Who knows about installing windows?

[ToolUsingAnimal]

This is kind of garage related, because I was going to have this guy do my garage too. Now I'm not so sure .

We hired a contractor to remove the cedar shakes and ancient windows from our house and replace them with cedar-looking vinyl siding and vinyl new construction windows. He's done a great job so far with the siding, but the windows, not so sure. Not knowing anything about windows, I didn't look too much into it until the first time it rained with the new ones. There was no siding on the back of the house, and there's one window back there with no eaves covering it that water was coming into. The problem was that there was a patch above the window with no housewrap covering it, and water was getting under it.

He has the housewrap coming in every side of the window, with all four sides taped outside. All the windows are like this:

but none of them had any leaks, thanks to my houses' huge eaves. Even during the hurricane, all the other windows were fine. I eventually found this EPA article:

http://www.epa.gov/indoorairplus/technical/moisture/1_6.html

That way makes more sense to me. The instructions from the window manufacturer, the housewrap manufacturer, and the tape manufacturer all match it. Hell, there are instructions on the sticker on every window that show this method. Is this a big enough deal to talk with the contractor about?

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Is this a big enough deal to talk with the contractor about?

Without a doubt.
The last thing you need is a leaking window AFTER everything is done.
If you're going to do it, do it right!
I'm sure you'll get the typical response- I've done it this way for years with no problems. Yeah, because the problem is inside the wall and probably won't show it's face for 7-10yrs. Then you can point directly to the install directions.
Just hold the money until it's right.

 

[c_mccann]

Bring it up now before the siding goes up. Was there any sealant bedding the windows on the wrap? It looks like maybe the mating surface has a slight warp to it causing the window to not bed tightly on the outside, common enough and easy to fix. But, as a homeowner, it is your responsibility to tell the contractor at the earliest onset of any problem so he can fix it. The best thing you could have happen is for it to rain now, a good test.

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

as a homeowner, it is your responsibility to tell the contractor at the earliest onset of any problem so he can fix it.

I let him know about the leak when it happened, and was dumb enough to take the "well, it's not sided yet" explanation at the time. I figured if you hire a licensed contractor who buys products from a reputable distributor, he'd know how to install it. Guess I learned something . Now he's sided about half the house since then, but if he's got to peel some off for him to do it right, oh well.

 

[csp]

Which picture shows where the patch is?

Is the window installation the problem or the patch above the window?

Housewrap isn't there to stop water from coming in. The siding and flashing around windows/doors/openings is what stops water.

It's really hard to tell what the real problem is from the description and pictures. If water is getting behind the housewrap where the patch is, it could show up anywhere. It doesn't necessarily mean the windows weren't installed correctly.

 

[darkk]

First thing I would do is contact the installer and voice your concerns. I'm sure if he is a legit good contractor he will fix the problem asap. An unfinished window installation is likely to have problems in inclement weather. Besides, you haven't paid him all the money yet right?

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

Which picture shows where the patch is?

Is the window installation the problem or the patch above the window?

Housewrap isn't there to stop water from coming in. The siding and flashing around windows/doors/openings is what stops water.

It's really hard to tell what the real problem is from the description and pictures. If water is getting behind the housewrap where the patch is, it could show up anywhere. It doesn't necessarily mean the windows weren't installed correctly.

Sorry, I was awfully tired last night, and I guess I wasn't very clear about the leak. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the uncovered patch handy, so you're going to have to use your imagination. Here's the leaky window, from the inside:

Look through it and you can see the roof of the garage. Above that and to the left, on the outside, there was a conduit that ran from the attic into the garage, supplying power. I hadn't removed it before the hurricane, and my contractor is so afraid of electricity that he left a patch of bare wall about 2x3 feet around it - the rest of the house was wrapped, but not sided. In comes the hurricane, light rain but lots of wind, and I notice the window is leaking and see that it's coming from underneath the wrap. I go outside and flashing tape around the edge of the uncovered spot. No luck, the wind is so strong it's just blowing the rain through the wrap. The day after the storm the conduit gets removed and the back and side of the house get sided. Like I said, he's good with siding.

It bothered me that it leaked at all. I finally had time to research it and realized that the installation isn't even to the standards of the most hacked DIY instructions I can find (even they use RTV - lots of it!) and here we are.

darkk: Not all the money, but enough where if he walks, he'll still come out ahead.

 

[K13]

You should express your concerns if for nothing else but piece of mind but given that you had a hole in the side of your house with a easy pathway for water to follow (the conduit) nothing but the sheathing to keep the elements out and unfinished wrap that was exposed to the elements and wind which it is not designed for I think it is a bit of a leap to think it is problem with the installation of the window.

 

[csp]

So really the leak has nothing to do with the window installation. Water came in at a different location and exposed itself on the inside at the window opening.

The only thing I can see wrong about the installation is he doesn't appear to have any kind of pan flashing at the bottom and he taped the bottom nailing flange, which is a no-no. Water will find its way in eventually and needs a way out.

Regardless, even if the installation was perfect, your leak isn't related to the window. Water just showed itself there after coming in elsewhere.

 

[ToolUsingAnimal]

So really the leak has nothing to do with the window installation. Water came in at a different location and exposed itself on the inside at the window opening.

The only thing I can see wrong about the installation is he doesn't appear to have any kind of pan flashing at the bottom and he taped the bottom nailing flange, which is a no-no. Water will find its way in eventually and needs a way out.

Regardless, even if the installation was perfect, your leak isn't related to the window. Water just showed itself there after coming in elsewhere.

I'm also worried about the pan flashing and bottom tape. I also should have made it clearer that there was no water in the walls of the house - just water in a thin layer between the wrap and the side of the house. The wrap coming in the top of the window gave that water a perfect path into the house, and the lack of pan flashing gave it no good way out. If the window was finished on top like in the diagram, the water under the sheathing would have been able to flow out into the top channel of the window and around rather than into the house.

 

[csp]

Personally I'd be more concerned about why the conduit opening wasn't flashed properly, but yes, the window install does need improvement.

 

[KELLHAMMER]

Heres how I recommend it be done

 

[5lima30]

This is kind of garage related, because I was going to have this guy do my garage too. Now I'm not so sure .

We hired a contractor to remove the cedar shakes and ancient windows from our house and replace them with cedar-looking vinyl siding and vinyl new construction windows. He's done a great job so far with the siding, but the windows, not so sure. Not knowing anything about windows, I didn't look too much into it until the first time it rained with the new ones. There was no siding on the back of the house, and there's one window back there with no eaves covering it that water was coming into. The problem was that there was a patch above the window with no housewrap covering it, and water was getting under it.

He has the housewrap coming in every side of the window, with all four sides taped outside. All the windows are like this:

but none of them had any leaks, thanks to my houses' huge eaves. Even during the hurricane, all the other windows were fine. I eventually found this EPA article:

http://www.epa.gov/indoorairplus/technical/moisture/1_6.html

That way makes more sense to me. The instructions from the window manufacturer, the housewrap manufacturer, and the tape manufacturer all match it. Hell, there are instructions on the sticker on every window that show this method. Is this a big enough deal to talk with the contractor about?

YES! Do not finish paying until it is completed properly!