Basement rim joist / sil plate water - windows? patio?

[osprey31]

Two story colonial (built 2007; patio put in around 2009); when it rains fairly hard, I see a few small trails of water running down the basement wall from under the rim joist, above the sill plate (assuming I have my terminology correct here). I can tell (from the discoloration on the wood in this section of the basement) that this has been going on for a while. This only happens in a roughly 12 foot spot in the basement directly below some first and second story windows in a section of the house that "butts out" into the backyard. An important point here is that there is a stamped concrete patio right up against the house.

Thoughts on how to correct this issue? I suspect it's either water somehow running down the wall from one of the windows OR is something about the patio wicking water into the basement in some way. Some pics of the situation inside and out attached. Will explore the area above the second story windows when I get the opportunity (unfortunately heading into winter which makes that a little more difficult right now).

(For the pics; the one with the red line shows the area where water is in the basement... however, that area is now fully caulked (as shown by another picture) and yet today I still had water dripping down the wall.)

 

[Bob Reynolds]

Did you caulk the windows on the wall above the leak as well? Water will sometimes run away from the point of entry. I would also caulk the area around the sliding door.

Does the water come in every time in rains? Or does it just come in when there is a driving rain on that rear elevation?

 

[Jeff Handy]

There are approx one million causes for that leak.

Of course I am joking, but the list is loooong.

Without being on site, any suggestions will be guesswork.

The patio might not have enough pitch.

The gutters are overflowing.

Water is getting into a window frame above the area, and running down inside the wall.

A downspout is sending water that way.

That small roof to the right has no gutter.
It needs a gutter and downspout to carry water away.

There might be a roof valley that dumps excessive water on this spot.

The soil in the nearby garden bed needs building up, to create more pitch away.

The anchor bolts from those pillars were not caulked, surface water is running through into the gravel below, and getting into the sill.

Go outside during a big rain and observe the situation in real time.

 

[osprey31]

Did you caulk the windows on the wall above the leak as well? Water will sometimes run away from the point of entry. I would also caulk the area around the sliding door.

Does the water come in every time in rains? Or does it just come in when there is a driving rain on that rear elevation?

It seems to be just when it rains a certain direction; maybe when rain is coming from the east and actually raining on that wall. I'll have to perform some experiments by dumping my own water on the wall and see if I can determine if it's just water on the brick causing the issue, or if it's water up on (or above) the windows. Thank you for the reply!

 

[osprey31]

There are approx one million causes for that leak.

Of course I am joking, but the list is loooong.

Without being on site, any suggestions will be guesswork.

The patio might not have enough pitch.

The gutters are overflowing.

Water is getting into a window frame above the area, and running down inside the wall.

A downspout is sending water that way.

That small roof to the right has no gutter.
It needs a gutter and downspout to carry water away.

There might be a roof valley that dumps excessive water on this spot.

The soil in the nearby garden bed needs building up, to create more pitch away.

The anchor bolts from those pillars were not caulked, surface water is running through into the gravel below, and getting into the sill.

Go outside during a big rain and observe the situation in real time.

Thank you for taking the time to comment; there are some good suggestions here to look at it. This does seem to be more of a problem when a hard rain blows at that wall from the (which isn't as frequent as a "normal rain"). I was outside yesterday while raining and didn't see any real pooling of water or water splashing down from above... but I do believe I'll need to do some experimenting with putting a hose on the wall and seeing if I can determine what's triggering the issue

 

[Cody C]

I have a small set of concrete steps on my back door, I just had replaced rotting sill plate, I needed a solution to the water like yours almost the same. I'm literally considering a small add on roof similar to a awning...whoever built my house had lots of unusal issues. Like building steps against the house & removing bricks between wood from inside & concrete. Basically concrete began to lean back running water into the house sill plate/joists. They literally left it open between the steps and the basement wall like they'd planned to put a window in but left nothing but the wood. This is literally floating concrete step against the wood of my house. The water leaked under this back door. Haven't got to it, but a small covered porch for that section will be my fix.