Shed Project: House Wrap and Windows

[jteneyck]

Here's a link to the last installment:  Bracing

I purchased a 100' roll of 9' wide house wrap and a roll of tape.  I don't have any pictures installing it, but it's a straightforward process.  I started near one corner and went completely around the building, putting a few staples on each side as I went to keep it straight.  I overlapped the beginning/end about 12" and then went back and stapled the house wrap about every 18".  The gable ends were a bit more difficult because of having to move/climb a ladder several times, but it went well, too.  When all the stapling was done, I taped the seams.  

I bought 24 x 30" single hung vinyl windows with integral J-channels from Lowes for the gable ends.  They didn't have any 24 x 36" ones available for at least two weeks, but I found some on HD's website with free shipping and I got them in 3 days.  They don't have J-channels, however, but it should work out OK with what I have planned for the door and lower window trim.  If you look on You Tube you can find at least 4 different ways to install windows, and every method claims theirs is the correct way.  I picked the one I thought made the most sense for my situation; turns out it was about the same as the directions that came with the windows which I only found when I was looking through the packing list after I had installed them.  

To start the installation I cut away the house wrap around the opening, and taped the section above the window up out of the way.  I removed about 1" around the sides and bottom.



The You Tube video guy used preformed plastic corners in the lower corners.  Instead of using those I used a small piece of flashing about 2" wide pressed into the corner and over the front.  



Next I cut a piece of flashing across the bottom of the window that covered down about 1" over the house wrap, and extended about 4" beyond each side.  I cut straight down where it met the sides of the rough opening and pressed it onto the sill.  Then I added another piece of flashing over that which sat on the sill and extended about 6" up the sides of the rough opening, cut it where it met the sides of the rough opening, and folded it down over the front.  Here you can see the first piece in place and the top one going in.  




And after the top piece was completed.





To install the windows I put a small piece of 1/4" plywood on each side of sill to center it vertically.  Then I laid the window flat and ran a bead of silicone caulk around the inside of the nailing flange, on the two sides and top but not along the bottom.  Any water that might get in you want to drain out.  Then I put the window in the rough opening, centered it side to side, and then put a nail in one hole and tacked it.  I checked the window for level across the top and plumb along the sides, decided which I believed most, and add a couple of more nails.  When I was happy, I put a nail in every hole around the flanges.  The instructions said to use screws.  I used 1-1/2" roofing nails.  Always the contrarian I guess.  I thought you all would get a chuckle out of that. At that point it looked like this:




To finish the job you add flashing first along the sides and then over the top.  

 

And finally, fold down the house wrap at the top and put flashing over the cuts made earlier.



And the inside like this:



And overall like this:



Off to buy soffits, fascia, siding and trim next.  I'm doing my part to keep the local economy humming along.  

Thanks for following along.  


John

[goaliedad]

Dude, you put the house wrap wrong. The writing needs to be upright, otherwise it won’t work

Good job on the project- I like the fact that you are doing things you have never done before!

[K. L. McReynolds]

Honest question? Why did you not wrap each opening instead of cutting the wrap short of the opening?

[lift mechanic]

I was thinking the same thing about why cutting the house wrap short of the window opening.
Nice looking piece of property how far does your property extend?

[Stwood_]

Yes, wrap is normally pulled inside the openings then stapled inside of the opening.

[Snipe Hunter]

Common practice here is to do it the same way as the photos at the top of the window. Cut it, fold it up. Put on the flashing tape and drop the housewrap over the flashing tape at the top. Housewrap isn't a water barrier but it does carry water. So it carries water over the flashing, not under the flashing. Although I wrap the sides and bottom into the rough opening and staple it in place but that's just me.

[jteneyck]

Yes, wrap is normally pulled inside the openings then stapled inside of the opening.

Like I said, there are many different approaches shown on You Tube and other places.  Some pull the house wrap into the opening.  This guy advocated cutting it as I showed.  His logic was that if you pull the house wrap into the opening any water that gets behind it will have a path into the building.  By sealing the window flange directly to the sheathing you prevent that.  That made a lot of sense to me, so that's what I did.  I saw other instructions that showed flashing the entire opening first, not just the sill, and then setting the caulked window against that, then flashing again on the outside.  That made even more sense to me and if I were building a house I'd probably do it that way.  

As my 9th grade science teacher used to say, "You pay your money and you take your choice.".  

John

[Stwood_]

We use the manufacturers instructions, not youtube.
 

Are you about to *wrapup* the house wrap then? 

[jteneyck]

We use the manufacturers instructions, not youtube.
 

Are you about to *wrapup* the house wrap then? 

Which manufacturers are your referring to?  As I mentioned earlier, the instructions that came with the lower windows were essentially the same as the You Tube video.  

John

[Stwood_]

House wrap directions



Oh, and staples leak. We all use cap nails.