A co-worker asked me for some advice repairing the rot on this window.
I have a pretty good idea of how to replace the OSB and trim. What needs to be done to keep it from happening again?
Doesn’t look like any flashing was used on the window.
Thanks!
John
Dehumidification is listed as a selling point for HPWHs, but are they actually effective at lowering humidity?
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
That's really ugly. Water that gets in behind the trim (and it obviously does) immediately gets the OSB wet and it stays wet. I guess the builder was one of those vinyl-siding-and-no-housewrap kinda guys. If it were my house I'd pull the siding and trim off, add felt or housewrap, and reinstall the siding. with all new trim. Along the way I'd have to decide whether or not to pull the windows. Depressing...
John,
It's after midnight. I fell asleep on the couch (again). I feel like I'm not quite awake from a nightmare.
It sure looks like your friend has bigger problems than he can imagine at this point. No housewrap, no flashing, no windowsills, vinyl siding. I'm afraid that water is getting behind the siding at every window opening. Once behind the siding the water is trapped between unprotected OSB and the siding. This is potentially a very bad situation.
Readers here might want to know more about this house. Where is it, who built it, and how long your friend has owned it? Was this house built legally with permits and inspections? The rotten trim may be only the tip of the iceberg.
Good luck. Now I'm afraid to go back to sleep.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
http://moosehilljournal.blogspot.com/
This home is about 8 years old, original owner, build by Estridge Group, Indianapolis.
The neighborhood is full of homes like this.
Here is a pic of another home with same roofline(mirror image of the co-workers house).
Co-workers house is west facing so it gets pounded with wind/rain around here from October to June.
Thanks to all for your replies!
Fort Wayne is full of subdivisions with houses like that as well. I see problems on every house, corners cut and cheapest materials possible.
Not sure who the devolper is around there but whoever it is had passed on a long list of exterior projects for unsuspecting homeowners. What's wrong with me? I could ask you the exact same thing.
Man of the complaints we receive about new homes involve leaking due to improper installation of materials. Often they discover they have no window flashing, no house wrap, and other shortcuts.
Our volunteers, and homeowners, report the same scenario from all around the country. Going past new developments I can see from the road that almost none are using any flashing, and quite a few use no house wrap. This is true whether it's a low end or high end development.
Thanks for posting the pics and starting this thread. I wish all homebuyers could see it and stop buying from the builders who are doing things wrong.
Cindy Schnackel
Secretary, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings
http://www.hadd.com
I feel the same way. I am working in a sub division where houses start at $500.00.00 and they are crap. the 1 i am working on is a 10 year old cape with clear stained clapboards installed over a rosin paper look alike with occasional tarpaper splines at windows. Windows are Rivco junk wood double hung with a 14 degrees sill that didnot look half as bad as that picture yet i ended up reframing from 2nd floor to the drive under garage header, I could snap the studs with my hands, insulation soaked and blueboard all mold. It even heaved the hardwood to a 6" peak. The whole house has paint peeling at all the trim even though the roof is vented right it is basically a hack job in a cookie cutter sub division. I dont know how these guys stay in buisness but it keeps me busy. I think you should have to show a construction supervisors license to buy anything more than a hammer
In your second picture it looks like there might be an overhang above this window. The water is probably coming in where the drip edge hits the house and the J-channel goes up the roofline. Check there.
Install felt on the wall, it's going to need it. Put a drip cap on the top of the trim.
What's wrong with me? I could ask you the exact same thing.
Omigod, that's ugly!!!
I would bet good money at long odds that the problem exists at all the windows - and at the other houses in the development, too. I don't know the specific code requirements in Indiana, but window flashing is pretty much universal.
Since it's a short wall, I would pull the siding and see how much of the OSB is shot. If the damage is extensive (and I'm sure it is), I would take a boatload of pictures and contact the nearest lawyer. Get some of the neighbors interested and you may have grounds for a class action suit.
It would be easy here to rant about high volume builders but it isn't just them. Last year, I installed 12 Andersen Frenchwood patio doors on a custom semi-mansion. None of the old doors had a shred of flashing. Luckily, the doors were recessed and there wasn't any significant damage to the framing or subfloors.
Heres a few things I would do to help prevent this problem.
Remove all the siding from the bottom up until you hit solid wood, Repair everything. Resheet the wall, put felt on the wall, install the window. Don't nail the bottom of the window off yet.
Put a piece of aluminum under the flange of the window the whole width of the window. Replace trim with azek. Replace siding until you hit the piece of aluminum hanging out from the bottom of the window. Run the piece of aluminum on top of the closest courses nail flange. Then cut it off so that it still overlaps that piece but won't interfere with the next piece snapping in. Once the water gets in it will run out the weep holes.
Continue siding until you get to the top of the window. Put a drip cap under the felt on top of the trim. A drip cap looks like an "L" with a small lip that runs over the face of the Azek. Contuinue siding until you get to the roof line where the problem probably is originating from. Make sure the felt is run behind the J-channel that surrounds that transition. The roofs step flashing and J-channel is dumping all the roofs water behind the siding causing your rot problem.
What's wrong with me? I could ask you the exact same thing.
Yep, crappy installation with no way for water to be shed outwards once it gets behind the trim. Gotta love the vinyl siding guys who are clueless about shedding water.
Short of actually fixing all the problems on the house, the correct short term fix for other windows is close scrutany and repair of the finish and caulking around the windows. If it were my house I'd simply check everything each month and recaulk as needed until a proper fix was possible.