Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

• HOME
• AIR CONDITIONING
• ELECTRICAL
• EXTERIORS
• HEATING
• HOME INSPECTION
• INTERIORS
• PLUMBING
• ROOFING
• SEPTIC SYSTEMS
• STRUCTURE
• WATER SUPPLY

• ENERGY SAVINGS
• ENVIRONMENT
• INDOOR AIR IAQ
• INSULATION
• MOLD INSPECT TEST REMOVE
• NOISE
• ODORS
• SOLAR ENERGY
• VENTILATION
• EXPERTS DIRECTORY
• CONTACT US

How to buy, install, inspect, build or repair doors, skylights & windows. This article series explains how to build, diagnose, inspect, install, and repair skylights, windows, and doors.

For some home buyers, especially of older homes, un-disclosed problems with windows and doors (leaks, rot, energy loss, operability) can be a real "sleeper" that later turns out to be a source of major headaches and big costs. Our photo (left) shows a lovely antique eyebrow window on a roof in New York state.

At a home inspection in New York we found an entire development in which nearly every wooden window in the 1960's - 1970's homes was badly rotted. The same siding installation company had made the same mistake - hundreds of times.

A flashing error at window tops and sides sent wind-blown rain into the window frame, leading to rot and in some cases termite damage as well.

Windows and doors that are leaky or poorly constructed can be a big energy loser on buildings as well. Here we provide a series of articles on the inspection, diagnosis, installation, and repair of problems at windows and doors on residential buildings.

© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website.

Guide to Inspecting, Diagnosing, Repairing Skylights, Windows & Doors

Exterior building doors, with focus on selecting and installing energy-efficient doors are discussed in detail at WINDOW / DOOR ENERGY EFFICIENT, DOE. This photo shows a multi-lite exterior door used at an enclosed porch. Our photo (left) shows an expedient, but insecure means of securing these interior doors. This photo shows rot and damage that will eventually occur if a sliding glass door threshold is not kept flashed and sealed.

Basement walkout doors were originally usually site-built using sloped wood (photo, below left); if your basement door is in as terrible shape as the unit shown here, the worry about leaks into the building basement should take second place to the immediate life-safety hazard of a rotted door like this one. Modern basement walkout doors are purchased as a pre-fab steel unit from manufacturers such as Bilco™ (photo below right) and may be set on a site-built or pre-fabricated masonry stairwell.

Building Code Requirements Regarding Basement Walkout or Bulkhead Doors

Clarification from "Residential exit doors, stairways, landings, handrails and guards [ copy on file as /interiors/Stair_Code_NYS_Bulleting_RCstairsTB.pdf ] - for New York:

RCNYS section R310, entitled “Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings,” includes section R310.3 which addresses bulkhead enclosures (“bilco” type doors). This section requires bulkhead enclosures to provide direct access to the basement.

This part does not preclude the installation of an insulated side hinged door at the bottom. In addition to the requirement for the minimum net clear opening with the bulkhead door panels in the fully open position required by R310.1.1, section R314.9 is applicable.

Since the bulkhead is an emergency escape and rescue opening, it does not serve as part of the required building egress (section R311).

The last part of section R314.9 exempts the bulkhead from the requirements of sections R312, landings, R314,stairways, and R315, handrails, when the bulkhead stairway is covered by a bulkhead enclosure with hinged doors.

What are the Basic Types of Windows and What are the Names of Parts of Windows?

Our sketches of basic double-hung window parts (above left and below left) appeared in Basic Housing Inspection and later in other window guides. Our sketch of repair of window sash cords and weights shows how older double-hung windows operated with sash weights and came from the same source.

Awning-type windows operate by a crank and open outwards from the bottom, hinged at the sash top. Basement windows vary among many of the styles listed here, but because they are normally close to or even below ground level, special installation detail and attention to handling of roof spillage are critical to avoid leaks, rot, and indoor water and mold problems. See WINDOW LEAKS INTO BASEMENT. Bay windows project out from the building wall and may incorporate both fixed vertical glazing and operable sashes of any type, usually double-hung or casement style. If the roof over a bay window is not maintained, or if the window is not properly installed, leaks and condensation are likely. This bay window uses fixed center glass and double hung sashes at either side. Casement-type windows also operate by a crank, but are hinged at one side and open outwards like a door.

Dormers (photo at left) are not a window-type but rather are an expansion of space under the roof area of a building. Nearly any type of window can be installed in a dormer. Dormers as a means of gaining space and light to make an attic area into living space have been around for a long time. Double-hung windows use two moveable sashes, an upper and lower unit that slide past one another. When inspecting a home for window problems don't assume that all new or recently-installed sashes are operable without doing some actual testing. Eyebrow windows (see photo above) may be fixed or operable and are built protruding through the slope of a roof surface. Eyebrow windows may also appear as small peaked installations but the classic is rounded such as we show above. An "eyebrow" window is a miniature dormer in essence but requires less supporting framer than a larger dormer. An eyebrow window is not a dormer. Fixed glass windows may be vertical or sloped. See VERTICAL GLAZING DETAILS for an example. Also see SITE BUILT DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS.

• Skylights are an example of sloped glazing, normally built into a roof surface. Our skylight photos above show an older style wire-reinforced and vented skylight in a copper roof (above left), and at above right, a series of custom-built copper-clad skylights in a re-roofed section of a similar building, both on the Vassar College Campus in Poughkeepsie, NY. Skylights may be operable for ventilation or fixed. See SLOPED GLAZING DETAILS and see SKYLIGHT LEAK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR.

• Storm windows are additional windows, fixed or operable, that are hung or installed over the main window sash to reduce heat loss through the window. A "triple-track" storm window incorporates a movable screen and upper and lower widow sashes. Each layer of glazing added to a window cuts heat loss through the window glass by about one third, but if the window is drafty any energy savings will be lost until the drafts are found and sealed. Also see STORM WINDOW WEEP HOLES, and see AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION and AIR SEALING STRATEGIES as well as ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT LEAK SEALING GUIDE.

How to inspect, diagnose, and repair skylights, sloped glazing, vertical glazing, energy-losing windows, and leaky basement windows.

WINDOWS & DOORS articles on window selection, installation, efficiency, leaks, diagnosis, and repair SKYLIGHT LEAK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR - how to avoid leaks, rot, damage at skylights SLOPED GLAZING DETAILS- proper installation details for sloped windows and skylights SITE BUILT DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOWS - is it worth building your own window frame and installing insulated glass? Sometimes. VERTICAL GLAZING DETAILS - proper installation details for vertical fixed glass windows to avoid leaks, rot, condensation, heat loss WINDOW / DOOR ENERGY EFFICIENT, DOE U.S. Department of energy detailed recommendations for energy savings at windows and doors - supplemented by leaks to articles with additional "how to" details WINDOW LEAKS INTO BASEMENT - the good, bad, and ugly of leaks into basements at basement windows: diagnosis and cure

Here we show two problem windows at building basements. If your basement windows seem to be points of leakage into the building, see WINDOW LEAKS INTO BASEMENT.

Window Sill & Flashing Details

Our window sill photo (left, courtesy Carson Dunlop Associates), shows the traditional rabbet cut or slot on the underside of the window sill. This window sill detail is intended to aid drainage off of the window sill by reducing the tendency of water to follow, by capillary action, the underside of the sill back to drain down the building wall. Details are at Window Flashing & Sealing Guide.

Questions & Answers regarding this article

.

Share this Article      

...

Technical Reviewers & References

• InspectAPedia.com^® - Daniel Friedman - Publisher & Editor.
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

WINDOWS & DOORS

• Anderson A-Series Casement Windows & Window Parts, web search 01/15/2010, original source: http://www.andersenwindows.com/homeowner/pdfs/A-Series_Casement.pdf
• Basic Housing Inspection, US DHEW, S 352.75 U48, p.144, out of print, but is available in most state libraries; New York State version, ca 1955, source of our window parts and window repair sketches.
• Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education including the ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program (home study course), publications such as the Home Reference Book, report writing materials including the Horizon report writer, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• "Solar Heat Gain & Windows, the facts about", NFRC, National Fenestration Rating Council, January 2005, NFRC website: www.nfrc.org retrieved 12/4/2010, original source: http://www.nfrc.org/documents/SolarHeatGain.pdf.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
• "Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
• Masonite Woodruf® Roofing or Masonite OmniWood® Siding Lawsuit Settlement Notice - PDF file
• ...