condensation, the only thing that will fix it is storm windows, and even then, it could still weep a bit. Your electric bill must already be enormous, but a dehumidifier could do the trick.

 

[Rereg]

Looks like both a condensation and a leak problem. Some of that water is probably coming in from around the window, which could possibly be reduced or stopped from application of clear silicone (or white) on the outside of the window around the perimeter. You could also do some of the same on the inside, but the outside portion would be most important, because just the seal on the inside would trap any moisture between the walls resulting in sheetrock damage and floor damage. Heavy drapes covering the windows, on those high humidity days especially, would reduce the amount of condensation formed on the metal frames and glass. If these were in a private dwelling, I'd suggest storm windows on the outside with a dble sided foam insulating barrior between the metal of the storm wdws and the metal of the current installed windows. Yeah that's kinda pricey but cheaper than replacemnet of the windows themselves. You might also check the window sills for clogged weep holes (mildew or such could clog them) as most aluminum window sills have a slot/slots to drain any water trapped there. Oh yeah, I'd use some Kilz (mildew resistant primer) on the wood return of the window frames, once you have eliminated the leaks. Just my .02, hope some of that helps, been in the window business for a long time.

 

[olds]

Running the AC will reduce the moisture but it will make it cold inside.