An Oregon woman faced this nightmare scenario after the windows in her newly built home were improperly installed. The Wall Street Journal's Teardown Diarist uncovers several cautionary tales and discovers a few problems of her own.
By The Wall Street Journal
My house was all framed and roofed and the windows were installed - but the siding wasn't yet on - when I happened to meet two women at a cocktail party who had recently had new homes built. I casually asked them if they had learned anything.
There's no such thing as casual conversation when you're building a home. It turns out that both women had been involved in lawsuits because of leaking windows that they say were improperly installed.
Window installation has become more of a problem as houses have become more energy efficient. Windows used to be installed leaving a gap for airflow to occur. Now they are completely sealed. While fewer cold drafts occur, the reduction in air means any water that gets in can't evaporate, making leaks more of a problem.
Window makers' warranties typically don't cover installation - only the window itself is covered, and only if the window is installed using an approved and recommended method. That means if windows leak around the edges because of improper installation, the window manufacturer won't pay for repairs. And if the contractor doesn't follow the manufacturer's instructions, the window maker won't pay for any kind of damage to the window, either.
Oh, and unless you ask, it is unlikely your contractor will tell you what installation method he's using.
The women at the party shared their horror stories: Theresa Rockove, who manages her husband's medical practice, had a 5,000 square foot, $1 million two-level home built in Troutdale, Ore., finished in August 2005. The following winter, she noticed a smoke alarm was shorting out; it turned out to be wet. Soon, more windows started leaking. She hired Western Architectural, a national waterproofing consulting company that inspects the weather and structural integrity of residential and commercial buildings. Western Architectural found the flashings - the material, usually metal or plastic, installed to prevent water from penetrating - hadn't been properly installed. It took nine months, a second mortgage and living in only part of the house, but finally Rockove had the damage repaired and settled a lawsuit with her builder for $250,000. The builder could not be reached for comment.
The contractor Rockove hired to fix the leaking windows - Sean Gores of Clackamas, Ore.-based Sean Gores Construction - has been in the construction-defect repair business for 11 years. He says that about 40% of his business involves leaking windows because of improper installation.
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Rockove's sister-in-law Kristi Calcagno, a real-estate broker in Portland, Ore., spent $750,000 building a three-story, cedar-shingled beach house with lots of windows and decks facing the sea in Long Beach, Wash. She also noticed some leaking around the windows after the house was finished in 2005. After hiring Western Architectural, which said the installation wasn't done properly, she hired another contractor who estimated that it would cost $700,000 to fix the problem.
She then sued the original builder, who in turn named seven subcontractors. The issue is still pending, and Elizabeth Lampson, the attorney for the defendant, insurance company AIG, had no comment.
Calcagno has never occupied the house and is prepared to tear it down altogether because there has been so much water damage. "I'm at a point where if the house falls down I would just say 'eh,'" she says.
I e-mailed my contractor and architect to ask them if they thought I should hire Western Architectural before we closed up the exterior. Both agreed that was a very good idea.
Western Architectural found that most of windows in my new home were installed in the openings using foam as a sealer and no flashing or weather-resistant barrier wrapped into window and door rough openings - a direct violation of the installation instructions issued by window manufacturer Pella. If the sealant fails, the wood structure would be vulnerable to moisture, according to the company's report, which also found that the foam used isn't an industry standard.
Western Architectural recommended removing all the windows and reinstalling them according to Pella's instructions. According to the company's inspector, Michael Drexler, even the foam wasn't applied according to instructions - it should have had paper as well as foam. "My guess is that it was for cost reasons. The wrap takes more time and materials than the foam," Drexler says.
Instead of using paper that rolls into the opening between the window and the hole cut into the siding for the window to create a barrier, the subcontractor my builders used to install the windows used foam to seal them. "They thought that was a better solution," my contractor told me. He says the issue wasn't cost. "It was never about money," he says.
My contractor cleared the installation variation with Pella, which guaranteed that despite the modified installation method the full terms of the product warranty would remain in effect. All very well - but as I stated earlier, that didn't mean that Pella would be responsible if the foam method caused leaking.
Kathy Harkema, a spokeswoman for Pella, said the No. 1 problem builders have is with improper window or door installation. "Installation is every bit as critical as the window," Harkema said. The company has more than 200 engineers at its Iowa headquarters who study installation techniques in order to make the best recommendations to builders. If requested, the company will dispatch a service technician - for a fee - to go to a building site and inspect the installation. "We strongly suggest following our instructions," Harkema says. "It takes the guesswork out of it for everyone."
My contractor says every window manufacturer has different instructions for installation. "It's like getting three doctors to agree on the same treatment," he says. He hired two different consultants to check the installation using foam and tested it with water to look for leakage. "Ultimately, we're liable for this," he told me. One of the consultants, worried that the foam could shrink over time, recommended adding a sticky paper over the foam for further sealing - a step my contractor took.
We are moving ahead with the siding this week, which will be followed by drywall. Then comes the expensive part of building a house: the interior - including cabinets, finishes and lighting.
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