ᐅ Driving rain resistance for floor-to-ceiling windows

The roofer should really stick to roofing. Saying that a floor-to-ceiling window is being pushed in by the water flowing past it—that was a good one!

Where is that water supposed to come from? Or did you build in a depression where the lowest point is right in front of the terrace?

Now another question: who actually did the landscaping shown in the terrace photo? It looks to me, but I could be wrong, like there is a slope toward the terrace. Wouldn’t it be possible to create a raised slope away from the terrace? That way the water would drain properly. As it is built now, there will sooner or later be problems. It also seems to be on the weather-exposed side. One positive is the wide roof overhang.

Peter Pohlmann schrieb:

The roofer should really stick to roofing. Claiming that a floor-to-ceiling window is buckling due to the passing water flow—now that was something!

Where is the water supposed to come from? Or did you build in a depression where the lowest point is in front of the terrace?

One more question: who did the landscaping shown in the terrace photo? It looks to me, though it could be misleading, that there is a slope towards the terrace. Couldn’t the slope be increased to direct water away from the terrace? That way, the water would also drain properly. As it is built now, there will sooner or later be problems. It also seems to be the windward side. On the positive side, the wide roof overhang is good.

Actually, some useful advice does come from Peter P.. However, doubting the roofer’s expertise shows a lot of confidence combined with deep lack of knowledge. A poor combination—and a forum member should truly consider your advice. Have you ever heard of “heavy rainfall events”? I was personally in Münster a few years ago when there was prolonged rain causing hundreds of millions in damages. Water flowed through houses that were built far away from water and sometimes even on low hills. I stood in a server room where about 30cm (12 inches) of water had accumulated (5cm (2 inches) below the IT equipment in the rack). People paddled through Münster’s city center on air mattresses. Okay, it’s rare. But if water flows through a modern wood frame or timber stud house like that, you will have to completely renovate the ground floor (and the basement if there is one).

i_b_n_a_n schrieb:

There are indeed a few good points from dear Peter P.. However, doubting the expertise of the roofer shows a lot of confidence combined with a deep lack of knowledge. This is an unfortunate combination that a forum member should really avoid following based on your advice. Have you ever heard the term “heavy rainfall events”? I was personally in Münster when a prolonged rainstorm caused hundreds of millions in damages some years ago. Water flowed through houses that were built far from any body of water and in some cases even on slight elevations. I was standing in a server room where about 30cm (12 inches) of water had accumulated—just 5cm (2 inches) below the IT equipment in the racks. People paddled through Münster’s city center on air mattresses. Okay, it’s rare. But when water flows through a modern timber frame house like that, you may need to completely renovate the ground floor (and basement if present).

In that case, even having a gutter in front of a floor-to-ceiling window or a terrace sloping away from the window won’t help. Water will be forced through every window that reaches close to the floor.

I also remember an incident about 14 years ago when a thunderstorm was so intense that water was pushed inside through the balcony doors one after another.

Peter Pohlmann schrieb:

The roofer really should stick to roofing. Saying that a floor-to-ceiling window gets pushed in by the running water—that was a good one!

Where is all that supposed to come from? Or did you build in a low spot where the lowest point is just in front of the terrace?

Now the question is, who actually did the landscaping shown in the terrace picture? It looks to me—though I could be mistaken—that there is a slope toward the terrace. Isn’t it possible to create a raised slope away from the terrace? Then the water would drain off. The way it’s built now, there will sooner or later be problems. It also seems to be on the weather-exposed side. On the plus side, there is a wide roof overhang.

Actually, no—I was glad that the roofer confirmed it for me!!!!

This roofer doesn’t just work on roofs but also carries out waterproofing around the house :-).

And basically, many roofers also occasionally work on roof terraces — where, among other things, sealing around floor-to-ceiling windows is even more challenging.