We have a problem with our siding on front and back of our 2 story home. It is occuring on first floor only, same area in front as in back; i.e., not entire house. It is dark brown in color and feels sticky. I can remove it with bleach, however it returns after a short time. Our home was once stained dark brown and the problem was noticed after restaining a much lighter color so it may have been occuring for awhile. The house is 15 years old. I have had 2 roofers and plumbers out to see, and everyone is stumped. The siding looks like it is bleeding. Anyone encounter such a thing before I start tearing off siding and/or interior ceilings? Thanks for your input.

JFalbo

What type of sidding is it ?
What style of home is it ?

I,ve seen a few instances, from birds, bugs and bees to sweating and leaks !! Keep in mind sidding is meant to shead water and not water proof. Water developeing behind or carried behind, picks up particles, and stains will occur where it drains. Underlaymeant should be water resistant and allowed to breath.

We have cedar clapboard and our home is a 2 story colonial. We have had 2 roofers out and both agreed the roof seems intact. If the water source is from an interior pipe - water or drainage - wouldn't we also see water damage inside? How do insects/bees create water damage or bleeding?

JFalbo

OK, Colonial two story, clabboards, leaks on first floor only, good clues. step by step I`ll eliminate possibilities. Clabboards lap 1" 3/4 minus exposier. If you have additions with roof lines diagonnally down the plane, the first piece of stepflashing MUST drain on to the face of the last cut siding that starts up the run. A good way to tell is that you should be able to see the bottom of the first stepflashing. If you see the stepflashing drain behind the siding, the paint under the butts will keep it from draining out and still, if the lap is below the first stepflashing all the water will drain behind all the siding and the Tyvex paper or underlayment will keep it from showing up inside for years,but it will travel and show up on joints and weaknesses in the paint as drips that appear as bleeding. Also check the foundation to see green growth indicating draining from behind siding. If the siding is cut too close to the roofline you will get the same results as above.

If you have no lower rooflines, disreguard this reply and I`ll move on to another possibility. A photo of the entire side of the house would help alot.

I actually found this site because I was looking for some information about what I call my "Amityville Horror House" (because it's bleeding)! We also have a 2 story colonial, built in 1979. We have Hardiplank siding. I don't think it was ever stained, always painted. A year and a half ago, we had liquid siding put on the house. Now, there is a section on the second floor (we've seen it a couple of other places, but it's most concentrated in one area) that has reddish brown liquid lines running down, from under the siding. It's actually quite a lot! We suspect that freezing temperatures at night with warmer days aren't helping since we're seeing some of the siding start to bulge outward. On the interior of the home at that point is a closet, though there is a bathroom nearby. We've had some folks come look at it and they have suggested that the gutters need to be cleaned. Well, that was a simple solution, but the problem persists despite our clean gutters. We've checked the attic, but no signs of moisture leaking in there.

Sounds like a very similar problem - my husband and I have joked that we should just call a priest for an exorcism. We have cut holes in the ceiling thinking it was a plumbing problem, however, all pipes/drainage seem intact. We think it is a siding problem. Will post pic within a day or two. We have wet insulation as well as ice blocks seen from interior against exterior walls. Please keep in touch.

JFalbo

We just washed it off 2 days ago, but as soon as it returns (probably within a week), I'll post pix.

After many months we finally solved the mystery! Our laundry room is located on the 2nd floor and our dryer vent hose/pipe disinegrated inside the ceiling. Since I am constantly doing laundry, it was "spewing" moisture everyday into the walls and ceilings which in turn exited through the siding. We rerouted the venting through the attic and out and problem solved. Hope this will help someone else.

JFalbo