Have nearly completed a three week project of re-sealing windows and repairing water damage. Some observations/comments.
1st- A shout out to Sam who was,of course, correct in in her observation to get rid of all the water damaged paneling. I did so on the inside ( about three feet worth) and glued in a new piece with construction foam adhesive. The outside delamination was minor and I just spread a bit more of adhesive there when I clamped everything. Used plain white paneling and it almost matches
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2nd- Reattached hood vent covering which was the culprit to start with . Could not find much for screws to “bite” into even going up a size. Used same technique I did for windows to attach and I think it will stay in place and seal- but I may need to revisit in spring. Maybe plastic dry wall anchors in the foam? Really- this remains an issue for attaching almost anything walls inside or out.
3rd- Used Butyl tape/vulcan1116/ Lexal Caulk for re-sealing. Thanks to whoever posted that technique ( Tree??) Looks pretty bomb-proof.
4th- Original window sealing was well intact when when I pulled windows so a nice job it seems by the original install crew (14 years). Still- I would not have discovered the other issue if I had not pulled them , so........
5th- Screws. When I took out the window over the kitchen sink some screws were rusted and about 6 sheared off. However, easy to get out once window removed. (thanks whoever mentioned THAT ) To Re-install I used old screws until I got to the six busted ones and purchased stainless to proceed. Had two heads shear and two more strip when I put those in and I had to revert to putting them in , VERY slowly, with a standard screwdriver. Talked to a couple of hardware guys and carpenter who all expressed surprise that the “hardened” stainless would do that. Talked to my RV repair “guy” and I had no sooner said “I used stainless”when HE said, “I bet they stripped, huh?” He claims the stainless is “softer” than the zinc-and he always uses Zinc. On closer examination- I also thought there was a “wider” thread pattern on the Zinc than new stainless. Just saying--beware.
I’ve got one more window to do when it briefly warms up (next week) to the sixties- but below freezing here the next two nights and barely reaching fifty during the day. Of course, in 5 months this, will feel terrific!
anti freeze is already in.
Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions as I dove into this. By the way- those “vibrating-do-everything” tools are real handy. Get one if you don’t have one.
Rick
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