ASTM E1105 Water Testing Project
Our team was called out to Beverly Hills to investigate stains in the wood flooring throughout the residence. After our initial investigation we noticed that the stains may have been directly related to water infiltration from the glazing. Therefore, for us, the go-to test for this project would be the ASTM E1105 Water Testing method.
To clarify, this building is a brand new construction residential property approximately 25,000 square feet. In other words, the building was rather large with over 150 windows and doors throughout. Typically, the ASTM E1105 Water Testing would require us to select a sample of windows to test, which we did.
The E1105 water test is common
Needless to say, the ASTM E1105 Water Testing method is a fairy easy test to apply with proven results. While the test is typically administered in two parts, we only used one of the parts. For example, the first part of this test is the water spray part, administered from the exterior. At the same time, there is an interior air chamber installed which creates a differential pressure. this pressure effectively pulls water through the assembly. With this test, we only administered the water portion as directed by the Laboratory who rated this window/door product initially.
Once the test was underway, we noticed quickly that just about 100% of all products tested leaked. More than that, the leaking while some visible, the majority was not. At least not without the use of an infrared camera. Furthermore, the use of an infrared camera is not a typical procedure when it comes to “standardized water testing”, like AAMA / ASTM. At least not in the commercial world of testing.
Leaking is still… leaking
Nevertheless, leaking is still leaking in our opinion. To make matters worse, the water infiltration being under a wood floor, risks extensive damage to such material, throughout. Obviously a potentially catastrophic disaster looming. For us, destructive testing is almost always required when troubleshooting forensic issues. On the other hand, new construction houses such as in this case, it just wants allowed.
In one of the images you can see an area which was “cut out”, not by us, bu by a flooring company. the reason for the work was unknot but it did lend itself to a complete view of what would’ve otherwise been hidden. That is the door / window pan(s) being buried or at least filled by mortar. Traditionally, these pans are free to drain which is by-the-way their only purpose. With water unable to drain, it simply ran over the top of the pan, and subsequently into the house. It was our opinion, based on this condition and all of the leaks which appear via thermography to possess similar leak patterns, they they may all be related.
Unfortunately for us, we were unable to complete the testing or see it until the end. because of this we’ll never be 100% certain of the cause.
