Home Window Leak

[cmartin]

Sometimes I wish I still rented.

During one of the typhoons today I found a leak in a window. I removed the trim and ripped out the wet drywall. Might have been a bit aggressive, but what I removed was obviously wet and I wanted to see what was going on.

Outside looks like cooper, or something similar, with caulk next to the plywood/T111 exterior siding.

What I'm trying to figure out is if I should just caulk the outside or call in some one to dig in further. I'm comfortable with most things DIY, but dont want to make this worse and dont like the idea of rot in the house.

This this is a bad setup and I should change the exterior somehow? Ideas?

Just clean, caulk and test with a hose? Or call in a 'pro' to do the same or something else?

Thank you for any advice

[BlackTalon]

Is the copper counterflashing on the face of the plywood, or does it turn up behind? If on the face, you are limited to caulking; just make sure it fills the plywood grooves. The preferred flashing configuration is to have the counterflashing turn up behind the plywood (usually 4 inches or so); if it already does so, the issue may be at the counterflashing lap over the roof panels. Call me Monday if you want to discuss.

[cmartin]

Thanks for the help as usual.

I dug into it some tonight. There is a ~1/8" channel cut into the T111 and the copper upside down L fits into that. I found some cracks in the existing caulk and some soft T111. For now I removed some of the old caulk and then put some around the entire copper surround. Hopefully it cures enough before the pending rain.

I've already replaced a few pieces of T111 but this is the first sheet on the second floor. I might call in for help on this one. If so I wonder how they can better solve this window trim issue.

[cmartin]

Love this stuff. My go to guy isnt interested and an referred guy wants to replace all the siding and a window on that side of the house. Seems like the best way but I sure wanst expecting this. Cant wait for his quote.

Any opinions on hardy siding?

[roundel]

Any opinions on hardy siding?

That is what I put on my garage. It won't rot, but is not really tough. It can be cracked fairly easily. I like that it does not look like vinyl or aluminum. It does need to be painted though.

[cmartin]

Thanks, good info. According to their website the prefinished siding has a 15yr paint and 30 yr material warranty. Not perfect but it sure seems better than nothing

When used for
its intended purpose, properly installed and maintained according to Hardie’s
published installation instructions, the Finish, for a period of 15 years from the
date of purchase: (a) will not peel (b) will not crack, and (c) will not chip. Hardie,
in its sole liability and in lieu of any direct, indirect or consequential damages will,
during the first year, reimburse the covered person for reasonable fees for paint and
labor (an amount not to exceed $1.00 per square foot) for repair of the damaged
portion of the finish. During the 2nd through 15th year, the warranty payment shall
be reduced by 6.67% such that after the 15th year no warranty shall be applicable.

I planed to reside the house at some point but this issue might be forcing my hand. Hardie or vinyl ( I like the mock cedar shake options) and to do it myself or not....

[cmartin]

Dont you love how projects snowball?

A leak has turned into new siding, sheathing and now windows. House currently has a mix of really old Anderson and somewhat recent Anderson windows. Need to see the alternatives but I'm not sure switching out makes much sense. I had no idea how much $$ windows could be.

[cmartin]

Trying to finalize the materials I've found quite a bit of issues with Hardie siding. An alternative is LP SmartSide, similar product but might not be as finicky to install. Anyone have experience with smartside?

http://lphowto.com/products/Lap_Siding.aspx

As strange as it might sound, I'm also considering cedar.

[cmartin]

Wow, it's been almost 2 yrs.

Going to put up some new siding on the other end of the house and need to decide on materials. Siding material is Hardie, now I need to decide on the trim. Any thoughts on abs/Azek vs. Hardie trim? I have the plastic stuff on the other end of the house but the new contractor likes Hardie's 1x4" version. He says the abs expands too much and the hardie stuff is more stable.

I appreciate any info

[JmuRiz]

I like PVC trim, put it on all my house trim (along with hardie for the garage and she'd siding). PVC is easy to work with and seems to take the paint/primer combo paint from HD just fine.

[BlackTalon]

Got a mix on our addition and house. Hardie for the corner trim pieces, but azek for all the rake/ eave boards, dormer and bay window faces, etc.

[cmartin]

Thanks, good info.

It seems like either works fine and is an improvement over wood, at least for stability and less maintenance. So far I cant see a compelling reason for 1 over the other.

[Vicegrip]

Not a fan of how much the plastics such as Aztec expand and contract. Like working with the stuff, like the look from 10 feet, like how it takes paint and weathers but it moves too much IMO. They need to make a low expansion version. Use oriented fiber or something to control the thermal properties.

[cmartin]

Thats basically what the contractor told me.

[BlackTalon]

You have to use more fasteners then with wood.

[cmartin]

Anyone have experience with Hardie shingle? My ideas was to use it on a section of the house to break up the Hardie plank that will be on the rest of the house. Seemed like a good solution until I saw the price. If I'm going to bite the bullet I would like to know its good stuff w/o issues. I like the way it looks, does its performance warrant the price?

This is the style I'm looking at

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/Sombreuil/work%20projects/Mark%20%20and%20Cathys/DSC01763.jpg

[BlackTalon]

No direct experience, but the people across the street used somein a similar manner whent hey redid their house 7-8 years ago. seems to be working fine.

[cmartin]

Thanks. From everything I've read it's pretty good stuff, just $$. You told me a long time ago that its just $$, I'm slowly coming around.