Water intrusion is water getting into the house where it should not: rain driven in around a window or a door, seepage through the foundation, water running in at a roof edge, or a pipe leaking inside a wall. The stain shows where the water ended up, not where it got in — before it shows, water runs along the framing, the pipes and the top of the foundation. We map the wet area with moisture meters and a thermal camera, follow it back toward the entry point, and give you dated written findings of where the water most likely gets in. The repair is a separate job, for the licensed trade it calls for.
💬 Your first leak consultation is free: send us a photo on WhatsApp and we'll tell you the most likely source and what to check. We reply within one business day.
Water that shows up under a window or beside a door after a storm can get in at the frame, at the sill, or higher up the wall and run down inside it. If it only happens when rain is driven against that side of the house, the path is probably on that wall. The moisture pattern below the opening — which side is wetter, how high the wet area reaches — shows which path fits, and the thermal images show how far the water has spread inside the wall.
Water seepage through a foundation usually follows a crack, a form-tie hole, a pipe passing through the wall, or the joint where the wall meets the floor. Soil that slopes toward the house and downspouts that empty next to the wall feed it. We read the foundation walls and the floor in a pattern, look at the outside above the wet area, and note when the water appears compared with the rain.
A stain where the ceiling meets an outside wall, or water at the top of a window, often starts at the roof edge: gutters that overflow, flashing where a roof meets a wall, or ice dams in winter that push water back under the shingles. From there the water runs down inside the wall, so it can show up a floor below. Readings at the ceiling and the top of the wall, read with the weather, point to the edge it comes from.
Water that appears when it has not rained is usually not rain. A supply line, a drain, a shower valve or a dishwasher connection inside a wall can leave a wet area that looks like seepage. So can condensation on cold walls and pipes in humid weather. Ruling these out is part of the diagnosis, and it goes into the written findings too.
If you do not yet know where the water is getting in, start with the diagnosis. The repair could be for a roofer, a mason, a window installer or a plumber, and each one quotes the fix they offer. We map the moisture, follow it back toward the entry point and put it in writing, so the first trade you call is the right one. Send us a photo and your town to discuss a diagnostic visit.
Wind-driven rain reaches places that ordinary rain does not: the joints around a window, a door frame, siding laps and the top of a wall. If water appears only during storms from one side, the entry is probably on that side of the house. We compare where the inside is wet with what sits on the outside wall above it, and record the pattern and what is still uncertain. Note the date and the wind direction each time it happens, and send us photos.
Often, yes. Moisture meters and a thermal camera show where materials are wet and how far the wet area reaches, without cutting into anything. Neither tool sees through a wall, so we read them in a pattern, inside and out, and compare them with the timing of the rain. If an opening is still needed to confirm the entry point, the written findings say where, so it is opened once. Send us your town and a photo to discuss water detection at your home.
What we do and do not do. We diagnose and document — we do not perform the repair. Our Rockland County home improvement license is in process; until it is issued, the repair itself is contracted directly between you and a licensed contractor. We will tell you plainly if you need a licensed mold remediation contractor, as New York State requires for that work. In Westchester and Putnam: leak detection and thermal imaging with a written report only.