My house is elevated on a pile foundation and has a deck attached to one side. As shown in the drawing, pressure-treated doubled floor joists extend beyond the exterior wall to carry the deck. Whenever it rained, water would collect between the doubled joists. Drawn by capillary action, the water would flow under the house, where it would puddle atop the plywood nailed to the bottoms of the floor joists.
To redirect the leaks, (you can’t really stop them without ripping up the deck and flashing the tops of the joists) I used a long 5/16-in. bit to drill holes in the seams between the doubled joists. I then used a caulking gun to pump the holes full of roofing cement. The result is a dam that keeps the water from getting to the plywood. Instead, it drips beneath the deck itself.
Will Rainey, Calveston, TX
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The entire setup looks gaffed to me.