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Window Flashing
Please review all of the photos, installation
details from Andersen Windows, our construction photos as well as current photos shown below.
NOTE in the photos below WE physically chiseled brick
from our home to verifying IF flashing was installed in areas of our home.
Per the window company Andersen Windows flashing is to be installed.
We do NOT work in the construction industry or structural inspection/engineer industry.
Everything we reference are from the companies manufacturing the product (Andersen Windows) and Building codes published in 2003, the year our home was built.
Our from our professional expert witness during our trial Structural Engineer.
In the detailed photos you see below;
flashing was NOT installed in those areas where we removed our brick veneer or behind our siding.
Our building permit application and building permitare posted further down in this column. This should validate and verify when our building permit was issued, just in case anyone has any doubt.
This will also validate the construction timeframe of our home, please keep in mind we closed on our Heartland Homes home February 2004. |
2003
International Building CodeI have photos posted below as well. Some type of building code would be used to build a brand new home. I am not sure if Heartland Homes
used the International Building Code or some other type of building code? I am simply posting the 2003 International Building Code below regarding "Installation of
Wall Coverings" which include flashing and weep holes.
Flashing you can see the photos below that clearly show flashing is not installed in the areas where brick and siding were removed just a few months ago in 2009. Weep
holes, I can verify and validate we do not have weep holes installed in our home, per the 2003 Building code listed below. We are simply presenting all of the facts, details & photos
of our 5+ year Heartland Homes new home experience and what we've discovered along the way.
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Andersen Windows documentation is from 2002 (I believe) the date is stamped on the document from Andersen Windows.
Click to view Andersen Windows documentation
we received with our new home package when we closed on our brand new Heartland Homes home in 2004. This is our original documentation from Heartland Homes for our Andersen Windows we have installed in our home.
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See our construction photos below, which will also match up with the photos I took when we removed the brick and siding. Verifying in those specific areas, no flashing is installed.
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Andersen Windows specifically state in this 2002
document "heading flashing and installation flanges
DO NOT take the place of standard window and door flashing...."
Love Heartland Homes Pittsburgh custom home builder
(click on picture to enlarge photo)
We believe if the window manufacturer states that window flanges DO NOT take the place of standard window flashing, this IS potentially a HUGE reason why we have water infiltration issues for the past 5+ years, in our opinion.
We discovered in the areas where we removed bricks and we pulled back our siding, no Flashing was installed..
Our original construction photos below show gray flanges,
no flashing installed as of yet. When you view the next set of photos, photo set #2, you see bricks physically removed from the front of our Heartland Homes home.
Please note in all of the photos where brick is removed,you see NO flashing installed. Andersen Windows states that window flashing is to be installed.
I will work on posting that information as well.
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Heartland Homes building permit for construction of
our brand new home.
Application and actual building permit to allow construction for building our brand new Heartland Homes Pittsburgh house.
Date issued shows October 2 2003
Date we closed on our Heartland Homes town home was February 2004. |
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(click on photo to enlarge) |
(click on photo to enlarge) |
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Set #3
2009, we removed brick from our brick veneer to confirm whether flashing was installed around our door or not..
We can confirm 100% certainly that flashing was NOT installed in the areas where brick was removed around our front door.
Since we do not have the documentation that came with our door, there is nothing more I can post.
This is our 2nd door, our 1st door including door frame and
threshold was replaced during our Heartland Homes Pittsburgh complaint we filed with the Better Business Bureau.
Our new Heartland Homes townhouse.
Click on each photo to see the expanded view. The pictures are very large we wanted you to see the details. |
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review ourHeartland Homes home, custom home builder.
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our Pittsburgh Heartland Homes custom built home.
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Heartland Homes townhouse, custom built by Heartland Homes in Pittsburgh.
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Set #4
2009, We removed siding from the side of our home around our dining room double window, since it is an Andersen Window as well.
We can confirm 100% certainly that flashing was NOT installed in the areas where siding was pulled off or pulled back.
Again per Andersen Windows installation guidelines documentation above, standard flashing is to be installed.
Click on the pictures below to see there is NO flashing
installed in the areas you see.
Click on each photo to see the expanded view.
The pictures are very large we wanted you to see the details. |
Heartland Homes Pittsburgh
our custom built townhouse.
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Review our new home construction McKees Rocks, PA.
Pittsburgh builder Heartland Homes.
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Heartland Homes built our home in 2003, into 2004.
We closed on our custom built Heartland Homes home February 2004.
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our custom home builder Heartland Homes new home experience.
February 2004 we close on our brand new Heartland Homes home.
Welcome to our Heartland Homes home.
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Our custom built Heartland Home.
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Our custom home in Pittsburgh.
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May 2004 water starts infiltrating our basement/foundation, builder was notified immediately and throughout.
Over 50+ emails with photos, click here to see every single email we sent.
We notice no difference with our water infiltration issues during all of the times we reported our issues to Heartland Homes during our 1st year.
NOR have we ever been asked if our water issues still existed during our 1 year warranty.
We file our Heartland Homes Pittsburgh BBB complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which does engage Heartland Homes.
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Review our Heartland Homes Pittsburgh home details.
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5 years later water still infiltrates our home. Please review the KEY information below regarding FLASHING around our Andersen Windows not installed. Our Structural Engineers report we had completed with what is required to correct our issues.
Never at ANY time were we ever asked to open our home to a structural engineer or structural inspector representing Heartland Homes.
IMPORTANT:
be sure to read emails from Heartland Homes below or
read all 58 emails
(click here to READ ALL emails)
July 22 2004 - "basement remedy to being in the next few weeks..."
& Sept 21 2004 - "Castleview is still a work in progress..." & January 21 2005 (8 months after our water issues started) -
"We will continue to work towards a solution, weather is a factor now..."
Custom Home builder Pittsburgh, new home construction.
IMPORTANT: Review our photos including updated details & photos regarding our window flashing on our
MAIN PAGE.
3 months after closing on our Heartland Homes townhouse. Water infiltration that continues to this day, 5 years later.
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5 months after closing on our Heartland Homes townhouse. Water infiltration that continues to this day, 5 years later.
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Major trenching in the front and side of our home AFTER we filed a case with the Better Business Bureau.
Water infiltration issues never resolved.
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Two of the biggest details from our expert Structural Engineers report - Flashing and weepholes. We have no weepholes in our home and our bottom 5 rows of brick are now buried 10+ inches deep because of the trenching work performed that did not resolve our issues.
Flashing - check out our photos to see, in the areas where brick and siding were removed- NO flashing is installed, which would make us think we have NO flashing installed around any of our windows, in our opinion.
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Initially we didn't know how much detail was required for our Structural inspection report.
I asked John to put together a report simply outlining if we had issues or not. We had water infiltration for over 1 year at that time, so it was a safe bet we had problems with our brand new Heartland Homes home that was built.
our Heartland Homes water issues.
Water infiltration start May 2004, photo of our Heartland Homes is from July 8, 2008.
This 1st report is not very detailed, as I mentioned above. The 2nd report provides a lot of details, however we were never able to submit the 2nd more detailed report to the Judge during our
trial. We still had appeals to go through and we had already spent 5 years dealing with this with a brand new home built in 2004.
Water issues started 3 months after we closed on our home, we literally spent thousands of hours on this. Additionally from the monies stand point, legal fees depositions,
having to replace our electrical panel, etc = over $26,000, that does NOT include $23,000 - $28,000 we received in estimates to get the work completed.
IMPORTANT: Click on "Our costs with our new home" to review the cost details, not yet fully completed.
IMPORTANT: Click on the "Main Page" and review the timeline and photos,
especially the photos showing where we physically removed bricks and did verify there is NO flashing installed around the Andersen Window areas where the bricks were removed. Also removed
siding from the side of our home and verified there is NO flashing installed around our Andersen Window dining room. Also on our Main Page is Andersen Windows
guidelines we received with our windows that window flashing IS to be installed.... Please review. |
Our Structural Engineers' detailed report outlining our repairs for our Heartland Homes home. Please keep in mind, our Structural Engineer saw first hand what was behind our brick and vinyl siding in the areas
where we pulled back siding and chiseled out the brick in the front of our home.
NOTE - see photo sets in the left column showing where we
chiseled brick from our home to verify if flashing was installed.
Additionally we pulled our siding back to verify if our Andersen Windows were flashed per their recommendations.
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February 18, 2009
“To correct the water leaks, flashing and weep holes must be installed in at the bottom of the brick veneer in accordance with the Internal Residential
Building Code and the windows and doors must be properly flashed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.”
Detailed Scope of Work
1. Remove door and window trim and pediments
2. Remove brick veneer from the front of the house to install the flashing and weep holes.
3. Install tape flashing around windows and doors according to Anderson Window recommendations.
4. Install flashing and weep holes above and below windows per IRC 2003.
5. Install kick-out flashing and weep holes in brick 4” above final grade elevation.
6. Install kick-out flashing and weep holes in brick under front door sill.
7. Remove the lower section of the siding to the left side of the front door. Install a proper flashing and seal edges with silicon caulking to prevent water infiltration.
8. Replace electrical entrance conduit and fittings filled with foam with new fittings.
9. Install tape flashing around dryer vents. Replace vents if damaged.
Romesburg Repair Inspection February 18, 2009 - Page 2 of 2
10. Seal cable wire entrances through band board with silicone caulking.
11. Remove much and backfill to lower the finish grade 4” below the floor framing.
12. Install new brick veneer on front of house.
13. Flash and counter flash brick above gable eve trim.
14. Reinstall pediments over windows and door and caulk along tops.
Item #3 of the findings:
“The vinyl siding on the side of the house should be removed and installed with fewer splices and lapped front to back. When the siding is removed the flashing around can be inspected and repaired as needed.”
Detailed Scope of Work
1. Remove vinyl siding, J channels and corner trim on the side of the house.
2. Install tape flashing around dining room window according to Anderson Window recommendations.
3. Inspect the bottom of the weather barrier for areas where water can run back into the foundation. Flash any defective areas.
4. Install new J trim and siding accessories.
5. Install new corner trim and seal at the top.
6. Install new siding on the gable end of the house using long sheet to minimize splices. Lap splices front to back.
7. Cover the wood trim under the right front corner down spout with aluminum.
8. Seal exposed brick on the side of the house.
Miscellaneous Item:
The main electrical panel located on the front basement wall had indication of moisture. The
original panel was recently replaced with a new panel.
When the repairs outlined above are completed, it is my professional opinion that the house will be properly protected from moisture infiltration into the basement walls.
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voted 2009 U.S. News 10 Best Places to Live 2009 -
#10 on the list Upper St. Clair,
PA. |
