Wednesday, July 6, 2011

There's An Inside Now

     For the fourth time since starting I needed to call in help.  Byron's been there for each of those times.  Cutting the driveway, getting the septic system in and level, concrete foundation pouring day, and now windows.
     We worked together to get the housewrap up.  This is a very critical stage, and doing it wrong is the source of leaks, woodrot, even termite issues later.  The websites I found made it clear that a cheap product applied correctly will far outperform an expensive product slapped up there.  I opted for expensive product applied correctly.
     Part of the challenge is the waterproofing is applied out of order with the order you do construction.  So you leave bottom edges unattached to properly slip flashing underneath when doing roofing and siding. 
     We used Tyvek housewrap.  We taped all seams.  We cut 45 degree angles over the window and door corners for supersticky flashing.  We caulked, caulked, caulked.
     We got a rhythm down for installing the windows and they all went well, though there are some new aches and pains after the heavy lifting and twisting.   Two funny things that happened---the housewrap comes wrapped around a 9' cardboard toilet paper tube so while Byron was way up a ladder I was able to whisper in his ear from the ground....Other funny thing was inadvertently sticking my head in freshly applied caulk.  Spent the day with silicone stuck in what's left of my hair, removed later with carb cleaner.
     I decided we'd work from the top down with the windows, and we got all of them except one 4x4 living room window and the sliding glass door in, both of which are off the porch.  Those I did by myself---not smart.  I really should have got help from a neighbor instead of relying on a series of clamps and braces.  No mishaps but took much, much longer and those things are HEAVY.

1 comment:

Tina said...

It looks beautiful!!! Yes - we have experience with the sticky flashing when we built on our room, while putting in the windows. The tar on the roof is still the winner for stickiness & ruining clothing.