Posted by Dave in There are a lot of things that should be done on a house as it is being built that when brought to your attention you wonder why it was never done in the first place. Make sense? I mean the things that you say, “Why did they not just do that in the first place”?
Two reasons. First, “They” don’t have to, and second, cost. Some things even though they make perfect sense to you the owner, and me the fix it guy, are not or were not required by the building codes so therefore if a home can get by inspections without it, it saves cost. You could add all the “Should haves” when you house is being built, if you know what to ask for, and all those little things will add up to big numbers at the end. The house will still look the same from the street, it will just cost more.
Builders try to provide the most house at the best price and still come out with a profit. Recently, with all the rain, I was faced with two similar situations that fell into the above prelude. These are a bit older homes, and today, with the codes the way they are, this probably won’t happen, but it is worth you checking out your house for this.
Water was getting in around some windows. Not all the time when it rains, just now and then when the amount and direction is just right. I looked at the windows from the outside and could see the problem. There was no flashing (drip cap) above the windows and they were not caulked in.
Here is how it should be: If you were starting over with a hole in the wall ready for a window, there would be a layer of house wrap, that white tear resistant moisture barrier stuff, over the sheathing that is “X” cut and pulled in and fastened to the wall framing inside the window opening. To this a properly placed, overlapping adhesive rubber water shield membrane is installed to the sill, sides, and top of the opening. Caulking is applied to the perimeter and the window installed into the caulking. The caulking is smeared to cover all holes and fasteners. Now more water shield is installed over the window flange.
The drip cap flashing is next at the top. Siding then goes on and I caulk the siding to the window frame. Then trim is installed top piece first full width overlapping the vertical drops and long enough to come out even with the bottom of the bottom piece. All of this is then caulked to the siding and to the window frame.
It seems like a lot of steps, but done this way, the window will not leak around the frame. Most window manufacturers require something like this for their warranty.
If you see that you do not have caulked in trim or flashing above your windows, you can pull the trim, possibly cut back the siding a bit at the top and slip in the flashing. Caulk like crazy and then do the trim like I outlined above.
This can save you a lot of water damage to insulation, sheathing, drywall, floors, carpet and pads. If you are replacing your windows, make sure the installer does everything possible to eliminate water intrusion from the outside in.
