“Probably the best windows in the world”

fatty pang

An interesting article in the Indo last week on construction standards in Ireland.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/balcony-defects-damp-mould-and-fire-safety-issues-uncovered-in-prestigious-boomtime-development-36431027.html

No names in deference to the house rules but a few pertinent quotes from the Indo article;
“103 apartments showed deterioration of or damage to window frames due to water ingress (where water has infiltrated the fabric of the building).”
“In the case of damage to windows and water ingress the experts evaluating the damage to windows were critical of the “quality if design, material used and attention to detail during construction”.
“The poor quality detailing and installation of the windows, in particular the EPDM membrane, is a significant cause of water ingress,”
“This is compounded by the lack of proper provision for effective drainage paths at spandrel panels and also between timber frames.”

Of course this being Ireland nobody is to blame but I couldn’t help but chuckle when viewing this blast from the past on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM0nBI6pNig

JonathonS

fatty pang wrote: »

“The poor quality detailing and installation of the windows, in particular the EPDM membrane, is a significant cause of water ingress,”

Should am EPDM membrane be used in all window installations, or is it required only in certain types of construction?

listermint

As an aside, that image looks like a Door Threshold and not a window?

fatty pang

JonathonS wrote: »

Should am EPDM membrane be used in all window installations, or is it required only in certain types of construction?

It depends on the construction. A fleece type membrane with better vapour permeability might be more appropriate in some instances.

EPDM/membranes would appear to only part of the problem in this instance. These units are barely 10 years installed and the failure is catastrophic. EPDM failures are not going to result in the damage illustrated in that photograph. The damage is caused by either adequate drainage (product design/install detail) or wholly inadequate preservative treatment of the timber. My money would be on a combination of both. Reassuringly, the same people - with a touch less of the Ozymandias syndrome - are still knocking out essentially the same products with probably even less ‘oversight’ from architects given the modus operandi of BCAR.

fatty pang

listermint wrote: »

As an aside, that image looks like a Door Threshold and not a window?

Indeed it is. One would have thought that detailing in this zone would have warranted even more attention given the increased risk of water ingress.

fatty pang

Some very useful advice on choosing windows from the NHBC including modeled examples for double and triple-glazing. https://www.nhbcfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/NF78-Windows-Making-it-Clear.pdf
(There is a glaring error in the spec for the sample triple-glazing but that shouldn’t detract from the value of the overall document)

It’s part of an excellent series for construction professionals. I could think of a few who might benefit from a perusal of NF69 Avoiding rubbish design….
https://www.nhbcfoundation.org/publications/page/3/?showall=true