Any ideas on flashing a window installed in an exterior wall sided with T-111? This is a cabin I am trying to turn into a house (ours). The idea was to live with T-111 for a while, then sheath with cedar shingles. This is a common course of action in our locality (coastal Maine). In the meantime, I’ve “flashed” the windows by ramming lots of silicone caulk into the grooves of the T-111 above the top casing, running a generous bead along the casing/siding intersection, then hammering a piece of quarter-round molding into place. Depite the, um, elegance of this approach, it doesn’t work very well for long.
Any ideas for a temporary solution until I shingle and properly flash the windows?
Replies
I did a cabin like that where I used the T111 as both sheathing and siding, installing the windows by nailing the fins directly to the framing, locating and cutting the FOs out of the T111, placing and nailing off the T111 sheets, and then caulking. Works well, with no leaks, keeping in mind that eaves are 2'. Caulk in the grooves over the windows by tooling with your little finger. If I had it to do over again, I would place aluminum head flashing.
Also did an addition, though, with same framing/sheating technique, 6" eave overhang, no flashing, and careful tooling of the caulk in the grooves resulted in NO LEAKS in 8 years. Still makes more sense to flash in there, I think now, but live and learn.
I also will add on to this cabin, at which time 3 of 4 current exterior walls will become interior partitions, with the currently installed windows to be placed in the new exterior walls...which will be more conventional OSB sheathing with T111 over as siding.
Pre-finishing the T111 with a coat of pigmented sealer/stain (horizontal with a whole garage full of sheets on edge drying) saved time and looks pretty good.
I should note that the windows in my case are Anderson vinyl, with the little extrusion that extends out from the T111 enough to get a good bead of caulk on the sides and bottom.
OR...if you're good with a circular saw, set the depth just right, cut a narrow slot in the T111 right above the head jamb and extending out 3 - 4" on each side, wedge it out just enough to slip in a piece of aluminum "L" flashing. Might (probably will) run into nails...hopefully will be able to pop them out enough to pull with a flat bar.
Wear eye protection...it's close work to see the line and the T111 sawdust sticks like glue to your eye ball.
Edited 6/5/2003 2:46:42 PM ET by johnnyd
Edited 6/5/2003 2:57:15 PM ET by johnnyd
Thanks for the ideas. There is not a lot of reference to T-111 in Breaktime, probably because it would be considered an aspect of Funky Homebuilding, not Fine Homebuilding.
Yeah...did you do a search on T-111?
Just need to read the one reply in the "Fine Homebuilding" thread that talks about the difference between a "house" and a "home"...about how the house part really functions to contribute good design, and the rest is up to the owner and his/her friends and family to make it a home...that he had been in some trailer houses that were finer homes than $million dollar monstrocities. The $million houses probably did not use T-111.
Anyway, I've used both fir and cedar T-111 as sheathing/siding and have seen absolutely NO delamination, easy maintenance, economical, fast installation, etc. To each his own, I guess.
So..are you going to cut the slots and slip in flashing?
For the job I'm finishing up, I will be building a shed with "office" that I suspect will be used more as a clandestine bedroom.
It will be built with T-111 but I am laying out the wall height, soffit overhang, and windows so that the head trim is also a frieze board. I will run additional casing over the nailing fins with plenty of that flexible trim that comes in a tube, and hoping for the best..
Excellence is its own reward!
No, I think I will continue to muddle along with the "trim in a tube" that Piffin refers to, and hope to shingle soon.
Just thinking that you will need to install head flashing anyway when you shingle.