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Deck Leaks | Water Intrusion Testing Los Angeles

Of course, it always seem to happen when you least expect it. This is especially true when you just moved into that new house. What am I talking about? Deck leaks of course. Leaking decks are not only problematic and annoying, they are also potentially cause for structural instability, and it is always recommended that you hire a CA State Licensed Structural Engineer (S.E.) who specializes in decks to assess your property if you have water intrusion damage.

How so? Well, for starters, the wood which makes up the deck is susceptible to rot. Rotting deck boards from water intrusion compromises their structural capacity to withstand weight, or load. Water intrusion plus rot equals disaster. Not to mention the potential damage the Deck leaks can cause to interior finishes or even exterior finishes.

Deck Testing

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Deck water intrusion leak testing can be performed in many different ways. Much like the shower pan test, or the ASTM standardized 5957 flood test, has the ability to show leaks where they happen. Moreover, water testing decks will typically come in the form of a flood test. First thing to remember is that isn accordance with the ASTM 5957, the flood test is performed in a very specific manner. Special precautions must be taken to avoid;

• Structural damage
• Water leaking into the interior or below
• Damage from water leaking into the perimeter flashings

The Deck leaks test performed in the images below derived from a call we received from a Beverly Hills property management company. Upon arrival we noticed the deck was slightly older, with obvious degradation to the decking surfacing materials. Many times, when deck surfacing is older, so too is the substrate waterproofing. Also, another thing we noticed were the deck penetrations. These penetrations were from railings.

ASTM 5957 Flood Test

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When Deck leak testing this deck we had to be within 2″ of parameter flashings according to the ASTM5957 sections 7.7. It’s very important that we test according to these standards in the event the test ever had to be recreated. Furthermore, testing to these standards helps maintain a level of uniformity with testing.

Finally, after our Deck leak test was administered, leaking was observed within the room, where the leaking was first though to derive. The use of thermography was instrumental in locations water which was not yet leaking. 

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