Water intrusion prevention method and apparatus
A method and device are presented that creates a channel adjacent a nailing flange of a window in between the window and the rough opening that receives the window. The channel is created by establishing a barrier that prevents foam insulation inserted into the space between the window and the rough opening from reaching the nailing flange. The channel then ensures proper drainage of water that enters the window cavity down to the window sill. A gasket is presented that can be attached to the window or the rough opening to create the barrier. Alternatively, a disintegrating object or a wicking object can be used to impede the flow of insulation foam and to create the appropriate channel. The present invention is equally applicable to doors or other framed objects received into the exterior shell of a building.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/619,343, filed on Oct. 15, 2004.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to the field of building construction. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus that prevents water intrusion into the walls of the building around a window, door, or other framed object.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A typical window 100 of the prior art is shown in
Typically, a window is installed into a rough opening 200 in a house or building, as shown in
To hold the window unit 100 in place, the unit 100 is generally constructed with a nailing or installation flange 170 near the exterior edge on each of the four faces 160 of the window frame 120.
Because the opening 200 is deliberately sized larger than the window 100, a space 310 is created between the opening 200 and the window. Modern construction techniques involve creating a vapor barrier between warm moist air inside a house and the outside, cooler air. To complete the vapor barrier, it is necessary to extend the vapor barrier from the rough opening 200 of the house framing to the window 100 itself. To accomplish this, foam 320 is inserted into space 310 around all four faces 160 of window 100. This foam 320 also serves to insulate this gap 310. Most window manufacturers carefully advise the window installers to take steps to prevent the expanding foam 320 from warping the window frame 120. In most cases, installers are instructed to use low expanding foam 320. In addition, installers are instructed to begin inserting the foam 320 at the nailing flange 170, but to avoid filling the entire space 310 all the way to the interior 240 of the rough opening 200 and window frame 120. This should allow the expansion of the foam 320 within space 310 without warping the window frame 120.
To prevent water leakage under the nailing flange 170, installers will generally place a sealant between the flange 170 and the exterior surface 250 of the rough opening 200. Sill flashing is used on the sill 230 to provide a moisture barrier to prevent water that enters the window cavity 202 after installation of the window 100 from entering the wall under the sill 230. Moisture in the window opening 202 will ideally pool on the sill flashing, where it will generally drain down the non-wood side of the exterior building paper. Any moisture that does not drain off the sill will remain on the sill flashing until it evaporates. Because of this, it is generally encouraged that sealant not be used on the bottom or sill nailing flange 170, in order to allow for drainage and evaporation from outside.
Unfortunately, this prior art technique of window construction and installation has caused various moisture and mold problems in today's buildings. What is needed is an improved construction and installation method for windows the does not cause these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention prevents moisture that enters the window opening from entering the interior of the building by creating a channel behind the nailing flange of the window. Prior art windows and techniques encouraged foam insulation to be inserted between the window and the rough opening all the way to the nailing flange that is used to secure the window. This insulation prevented moisture from reaching the sill, from which it could drain or evaporate. Instead, the foam directed the water into the interior of the building. Alternatively, water that did reach the sill could become trapped behind the insulation and be prevented from draining or evaporating. In this case, the water may cause rotting inside the framing.
The present invention creates a barrier in the space between the window and the rough opening that prevents the foam from reaching the nailing flange. On the interior side of this barrier, the foam is installed normally. On the exterior side of this barrier a channel is created. This channel preferably runs around the circumference of the window. The channel allows water that enters behind the nailing flange the ability to drain down to the window sill where it can drain or evaporate.
To form the barrier, a gasket can be constructed around the perimeter of the window. This gasket is sized to engage the rough opening, such that it forms a barrier running from the window to the rough opening. Alternatively, the gasket can be sized to extend at least half way into the space between the window and the opening.
The gasket can be attached to the window during window manufacture. Alternatively, the gasket can be sold separately and attached to the window at the installation site. The gasket may also be directly attached to the rough opening itself, where it will then engage the window frame when the window is installed. The gasket can be relatively straight, extending perpendicularly from the window or rough opening and then bending during window installation. Alternatively, the gasket can be curved. The curved gasket can be sized large enough to span a large space between the window and the rough opening, and can be compressed easily to span a much smaller space. If designed to engage the rough opening, the gasket should be flexible so as to bend during the insertion of the window. If actual engagement is not anticipated, the gasket can be rigid. Finally, the barrier can be formed with either a disintegrating object that disintegrates once the insulation has be installed, or a wicking objects that remains in the channel and aids in wicking water to the sill.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Recognition of the Problem
The inventor of the present invention has discovered a significant problem with prior art windows and installation techniques as illustrated in
Unfortunately, the construction technique described above does not allow the first requirement to be met. Moisture will often enter into the window cavity 202 at the top 120 and sides 130 of the window 100. Assuming that there is no failure in the window itself, the moisture enters at these locations under the nailing flange 170. While the sealant applied under the flange 170 should help prevent this, gaps or cracks in the sealant are inevitable. The moisture that seeps under the nailing flange 170 will enter the space 310 between the window 100 and the rough opening 200. At this point, the foam 320 that was installed all the way to the nailing flange 170 will interfere with the ability of the moisture to find its way down to the sill 230. The problem is that the foam material 320 is permitted to fill the space 310 all the way to the nailing flange 170. At some point, the foam 320 will form a blockage against the nailing flange 170, and prevent any further downward movement of the moisture toward the sill 230. In addition, since the foam insulation 320 is never perfectly formed, cracks and gaps in the foam 320 form passageways that permit the water to move toward the interior 240 of the rough opening 200. In fact, once the foam insulation 320 has formed a blockage with the nailing flange 170, the only place for the water to go is toward the interior of the building. There the water remains, leading to water damage and molding issues.
First Embodiment of the SolutionThe present invention involves a plurality of techniques to ensure that the foam material 320 that is applied from the interior 240 of a building in the space 310 between the window 100 and the rough opening 200 is not allowed to reach the nailing flange 170. By doing so, a channel or gap is created between the insulation 320 and the flange 170 that allows all moisture that enters anywhere around the edge of the window 100 to drain properly to the sill 230.
The first such technique is shown in
As shown in the cross-sectional view in
In a first embodiment 200, the gasket 400 engages and flexes against the opening 200 when the window 100 is inserted into the window. To help assist the tongue-and-groove fitting in securing the gasket 400, the gasket 400 is also formed with a base section 420 that abuts the window frame 200. This base section helps keep the gasket 400 relatively perpendicular vis a vis the exterior surface of the window frame 200. When designed to engage the opening 200, it is important to manufacture the gasket 400 out of a significantly flexible material to allow the gasket 400 to bend during insertion.
One advantage of permanently attaching the gasket 400 on the peripheral faces 160 of the window 100 is that the gasket 400 can be added during the construction of the window 100 itself. In this way, the window manufacturer can be responsible for securely attaching the gasket 400. The window 100 is then delivered to the construction site with the gasket attached, where the window installer can install the window 100 and gasket 400 combination in much the same as any ordinary window 100. Window manufacturers may use any known technique to attach the gasket 400 to the window 100, including protrusions and channels, or by nailing or stapling the gasket 400 directly to the window frame 120. Alternatively, the gasket can be formed as an integral part of the window frame 120 itself.
As shown in
The other portion of the space 310 divided by the gasket 400 is the gap or channel 500 formed adjacent the nailing flange 170. Because the gasket 400 is formed on at least the top 140 and sides 130 of the window frame 120, the formed channel 500 is ensured of existing at these locations as well. In this way, the gasket 400 will allow for any moisture that penetrates the opening around a window 100 to have the proper channel 500 to continue its movement down toward the sill 150 and ultimately out to the exterior 250 of the building. In addition, the gasket 400 itself serves as a barrier to any water or moisture that enters the channel 500, and helps to prevent that water from entering into the interior or framing of the building.
In this embodiment an entire width of the gasket structure 400 from one side 130 to the other side 130 of the window 100 is slightly larger than that of the largest recommended rough opening 200, as defined by the window manufacturer. The gasket 400 should also be large enough to account for a non-centered window 100, so that the gasket 400 will still engage the opening 200. The gasket 400 should be rigid enough to hold its position in space 310 against insulation 320, yet be flexible enough to handle a small space 310 that might be created in a non-centered window 100. The flexibility should also be great enough so as not to hinder the simple installation of a window. In the preferred embodiment, the gasket 400 can be constructed of almost any material that can meet these basic properties, including open or closed cell foam plastics, natural or synthetic rubber, or the like. If a rigid gasket 400 is to be used, the choice of materials would be even broader, including wood, metal, and hard plastics.
Alternatively, a gasket 420 can be created that is designed to be installed directly onto the rough opening 200, as shown in
Another embodiment of the present invention is to replace the disintegrating object 440 with a wicking object. The wicking object would be placed in space 310, and would impede the flow of the insulation 320, just like the disintegrating object 440 shown in
The present invention is not limited to window frames 120, but would be equally applicable to any framed item that is inserted into an opening of a building. For instance,
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the above description. Numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Since such modifications are possible, the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described. Rather, the present invention should be limited only by the following claims.
Claims
1. A building comprising:
- a) a rough opening;
- b) a framed object inserted into the rough opening, the framed object having i) at least one external face, and ii) a nailing flange substantially around the circumference of the framed object;
- c) a space between the rough opening and the external face of the framed object;
- d) a barrier that divides the space into an interior space and an exterior channel; and
- e) foam material in the interior space but not extending significantly passed the barrier into the exterior channel.
2. The building of claim 1, wherein the building has an interior and an exterior, wherein the framed object further comprises a nailing flange and the barrier is found between the nailing flange and the interior of the building.
3. The building of claim 2, wherein the barrier is a flexible gasket fixedly attached to the framed object.
4. The building of claim 1, wherein the barrier is an outer surface of a decomposing object, and further wherein the exterior channel is formed by the decomposing object after decomposing.
5. The building of claim 1, wherein the framed object is a window.
6. A building comprising:
- a) a rough opening having a header, two sides, and a sill;
- b) a framed object inserted into the rough opening, the framed object having i) an interior side, an exterior side, a top face, two side faces, and a sill face, and ii) a nailing flange running proximal to the exterior side of the framed object on at least the top face and the two side faces, the nailing flange being used to attach the framed object to the rough opening;
- c) a space between the rough opening and the framed object;
- d) a gasket extending between the rough opening and the framed object in the space along at least one face of the framed object, the flexible gasket effectively dividing the space into an exterior channel adjacent the nailing flange and an interior space; and
- e) foam material in the interior space but not extending significantly past the gasket into the exterior channel.
7. The building of claim 6, wherein the gasket is fixedly attached to one of the rough opening and the framed object, and further wherein the gasket extends across the space to contact the other of the rough opening and the framed object.
8. The building of claim 7, wherein the gasket is fixedly attached to one of the rough opening and the framed object using one of the following methods: a protrusion in a first surface fitting into a groove in a second surface, a nail, a staple, adhesive, and stretching an elastic gasket around the framed object.
9. A window unit for insertion into a rough opening of a building comprising:
- a) a window frame surrounding one or more glass elements, the window frame having an interior side, an exterior side, a top face, two side faces, and a sill face;
- b) a flange on the top face and two side faces, the flange being proximal on the exterior side; and
- c) a gasket positioned on at least the top face and the two side faces running essentially parallel to the nailing flange on the interior side of the nailing flange.
10. The window unit of claim 9, wherein the gasket is flexible.
11. The window unit of claim 10, wherein the gasket is on all four faces of the window frame.
12. The window unit of claim 10, wherein the gasket extends essentially perpendicular away from the face of the window frame on which the gasket is positioned.
13. The window unit of claim 10, wherein the gasket extends outward away from the face of the window frame on which the gasket is placed and curves around back toward the window frame.
14. The window unit of claim 13, wherein the curve of the gasket is at least two hundred seventy degrees.
15. A method of installing a framed object into a rough opening of a building comprising:
- a) inserting the framed object into the rough opening, thereby creating a space between an exterior face of the framed object and the rough opening;
- b) positioning a barrier in the space thereby dividing the space between an external channel on the external side of the barrier and an internal space on the internal side of the barrier; and
- c) inserting foam into the internal space up to the barrier, wherein the barrier prevents the foam from filling the external channel.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of positioning the barrier is accomplished by affixing the barrier to the framed object and then inserting the framed object into the rough opening.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of positioning the barrier is accomplished by affixing the barrier to the rough opening and then inserting the framed object into the rough opening.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the barrier is affixed to the rough opening by cutting a strip of gasket to an appropriate size, and then affixing the cut strip of gasket to the rough opening.
19. An window installed into a rough opening of a building having and interior and an exterior comprising:
- a) a framed window unit;
- b) a space between the framed window unit and the rough opening; and
- c) means for excluding foam inserted from the interior of the building from entering an exterior channel within the space;
- thereby allowing moisture that enters the space to drain from the space without interference from the foam.
20. An window installed into a rough opening of a building having and interior and an exterior comprising:
- a) a framed window unit;
- b) a space between the framed window unit and the rough opening; and
- c) a wicking object in the space adjacent the exterior of the building,
- d) foam inserted into the space from the interior of the building;
- whereby a surface of the wicking object prevents the foam from reaching to the exterior of the building, and further whereby moisture that enters the space will be wicked down to an outlet from the space without interference from the foam.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 14, 2005
Publication Date: Apr 20, 2006
Applicant:
Inventor: Thomas Bren (Maple Plain, MN)
Application Number: 11/251,221
International Classification: E04D 13/14 (20060101);