I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.

On Sun, 11 Jan 2015 10:08:55 -0800 (PST), jtpr
wrote:

I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.

I have no clue. Is this the North wall, less sunlight, shaded by
trees? Then I might guess mildew. YMMV

On 1/11/2015 1:08 PM, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.


Sounds like dirty water from condensation, or a leak. My concern is not
the liquid, but what is happening in the wall. You could be rotting out
some studs or headers.

I'd open the wall near that lightswitch to get a good look at what is
happening before you have major structural damage.

I'd also check for things like a leak in the dryer vent or bathroom vent
passing through the wall if they are nearby.

On 1/11/2015 11:32 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 1/11/2015 1:08 PM, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this
brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of
the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from
the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen
again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on
the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what
this could be? It has no odor.

Weather conditions when it happens?
How brown is brown?
Did it taste metallic?


Sounds like dirty water from condensation, or a leak. My concern is not
the liquid, but what is happening in the wall. You could be rotting out
some studs or headers.

I'd open the wall near that lightswitch to get a good look at what is
happening before you have major structural damage.

I'd also check for things like a leak in the dryer vent or bathroom vent
passing through the wall if they are nearby.

"jtpr" wrote in message

I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this
brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the
house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the
hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and
same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same
wall
coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be?
It
has no odor.

Wood will impart a brown color to water, some woods more than others. How
much is there and what wood are the clapboards?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 3:20:38 PM UTC-5, dadiOH wrote:
"jtpr" wrote in message

I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this
brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the
house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the
hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and
same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same
wall
coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be?
It
has no odor.

Wood will impart a brown color to water, some woods more than others. How
much is there and what wood are the clapboards?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

This is a wall in the West side with a screen porch around it and a deck above it (second floor). The siding is Hardie Plank. I'm not really sure about the weather the first time, but now it's ~25-35 degrees (S Nh).

-Jim

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 3:20:38 PM UTC-5, dadiOH wrote:
"jtpr" wrote in message

I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this
brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the
house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the
hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and
same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same
wall
coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be?
It
has no odor.

Wood will impart a brown color to water, some woods more than others. How
much is there and what wood are the clapboards?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net



On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 3:20:38 PM UTC-5, dadiOH wrote:
"jtpr" wrote in message

I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this
brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the
house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the
hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and
same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same
wall
coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be?
It
has no odor.

Wood will impart a brown color to water, some woods more than others. How
much is there and what wood are the clapboards?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Sun, 11 Jan 2015 13:29:58 -0800 (PST), jtpr
wrote:

This is a wall in the West side with a screen porch around it and a deck above it (second floor). The siding is Hardie Plank. I'm not really sure about the weather the first time, but now it's ~25-35 degrees (S Nh).

Inspect the ledger board and caulk if you need to. Water may getting
behind....attached to the house.

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 12:09:00 PM UTC-6, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.

I stayed in a rental house for 8 months. Every time I took a shower, brown liquid would seep out of the wall paint. They had painted over a heavy nicotine coated wall and moisture would cause it to flow thru the paint. Some previous dude was a heavy smoker when sitting on the commode!!

On Sun, 11 Jan 2015 13:29:58 -0800 (PST), jtpr
wrote:

This is a wall in the West side with a screen porch around it and a deck
above it (second floor). The siding is Hardie Plank. I'm not really
sure about the weather the first time, but now it's ~25-35 degrees (S
Nh).

----

There might be a leak where that deck is attached to the roof line.
Even splashback from the deck can get under shingles along the edge.
Or maybe you have some flashing along there... It's hard to say without
seeing it, but it does sound like a leak, and it will do structural
damage if not repaired.

The other possibility is the room where this is attached to, is a
kitchen or bathrm, and you are creating a lot of humidity, which is
condensing in that wall. (Which mans your vapor barrier is bad).

What is the room that the light switch leaked into? If there is plumbing in that wall, it might possibly be from the plumbing. But, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that you have a leak into the wall from someplace higher up on the wall, as a few previous posters have suggested.

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 1:09:00 PM UTC-5, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.

Here is a link to some pics:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By...Q0U&authuser=0

On 01/12/2015 10:11 AM, jtpr wrote:
On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 1:09:00 PM UTC-5, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.

Here is a link to some pics:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By...Q0U&authuser=0

You've got a serious problem of either an internal/external leak or
condensation or all of the above...

As another said, you need to open that wall up and discover what's going on.

--

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 08:11:27 -0800 (PST), jtpr
wrote:

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 1:09:00 PM UTC-5, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.

Here is a link to some pics:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By...Q0U&authuser=0

Thanks for the photos. Speaking for myself I'd go on the roof and
inspect any metal flashing along the wall, look for any cracked
sealant, etc. Before I'd tear into a wall.

Looking all the photos indicates something from above and not in the
wall proper. IMO Though not fixing or at least inspecting along the
roof could lead to more damage to the home.

Look closely at the stains. They sure do look like things are
draining / streaming downward.

On 01/12/2015 2:10 PM, Oren wrote:
....

Looking all the photos indicates something from above and not in the
wall proper. IMO Though not fixing or at least inspecting along the
roof could lead to more damage to the home.

Look at the two of the wall itself very closely, Oren. At the bottom of
top clapboard to the left of the first or second vertical stain you can
see various other places where it has pooled at the joint but hasn't yet
been enough to actually flow.

I think it's certainly possible as I noted that it's from a roof leak
somewhere, but it looks to me very much like the actual stains are
coming from under the sheathing out, not dripped onto it (other than
perhaps that around the window but it still looks to me like the source
is from inside the frame at the top).

I see no indication (altho the pictures don't show an overview) that
there's any staining on the soffet which I'd expect if it were external.

Look closely at the stains. They sure do look like things are
draining / streaming downward.

Gravity tends to do that...

Since it's now cold it's unlikely he's got a massive bee hive and it's
honey or the like, but something like that is another possibility, perhaps.

If OP can't discern where it's coming from, this looks like time for a
contractor to come take a look if doesn't want to dig in himself but I
think this _could_ be very serious hidden damage already altho I really
don't have a good guess as to the precise problem.

--

On 1/11/2015 12:08 PM, jtpr wrote:
I have had this happen twice now months apart. All of a sudden
this brown liquid starts seeping from under my clapboards on one
wall of the house. It is water soluble and washed right off with a
spray from the hose and does not come back for months. Then it
might happen again and same thing. Once I found it on the in side
of the house on the same wall coming from under a light switch
cover. Any clue what this could be? It has no odor.


Q&A – Siding Stains: Why Do Houses Cry?
By Reuben Saltzman

I recently had a reader email this question, and thought it would make
for a good blog post:

We get brown water stains on our siding over the winter, but they
mostly go away over the summer. Will you perform an inspection for
those stains only (not a whole-house inspection)?

While we’re happy to conduct single-item inspections to troubleshoot
problems exactly like this, this particular situation is so common
that it probably doesn’t need an inspection. The stains on the siding
are the result of moisture; that much is for certain. When water runs
through the wood and wall sheathing, it picks up tannins in the wood
and leaves dark stains on the siding. If the home experiences ice
dams and the stains start at the soffits and run down the siding,
they’re probably the result of water leaking through the roof as a
result of the ice dams. The illustration below from The Ice Dam
Company shows the path of the water... (rest of article and photos at
link below)

http://www.structuretech1.com/2014/1...do-houses-cry/

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 14:45:20 -0600, dpb wrote:

On 01/12/2015 2:10 PM, Oren wrote:
...

Looking all the photos indicates something from above and not in the
wall proper. IMO Though not fixing or at least inspecting along the
roof could lead to more damage to the home.

Look at the two of the wall itself very closely, Oren. At the bottom of
top clapboard to the left of the first or second vertical stain you can
see various other places where it has pooled at the joint but hasn't yet
been enough to actually flow.

I think it's certainly possible as I noted that it's from a roof leak
somewhere, but it looks to me very much like the actual stains are
coming from under the sheathing out, not dripped onto it (other than
perhaps that around the window but it still looks to me like the source
is from inside the frame at the top).

I see no indication (altho the pictures don't show an overview) that
there's any staining on the soffet which I'd expect if it were external.

Look closely at the stains. They sure do look like things are
draining / streaming downward.

Gravity tends to do that...

Since it's now cold it's unlikely he's got a massive bee hive and it's
honey or the like, but something like that is another possibility, perhaps.

If OP can't discern where it's coming from, this looks like time for a
contractor to come take a look if doesn't want to dig in himself but I
think this _could_ be very serious hidden damage already altho I really
don't have a good guess as to the precise problem.

Hope it's not a carpenter ant infestation. Years ago, a friend of mine
had an almost flat roof over his kitchen, which was added on to the
original house. He had a serious water leak in that roof. I went to
help him, and when he got on the roof, his foot went thru the roof, and
knocked down a chunk of sheetrock inside. The fallen sheetrock and
insulation was swarming with carpenter ants. We went inside and ripped
down more sheetrock, and I have to admit I almost vomited. There were
swarms of them everywhere. After calling an extrminator nad telling him
to come immediately, we moved all his furnishings out of that kitchen.

The next several days were spent ripping off that entire roof. The
decking, rafters adn all were all chewed up and/or rotted. But I
remember seeing brown stuff oozing out under some of the aluminum siding
on the rear wall, and we soon found that wall was also infested and
rotted. At that point, we decided to remove all the rear siding and
label each piece. Intending to save the window, but that too was on
poor shape. Above the entrance door is was also bad, so we ripped that
wall apart too, and by the time we were done removing bad wood, there
was little left to that kitchen. A few section of wall could be saved,
but we pretty much just salvaged the floor, and rebuilt all new walls,
installed a new door w/frame, and in order to salvage the siding (which
could not be matched with new), he got a custom window made to fit the
old one.

After rebuilding the walls, and replacing the siding, we decided to
build a gable roof, over it. Built that, and then had to completely
replace all the interior stuff, including wiring, plumbing, cabinets,
etc.

He did end up with a really nice kitchen, but what began as a simple
roof repair turned into 2 months of work, thousands of dollars spent,
and lots of sweat. It was pretty much a completely new room, minus the
floor, which we ended up covering with underlayment and new linoleum
anyhow.

But this problem did not stop here.....
About a year later he called me and asked me if I know how to repair
ceramic tile on the bathroom walls. I went there and found the tiles
just falling off the wall. I told him we'd need to rip all the plaster
off and get new tiles. Guess what, that room was also infested with
carpenter ants. After removing one interior wall (by the shower),
rebuilding half the exterior wall from the inside to avoid removing the
siding, (calling the exterminator again), we were able to build a whole
new bathroom on the inside, which prtty much meant re-doing wiring,
plumbing, cabinets, etc.

The exterminator had to come regularly after that. And it was soon
discovered that several neighbor's homes also were infested with the
ants.

He had a nice house, but it smelled like insecticide all the time, his
pets were getting sick and a few died, and his family were having health
issues too. Thats when he sold that house at a big loss, and moved.

Carpenter ants infest wet and rotting wood, and they were literally
eating that house. It probably started from that bad roof over the
kitchen, which was severely rotten and actually had sags in the rubber
roof that held puddles, then spread to the bathroom because of moisture
and maybe leaking thru the tiles by the shower. It appears the rest of
the house was not infested, and was dry, but who knows.... I know he
said the exterminators told him that the whole neighborhood was
infested, and he said he just wanted to move out of there, not to
mention living around all those chemicals....