Last week the framers pretty much finished what they had to do (except cleanup ;-( )
Anyway, being the ultra picky hyper complicator that I am, I decided it was better to finish the flashing on the windows myself rather than have them do it. So, without knowing how the framers would have done the flashing, I can't say anything but to say I am WAY more picky about this particular operation than you can imagine.
I am also a little disappointed in the windows in ONE regard... The ones that have arches on them do not have a traditional integrated nailing flange. Rather, they have a fold out plastic flange, and on the top, it is a curved thing that isn't just one piece, but sometimes 2 or 3... So, after I finished (so I thought) flashing and caulking the first arched window, I walked inside and looked out.... I could see light right through where the flange attaches to the window. It wasn't sealed at all! So, I am using polyurethane caulk to completely seal the flashing and nail flange all together in one piece. It is tedious beyond my patience level, and yet has to be done. Normally, done at the top of a ladder, which makes it less fun.
Here is a picture of a fully flashed window... What you can't see is 1 1/2 tubes of caulk to get everything as watertight as I could make it...
This is a rectangular window, so it has the integrated nailing fin around the perimeter as part of the frame. These are much easier to flash. Which is good, because I have 27 more of them to do... It takes about 30 minutes to do a rectangular one, so you do the math... The arch ones take more like 90 minutes each.
Now, I like the framers, but I'm not thinking they were going to spend this much time playing around with rubber tape...
Oh, also had to flash two arch NON recessed windows in the garage. Those windows have house wrap and traditional framing. I used a piece of flex flashing over the top of those, and that worked quite well. Also had to flash the garage where the fake window and shutter will be. Since that is tapered down, there is a sill there that otherwise would collect water. I pulled the wrap back from that area, and basically did a repeat of the window job with some modifications.
Does anybody know what to do where the housewrap meets the garage doors??? I am thinking it purdent to address moisture there too... Water rots wood, and rain can easily blow over on the stucco there and saturate everything...
Today, I had some guys come over to haul a load of trash (boards) off. They were nice guys and filled up a 16 foot trailer pretty well. They dented the pile pretty good, but I could easily do 3 more loads. They will come for another load tomorrow, and then we will see if I can resume those duties.
Also put in some large joist hangers where we added some beams to carry the roof load over some ceiling areas. Reading the Simson Strong Tie book, they called for 16 penny nails (into a glue beam). I'm not the best with my hammer, and that beam was hard as iron. I bent over every third nail and beat the crap out of my fingers in the process. Also added some more hurricane (wind) ties in areas where I thought were appropriate. They tied the rafters to the garage wall, but the garage wall wasn't tied to the concrete (or sill plate). I was out there hammering away till almost 9:30 PM, playing classical music. I wonder if my new neighbors have figured out I am weird yet?? I'm not done, of course, but I was feeling guilty about making all that noise.
We live about 200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and we get the remnants of hurricanes at times. For the life of me, I can't figure out who would NOT put on a 51 cent hurricane tie. Even with a tile roof, at over 100,000 pounds, that roof makes enough lift at about 70 knots of wind to fly right off. Wouldn't that be embarrasing, to spend all this money on an ICF house and then have the roof blow right off...
More random stuff to do tomorrow. I want to run the fireplace chimney up through the chase, and see how it fits. I will be in Houston tomorrow late and if I need a different size chimney piece I can pick it up while I am down there.
