5 year old home with veneer stone front. Have had water problems almost from day 1 and contractor is non responsive. Appears water is coming in at floor level and baseplate level at top of block in basement. basement totally dry except for area where water appears to be coming in front of the house at floor sheet level and below to baseplate then into block. No water infiltration evident anywhere above the first floor flooring level. concerned that mold and rot will occur. how do I attack this? call an architect? engineer? stone companies are scared of it. thoughts??
Bewildered

Your veneer is not a waterproof layer. You must have a primary moisture barrier behind it.

You are only looking at where the water shows up and the actual entrance could be anywhere above or horizontal to the point of appearance.

If you have a primary moisture barrier, water may have gotten behind it and traveled downward to where it meets a barrier. The barrier should go below the sill and foundation. Apparently it stops at floor level and some moisture is showing uo inside. One very common source of moisture is the poor installation of windows (typically over 60% are improperly installed by home builders), where moisture can get behind the barrier. - You may find the problem is a poorly instaklled window on the second floor.

A moisture intrusion engineer can pinpoint many damp areas and determine the source. A skilled person with a good moisture probe (not a $250 surface or short pin meter) will pentrate deep enough to determine the amount of moisture in the wall, insulation and the framing.

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No masonry veneer of any kind is waterproof. Therefore, there must be a water barrier behind the veneer, and more important, there must be good base flashing and weep holes where the veneer is just above grade. It sounds like there is no base flashing, or perhaps there is, but mortar droppings behind the stone have clogged the weep holes. There also should be at least a one-inch space between the back of the stone and the sheathing, unless it is thin stone veneer.

It's hard to say exactly what the problem is, so all I can do is list some probable causes. You may have to remove some of the veneer to fully diagnose the problem, so what lies behind the stone can be seen and evaluated.

What contractors do not understand that stone like brick require a weeping system to allow water to be drained out from behind the stone.
If you do not have this all the water is simply running down onto the sill then into the house.
The fix is simple take the stone down and re-do it properly. That is why the contractor is non-responsive. Also when they install the stone black tar paper is not the best product to use to seal the wall. We suggest using the same ice and water sheild that they use on roofs. A copper L flashing along the botton of the sill that directs the water back out from behind the stone then will do the trick. Using tar paper with aluminum flashing which is what most guys use is a short lived method. As once the the nails that hold up the metal mesh go thru the surface of the asphalt paper it now has a leak.
The ice and water shield will seal around these hole and should stop any water from entering.
The copper will last a lifetime while the aluminum flashing will corroide from the chemicals in the morter that holds the stone on the wall.
One last note: Do not bother with any exterior sealants on the stone. They do not work and end up causing more isues because this material will not allow the stone to breath. Clear coatings like this DO NOT bridge gaps and cracks which is where a lot of the water enters from anyway. You must remove the replace the wall properly.
Did you look into your home warranty? It has a clause that covers water entry. Be sure to get the advice of a good lawyer that understands this type of contract warranty before you sign anything from the insurance company or builder.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: The Home Care Club LLC,