ᐅ Improper installation of windows and doors not meeting standards
Created on: 15 Oct 2020 18:06
H
Hausbau-Sanny
Hello dear fellow home builders!
Since June of this year, we have been building our house using timber frame construction. Due to COVID, we really had a lot of time and were present during every step of the work.
I have two concerns:
1.) Our windows were installed without flashing tape, only foamed in place. I know this is not up to code, and we were absolutely misadvised here; we have no warranty – please don’t lecture me about how we could have done it better. I would simply appreciate if you could suggest solutions for what we can do now without having to remove all the windows again. The interior walls are already plastered and painted, and the connections to the windows are done. On the outside, the primer coat is already applied.
Our wall assembly is as follows:
From outside to inside
60 mm (2.4 inches) Steico wood fiberboards
20 mm (0.8 inches) Steico wood insulation
15 mm (0.6 inches) OSB board (all joints glued with tape)
40 mm (1.6 inches) battens (for the installation level)
15 mm (0.6 inches) OSB board
12 mm (0.5 inches) drywall
Why were we advised so incorrectly? My father-in-law’s former colleague, who is now self-employed selling and installing windows, is convinced – as part of the old school – that the house would become too airtight if the windows are installed with flashing tape. A friend of my father, who installed windows for many years at a well-known window company, shares the same opinion. Every company that visited our construction site was shocked about the windows only being foamed in place. Everyone says the same thing: buildings used to be less airtight, everything was different before. Today, buildings are constructed much tighter. I am really at my wit’s end. My father-in-law is helping us a lot with the build, but it feels like talking to a wall. I begged to have the windows installed with flashing tape – okay, that’s another story…
2.) Next week, our front door will be installed. Currently, we do not have a Purenit base (insulating sub-sill) but a larch wood base that prevented the screed from leaking out. (Our foundation slab has concrete base blocks that are flame-treated, on which the timber frame house stands.) My plan was to remove the larch wood base and have a code-compliant Purenit base installed. I had also ordered this from the mentioned window installer. Today, I get a call from my father-in-law saying he has sorted everything out and that we don’t need a Purenit base – the larch wood base is sufficient. Two hours earlier, the window installer stressed how important the Purenit base is since it has zero give, while with the larch base it can happen that it sags and the door won’t open anymore. I am just completely exhausted – it’s like talking to a wall. Yes, I know we are the homeowners, but when my husband called the window installer again, he said after talking to my father-in-law, no, no, the larch base is fine. Our front door costs $7,000, and “no, no, that’s fine” is not enough for me – a 180-degree change of opinion. I kindly ask, can anyone help me? How important is a Purenit base really? Do you have experience?
Thank you, I am grateful for any advice – this is our first house, and I have tried to inform myself as well as I could.
Best regards
Since June of this year, we have been building our house using timber frame construction. Due to COVID, we really had a lot of time and were present during every step of the work.
I have two concerns:
1.) Our windows were installed without flashing tape, only foamed in place. I know this is not up to code, and we were absolutely misadvised here; we have no warranty – please don’t lecture me about how we could have done it better. I would simply appreciate if you could suggest solutions for what we can do now without having to remove all the windows again. The interior walls are already plastered and painted, and the connections to the windows are done. On the outside, the primer coat is already applied.
Our wall assembly is as follows:
From outside to inside
60 mm (2.4 inches) Steico wood fiberboards
20 mm (0.8 inches) Steico wood insulation
15 mm (0.6 inches) OSB board (all joints glued with tape)
40 mm (1.6 inches) battens (for the installation level)
15 mm (0.6 inches) OSB board
12 mm (0.5 inches) drywall
Why were we advised so incorrectly? My father-in-law’s former colleague, who is now self-employed selling and installing windows, is convinced – as part of the old school – that the house would become too airtight if the windows are installed with flashing tape. A friend of my father, who installed windows for many years at a well-known window company, shares the same opinion. Every company that visited our construction site was shocked about the windows only being foamed in place. Everyone says the same thing: buildings used to be less airtight, everything was different before. Today, buildings are constructed much tighter. I am really at my wit’s end. My father-in-law is helping us a lot with the build, but it feels like talking to a wall. I begged to have the windows installed with flashing tape – okay, that’s another story…
2.) Next week, our front door will be installed. Currently, we do not have a Purenit base (insulating sub-sill) but a larch wood base that prevented the screed from leaking out. (Our foundation slab has concrete base blocks that are flame-treated, on which the timber frame house stands.) My plan was to remove the larch wood base and have a code-compliant Purenit base installed. I had also ordered this from the mentioned window installer. Today, I get a call from my father-in-law saying he has sorted everything out and that we don’t need a Purenit base – the larch wood base is sufficient. Two hours earlier, the window installer stressed how important the Purenit base is since it has zero give, while with the larch base it can happen that it sags and the door won’t open anymore. I am just completely exhausted – it’s like talking to a wall. Yes, I know we are the homeowners, but when my husband called the window installer again, he said after talking to my father-in-law, no, no, the larch base is fine. Our front door costs $7,000, and “no, no, that’s fine” is not enough for me – a 180-degree change of opinion. I kindly ask, can anyone help me? How important is a Purenit base really? Do you have experience?
Thank you, I am grateful for any advice – this is our first house, and I have tried to inform myself as well as I could.
Best regards
K
knalltüte16 Oct 2020 07:59Our timber house on a concrete base was initially the option our architect tried to recommend. However, due to impracticality from the concrete contractor’s side (the base would have been so narrow that laterally attached brackets would have “burst” the base, costs were too high, and waiting time too long because of multiple formwork setups, etc.), that idea was dropped. The exterior walls will be wrapped in foil in the lower section up to a height of about 30cm (12 inches) in case moisture ever reaches the wood. By “Purenit,” they probably mean a base made of mineral insulation, which the window and door installer should offer. This is water-resistant, rot-proof, and so on. It is often not included in the standard offer so that it can be charged separately if necessary. Likely, the “larch base” refers to a board in the door area that only serves to prevent the screed from running out.
A timber base on the ground floor around the door? No-go, never ever. That would be too risky for me, unless the house is built very high with 2-3 steps up into the house (compared to the external ground level).
If water damage occurs there, it can only be fixed with extreme effort (and cost). Don’t make compromises here. Get advice from a professional (aren’t they liable for correct installation?). Surely you don’t seriously want to install a $7,000 door yourself?
As a homeowner, you should at least be familiar with the term KfW, since it can involve significant funding options. So always consider it as a possibility… Also BAFA and ProgressNRW (if you are in NRW), and so on.
Architect? Energy consultant? Construction manager?
Building a house is much more complex than you initially think (at least from my experience). I’m glad I don’t have to plan everything on my own. Fortunately, we have many companies, an architect, the home builder, etc., who all use their brains, and so far, I have a very good “gut feeling” about all of them.
I wish you luck and a bit more assertiveness so that your build reaches a good conclusion. A lasting conflict with your partner, father-in-law, etc., wouldn’t be nice either, so insist on involving an independent third party (an expert surveyor?).
A timber base on the ground floor around the door? No-go, never ever. That would be too risky for me, unless the house is built very high with 2-3 steps up into the house (compared to the external ground level).
If water damage occurs there, it can only be fixed with extreme effort (and cost). Don’t make compromises here. Get advice from a professional (aren’t they liable for correct installation?). Surely you don’t seriously want to install a $7,000 door yourself?
As a homeowner, you should at least be familiar with the term KfW, since it can involve significant funding options. So always consider it as a possibility… Also BAFA and ProgressNRW (if you are in NRW), and so on.
Architect? Energy consultant? Construction manager?
Building a house is much more complex than you initially think (at least from my experience). I’m glad I don’t have to plan everything on my own. Fortunately, we have many companies, an architect, the home builder, etc., who all use their brains, and so far, I have a very good “gut feeling” about all of them.
I wish you luck and a bit more assertiveness so that your build reaches a good conclusion. A lasting conflict with your partner, father-in-law, etc., wouldn’t be nice either, so insist on involving an independent third party (an expert surveyor?).
If the windows are properly installed and insulated with foam, I don’t find it catastrophic that no sealing tape was used. The older generation is somewhat right; if you make everything completely airtight, you basically have to install a ventilation system. You haven’t mentioned anything about that. If it really bothers you, of course, the windows can be removed and reinstalled with sealing tape. Scraping off the foam will take some work but is definitely doable. Naturally, the area will need to be repainted afterward. Maybe you can do that when you have a repainting round scheduled a few years after moving in.
I would definitely skip the wooden base under the 7000€ entrance door. As you and everyone else say, it’s an unnecessary risk. If even the slightest bit of moisture reaches it, it’s only a matter of time before problems arise. Installing something solid there shouldn’t be an issue—you need to insist on that now.
I would definitely skip the wooden base under the 7000€ entrance door. As you and everyone else say, it’s an unnecessary risk. If even the slightest bit of moisture reaches it, it’s only a matter of time before problems arise. Installing something solid there shouldn’t be an issue—you need to insist on that now.
superzapp schrieb:
As a future homeowner, you should really be familiar with the term KfW, as it can involve significant funding opportunities. So always consider it as an option... Also BAFA and ProgressNRW... (if you are in NRW) and so on.As @nordanney already pointed out, the original poster is from "OE," which in this forum does not mean Olpe in NRW/Germany, but Austria (which itself consists of several federal states, although that probably does not matter to the admin in Switzerland). The KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) is a German federal-state development bank established to implement the Marshall Plan; it still exists today much like the sparkling wine tax—however, Austria was already separate from the German Reich at the time of the Marshall Plan.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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