22 x 28 in Western New York's Southern Tier

[SouthernTier]

Recessed windows does mean jamb extensions...

after I posted I tried to edit - what about extending the jamb out an extra .75".  You'd be glad when it is time to do siding that you don't have to do the jamb extensions.

I see what you mean.  Will have to give this some thought.

This was a pretty terrible year weather-wise. We were getting snow on April 30th.. I was hoping it would balance out with a decent fall, but as soon as Oct 1 came we went straight from the 60s to the 40s.

And it has been unbelievably wet over here too. Our fields are like a swamp, but as of today it's been so cold I think it's starting to freeze up..

Yeah, the reason that electric isn't energized is because the utility came out with the wire, transformer and everything, but the only access to their pole (which is on my property, about 20 feet in from the road) is to cut over from my driveway (distance less than 100') as there is a ditch and tress right at the road.  Normally not a problem but right now it's a swamp.  They will have to come back with a piece of equipment with a track.

[SouthernTier]

Did some more searching.  I found this detail:



from here: http://www.solaripedia.com/files/1004.pdf

That is pretty much as I have it so far, with the built-in bucks reaching as far out from the zip panels as the insulation I plan to add (3" in both cases).  This author doesn't look like he used jamb extensions (although he says that now does "innies" like you did Nathan and adds the extensions there), but on a photo on page 6 of that PDF it sure looks like he has the bucks extending one furring strip length farther out.  If I did the 3/4" extension, I am scratching my head on how I would install the furring frame around the window after the fact.  Nothing to attach it to except the OSB 3" behind the foam.  That was what my frame you can see now at my dormers was for, but I didn't think through the flashing.

[NathanS]

Oh yeah, the "REMOTE wall," those guys know their stuff. Don't think anything's wrong with it as long as the window does extend .75" past the flange.

If you did extend the jambs 3/4", you should have king studs next to the window that you can use structural screws to attach the furring strips.

[SouthernTier]

If you did extend the jambs 3/4", you should have king studs next to the window that you can use structural screws to attach the furring strips.

Well I overthought this since I had years to design it before I started building.  What I did was get a 2x10 board and then cut down its width above and below the window to 3.5"  So no king stud next to it.

Doing the math, 9.25" - (5.5" stud + 0.5" OSB) = 3.25" so I would just have to extend it by 1/2" to make it flush with 3/4" furring strips over 3" foam.  I will probably just do that and then figure out about the frame.

I suppose I could put 1x4 furring *inside* the wall next to the window framing, and then attach the outside furring frame with 4.5" structural screws.  They'd only bite 1-1/4" into solid wood (1/2" OSB + 3/4" inside furring), but that should be enough for those frames.  The vast majority of the furring strips will bite 1.75" into the studs using 6" Timberloks (neglecting the loss due to the slight upward angle).

The good news about all this, though, is I can get the windows installed now before I put the foam boards up.  That will move up the official dried in date.

[Nate R]

Just wanted to say thanks for documenting this build so well, AND your thought process as you move along. Good to see what you're thinking about and what decisions you're making along the way.

As I prepare for a planned 2020 build, with a fall 2019 foundation pour, I see a lot of similarities!   
Some time to plan yet for me, and as I think through some of the details, seeing some of what you've decided to to really helps.

Windows: As you mentioned earlier, I had similar frustrations with trying to decide on windows. My wife's request to have a dark color inside and out, and push to go with a prefinished interior window and jamb have swayed me towards Marvin's Integrity All-Ultrex (Fiberglass) line. Not cheap, but not the worst. For recreational, should be good enough, right? 

[SouthernTier]

Just wanted to say thanks for documenting this build so well, AND your thought process as you move along. Good to see what you're thinking about and what decisions you're making along the way.

Thanks.  But my build and my documentation can't hold a candle to NathanS's project and documentation.  I hope you've read through his topic.  I go back and refer to it all the time.

[SouthernTier]

Been a while since an update.  I started a new job last fall which really took up a lot of time, especially since the timing was somewhat informed by something really big they had me do all December, and after that got over I got a nasty cold.

But good progress.  Still not 100% dried in.  Just have to finish the blocking at the eaves and get the slider doors in.  And as you can see the roofing contractor only got about 95% done before the snow set in.  Pics:

From the back:



You can see I have all types of windows - casement for getting the egress size without a huge double hung, awnings for the dormers, and double hung for the rest.  So far no problems with the Andersen windows, but I would say this:  for the double hungs, we went with the 200 series, but for that small window on the back (bathroom) had to go with the 100 series because that was the size that fit (did the rough openings before deciding to upgrade to 200 series).  There was definitely a step up in quality from the 100 to 200 that wasn't noticeable in the showroom.  So I am hoping to have better luck than Nathan with these.

The front:



As you can see, I have my 3 inches of external foam board on the north side.  I need to add it to the south side still.  No foam board on the front gable as these are 2x8 framing and with rockwool insulation in there will get to R30.  No foam board on the back either because I am easily meeting code with rescheck without it (just the R-19 fibreglas inside).  I know some will say I should have put some furring strips for a rain screen on for these gables, but for the front, it would just drain onto the windows or doors except for the shear panels on the sides, and the back is pretty much out of the weather with the steep hillside and trees behind it.

Here are some shots of foam before and after the furring strips.  As you can see, I will have some limited conductive heat loss since I had the rafters still out 3" - I did that so that they wrapped over the top plates rather than just sitting on them, so I could fasten them better.  Not sure if that was an issue or not, but that's what I did.





More before and after:





So question time.

As you can see, a big part on the to-do is getting those slider doors in.  The main reason they aren't in yet is they are so heavy.  The delivery driver and myself could barely drag them into the basement, and doing that hurt my back bad.  I need to recruit a crew to help me haul them up to the deck.

I haven't finished the flashing yet for those openings, although you can see I have bottom flashing in (Zip stretch tape).  However, in doing my research, it seems like I would really do well by putting in a PVC rigid pan with positive outslope.  I was thinking something like the jamsill (http://jamsill.com/).  Has anyone used something like this?  Worth it?

Then there is the issue of size.  Here is the drawing from Andersen for the slider door:



So it looks like the door is 5-1/8" (or maybe 5-3/16" - about the same) wide, but 1-3/8" sticks out, so really the width is only 3-3/4".  Am I reading that right?  I ask because it seems like the standard pre-formed sills come in 4-9/16" and 6-9/16" widths.  That's what Lowes carries.  And those are the series that Home Depot has for the brand they carry (suresill). 

jamsill makes a 3-5/8" size, but I don't know where to find it.

Anyone have any experience with this?

[Don_P]

No experience with it but it gets good reviews. I've bent flashing and used flex tape. On moving heavy sliders I've pulled the panels I can and carefully moved the frame then reinstall the panels, but yes many hands makes light work.

[NathanS]

Your place looks great, everything is clearly well thought out. That was a great idea to use casement for the egress, I wish we had done that as our covered porch roof is going to need a pretty low slope to fit below our egress windows. I hope you have better luck with Andersen than we did, the 4th window just stress cracked a few weeks ago and they won't cover labor anymore. Not sure if I mentioned before that the one window I pulled and reflashed poured water out of the top miter joints when i leaned the window forward. Not good - you really want to flash the hell out of those rough openings.

I would flash the entire rough sill, jambs and head with tape, and then use a rigid flashing over top that. I rented a metal break and did it myself. One issue with aluminum is that it is so conductive it sweats a lot during the winter, I don't think the finger jointed jambs are thanking me for that. I think positive slope to the outside and backdams are also a great idea.

Lately I have thought in a perfect world I would flash all rough openings all the way back over top the interior surface (drywall, wood) and put trim over that so that if anything migrates inward I will see it.

[SouthernTier]

Thanks Don and Nathan.

I ordered two sets of the 3-5/8" Jamsills direct.  They were very helpful.

For the windows, and the one (conventional) door (that door is located under the porch roof, but have been building as if it weren't), I have been putting the stretch tape along the bottom edge, and then the regular Zip flashing tape along the rest of the bottom edge.  For the sides and top, I have just been flashing the edges (one layer of the Zip tape).  After I install the windows with the side/top caulking and screws, on the sides I have a single row of Zip flashing tape on the sides over the nailing fin and onto the zip panel, but on the top, I first put one row in L-shape fashion on the top of the brickmould and then over the screws in the nailing fin, and then a second (flat-wise) row over that, covering where the nailing fin is and extending to the sheeting above.

This is for flush-mounted windows.  For the ones that butted out for solid insulation, I flashed all the way back around the butt:



So I kept the WRB behind the foam.

The Andersen instructions say to install a drip cap, but I can't seem to find them.  I think they put that in their instructions so they have an excuse to void the warranty if they leak.  I figure the first row of tape along the top of brickmould serves that purpose.  No one will ever be looking down onto the brickmould.

That said, for the sliders, I am thinking of building a short overhang above them.  Not only would that keep some water off those doors, but it would put a place where I could put some lights facing down above the doors, as well as some speakers for tunes on the deck.

Any tips on size and construction techniques for a short overhang hung off the wall?

I searched for "brow roof" and this is the closest I came up with:



But I don't want to necessarily tie it into the eaves on the side because, well, I can't as it too low.

Just trying to get some ideas on aesthetic slopes and how far to stick out. 

[Nate R]

I ordered two sets of the 3-5/8" Jamsills direct.  They were very helpful.


The Andersen instructions say to install a drip cap, but I can't seem to find them.  I think they put that in their instructions so they have an excuse to void the warranty if they leak.  I figure the first row of tape along the top of brickmould serves that purpose.  No one will ever be looking down onto the brickmould.

The Jambliner looks interesting....new to me.

As I've been browsing windows, I've seen drip cap sometimes as an option from some manufacturers when you spec/build/price the window out. Glass options, grille options, etc, and it will sometimes be part of the trim options. (Like jamb extensions.)

[NathanS]

Your windows are so well protected by overhangs you could leave them open in a monsoon and not a drop will get inside.

Extruding roll flashing through scrap pieces of plywood or wood has worked well for me. You could do that to make head flashing, then cut to a couple inches longer than the window to fold over the jambs.

I am curious about what you come up with for the small roof over the french doors. I have thought about doing that over one set of ours for extra protection.