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5753
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12/7/2009
Location
Long Beach, CA
US
Something I just became aware of that I actually should have known all along is that certain types of replacement windows are going to leak under certain conditions. I installed some windows for a friend of mine about 10 years ago. About a month ago he called to tell me one of them was leaking inside. I went around the window with a new bead of caulking. Next rain it still leaked. No change. The type of window I installed is the type that has a fairly wide flange that laps over the old aluminum window frame. You can leave the old frame in or take it out. It doesn't matter. You put a bead on the flange before you set it in and then you put another bead around the edge where it meets the stucco. I use a textured caulk that has the appearance of stucco. I was baffled until I did a some research. When a fair amount of rain hits that wall, the stucco becomes saturated and water runs down the paper behind the stucco. This is normal. On the original window, the water runs out over the nail fin and back out through the stucco directly over the window. No problem until you put a replacement window in and now the water has no place to go but in. It cant get out because of the flange. For 8 years it wasn't a problem because his house had been painted. Probably several times. This kept the stucco dry. Well, a couple of years ago he had his house re stuccco'd. They sandblast down to the old brown coat removing the paint before they apply the new stucco color coat. We have been in a drought until just recently so now we have the problem. I found an article written by a home inspection outfit and it explains the problem to a tee. They only recommend this type of window be installed where there is a wide eave over the window which keeps rain off the wall above the window. He doesn't have an eave on that wall at all. The solution is to water seal the stucco which we did yesterday. Will test it today and hope it resolves the issue.
I have installed these windows on other houses without a problem. It's probably because the houses have been painted or under an eave or both. I'm doing the sealing job at no charge because I feel some culpability here. Live and learn I guess. I will be looking through the information provided by the manufacturers to see if this issue is mentioned and I just didn't see it. it seems obvious now. Duh!
I have installed these windows on other houses without a problem. It's probably because the houses have been painted or under an eave or both. I'm doing the sealing job at no charge because I feel some culpability here. Live and learn I guess. I will be looking through the information provided by the manufacturers to see if this issue is mentioned and I just didn't see it. it seems obvious now. Duh!
TM
Replacement window problems
who's to say the window is the problem before you open it up? Many times to old way to seal
vents on the roof was to cement around them and after 10-20 years the cement would crack allowing the water
to come in, dribble down the truss to the wall go further down where there may or not be a window that gets blamed for the leak.
BTW your link would not open for me,
TM
The Shop
Here's is part of the article:
The primary escape route for moisture in a normal window is the small gap between the stucco and the metal window frame, but after a retrofit window is installed this gap is covered with a trim piece that is securely caulked in place. While this piece does prevent water from getting behind the window, it is a double edged sword as it closes the normal exit for the moisture that has already permeated the wall’s painted exterior. This trapped moisture will exploit any imperfection in the flashing papering of your home and as it accumulates, gravity will push it down into a newly created channel between the retrofit window trim and the old original window nailing fin. Trapped, this water is pushed under the paper and up over the nailing fin into your house. This generally happens at the top of the window even though the moisture may not present itself on the inside of the house until it has run down to the bottom of the window. We’ve seen it happen many times and it is not pretty.
For these windows to work, placement is key. The walls surrounding the window need to be dry at all times and the primary way to ensure this is to place them only on walls with adequate roof overhang. A retrofit window should always be shielded by a roof that extends far enough out to prevent rainwater from wetting the wall above the bottom of the window. While salesmen may assure you retrofit windows are “watertight” and protected by a “sill pan, flash tape, or housing wrap”, it is all essentially useless if there isn’t adequate overhang. If the wall immediately surrounding a retrofit window gets wet, you will be doomed to suffer the wrath of water trapped behind your new retrofit windows.
If they built these pieces of shit where there are tornados, they would be about 98% biodegradable and just turn back into nothing.
Eventually the chicken wire would turn into rust and dust.
We have 2 replacement window frames that are leaking the same way because the flashing wasn't done right on them causing the water to get into the sill/frame.
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