Sorry to be bringing so many questions of late, but last week I installed about 20 windows in our house (new construction).
Yesterday there was some fairly hard wind & rain. When I went to check things out this morning, there was water on one of the window sills. It looked like it had come in under the lower sash. I opened the window & the weather stripping looked in tact, but when I closed it & turned the latch (to lock it), it moved real easy & didn’t seem like it really pushed the window shut tight. Also when it’s locked, there seems to be a little play in the sash.
I checked the diagonals again & the window is square & both sashes (upper & lower) move up & down with no problem. Does this sound like a defect or is this a symptom of some problem in the installation?
These are Andersen 200 series Tilt-wash.
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What point are you at on the exterior trim, flashing, and housewrap?
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Window flashing is not completed yet (top strip of flashing is not in place yet), however, the water infiltration in the case of this particular window was coming in between the sash & the sill as if the window had been left open a crack.
I'll have to take your wword for it. my thinking was based on two things. one is that most window leakage is from improper flashing technique. The other is that when it leaks at the head, it can weep around the top frame and drip onto the sill to look like it came in the window itself. It could be a baad window. Andersen is good but this is the cheaper series with cheaper hardware which could account for it. but i'll bet that the rep will suggest that before he makes a trip out, you shouldfirst be sure that your flashing is complete and right. Always shed water downhill with no lapps facing up.
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Thanks. I'll get everything done & then check it just to make sure.
I hope this doesnt sound like a stupid question, but Im running down the list of possible issues with the 200 series tilt-wash. Is the fin that goes into the bottom of the lower sash, intact. That is one of the primary methods that andersen uses to prevent water infiltration in double hung windows. Ive seen them get broken off when someone tries to tilt the sash out without lifting it up a few inches first. Just a thought, Ill get out the manual in a minute and look at the schematics.
ST
I don't install a lot of windows anymore but I have seen some defective windows in some places that I've worked on that looked like they were defect free.
If you cant find any cause for the leak you may ask the window rep to come out and take a look and see what he thinks.
I've seen on a couple occasions where there were problems with the window weather striping and the rep was able to find it.
Just a thought
Doug
>> I opened the window & the weather stripping looked in tact, but when I closed it & turned the latch (to lock it), it moved real easy & didn't seem like it really pushed the window shut tight. <<
First, I'm not familiar with that model of window, but have had my share of newly installed window problems. That said, maybe there is something missing from the upper sash, like the top weather strip, that is making it not force the bottom sash down tight to the sill? Or, is there a weather strip, etc that is missing at the meeting rail?
>> Also when it's locked, there seems to be a little play in the sash. << Are you sure the window in mounted correctly - in other words are the margins on either side of both sashes even? If the frame is mounted bowed out in the center the window could leak. How do the sashes feel? Do they go up and down with about the same amount of resistance as the other windows that you believe are working correctly?