Designation: E2128 − 26Standard Guide forEvaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls 1This standard is issued under the f i xed designation E2128; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 This guide covers methods for determining and evalu-ating causes of water leakage of exterior walls. For thispurpose, water penetration is considered leakage, and thereforeproblematic, if it exceeds the planned resistance or temporaryretention and drainage capacity of the wall, is causing or islikely to cause premature deterioration of a building or itscontents, or is adversely affecting the performance of othercomponents. A wall is considered a system including itsexterior and interior f i nishes, fenestration, structuralcomponents, and components for maintaining the buildinginterior environment.1.2 Investigative techniques discussed may be intrusive,disruptive, or destructive. It is the responsibility of the inves-tigator to establish the limitations of use, to anticipate andadvise of the destructive nature of some procedures, and toplan for patching and selective reconstruction as necessary.1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard. The values given in parentheses after SI units areprovided for information only and are not considered standard.1.3.1 Exception—Solely inch-pound units are stated in10.3.1, 10.3.2.1, X1.5.3.7, X2.5.1.3, X3.4.3.3, X5.1.2.2,X5.5.5, X5.6.3, and X8.5.1.3.1.4 This guide does not purport to address all of the safetyconcerns, if any, associated with its use. Establish appropriatesafety, health, and environmental practices and determine theapplicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Awarenessof safety and familiarity with safe procedures are particularlyimportant for above-ground operations on the exterior of abuilding and destructive investigative procedures which typi-cally are associated with the work described in this guide.1.5 This international standard was developed in accor-dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-ization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards, Guides and Recom-mendations issued by the World Trade Organization TechnicalBarriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.2. Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards: 2C1601 Test Method for Field Determination of Water Pen-etration of Masonry Wall SurfacesC1715/C1715M Test Method for Evaluation of Water Leak-age Performance of Masonry Wall Drainage SystemsE331 Test Method for Water Penetration of ExteriorWindows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls by Uni-form Static Air Pressure DifferenceE547 Test Method for Water Penetration of ExteriorWindows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls by CyclicStatic Air Pressure DifferenceE631 Terminology of Building ConstructionsE860 Practice for Examining and Preparing Items That Areor May Become Involved in Criminal or Civil LitigationE1105 Test Method for Field Determination of Water Pen-etration of Installed Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors,and Curtain Walls, by Uniform or Cyclic Static AirPressure DifferenceE1188 Practice for Collection and Preservation of Informa-tion and Physical Items by a Technical Investigator2.2 AAMA Standards: 3AAMA 501.2 Quality Assurance and Water Field Check ofInstalled Storefronts, Curtain Walls and Sloped GlazingSystemsAAMA 511 Voluntary Guide for the Forensic Evaluation ofWater Intrusion at Fenestration Products, Article 4.2.1.3.1Optional Sill Dam Test (This test method previouslyappeared in AAMA 502.)3. Terminology3.1 Def i nitions—Refer to Terminology E631.1 This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E06 on Performanceof Buildings and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E06.55 on Perfor-mance of Building Enclosures.Current edition approved July 1, 2026. Published July 2026. Originally approvedin 2001. Last previous edition approved in 2020 as E2128 – 20. DOI: 10.1520/E2128-26.2 For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact ASTM Customer Service at www.astm.org/contact. For Annual Book ofASTM Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summarypage on the ASTM website.3 Available from American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA),1827 Walden Office Square, Suite 550, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4268, http://www.aamanet.org.Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United StatesThis international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.1
