01 Feb 2010, Posted by Shawn in Live Work, 3 Comments, Short-URL:http://portlandbuilt.com/dlewl

Live/Work Update: Exterior Trim

It’s been a while since the last post…the delay mostly being due to the fact that I’ve spent every waking moment on the electrical system.

The good news? We passed our inspection on the first try! For an experienced electrician, this is not a big deal. But for a DIY homeowner, this is almost unheard of. I did have some great help (lots of books) and some great advice from the “right” people. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my ever-expanding knowledge-base.

Windows and Doors

Doors and windows arrived last week and the crew at Bronze Construction started installing right after the product arrived on-site. I should mention we took a bit of a risk here: while Bronze had a track-record for rough framing, they aren’t exactly a dedicated window/door/siding crew. But, after a few conversations with the owner, my contractor decided it was worth the risk.

Our decision to go this route was based on several key factors. First, there was cost. Most of the siding bids we had received were out-of-this-world expensive. And while siding isn’t necessarily easy work, our budget couldn’t afford the figures we were seeing. Santos (Bronze) was much more reasonably priced.

The second factor wass the fact that Bronze had a good track record on the Live/Work project. During rough framing, they fixed mistakes without nickle-and-diming us to death (I won’t mention other subs who weren’t quite so stellar). At the end of the day, Santos’ guys were good at framing and the business owner stood by his work. That’s worth a lot, and I was willing to place my bet on these guys a second time around.

Flashing

A big part of the windows and doors is flashing. And this project had a flashing system unlike anything you’ve probably ever seen. To put it in simple terms, we have a layer of plywood, then a layer of tyvek, then a layer of pink foam. On TOP of the foam sits the windows and trim work. To keep the water from running inside, we cut back the foam and tyvek to the wall, then ran “z” flashing to the face of the head trim. Any water that got behind the foam would run down the tyvek until exiting the building via the z-flashing. A picture (or video) is needed to tell the story, but for now suffice to say we’ve created perhaps the most redundant rain barrier known to man.

The down side to this system is that it takes a bit of time to install, and the crew needs to be extra careful not to cut the tyvek in the wrong spot. Once again, I’ve been impressed by the Bronze crew, as they seem to have managed to get everything in place, in the RIGHT place. Kudos also to my contractor, Rory Read, who spent vast amounts of time explaining and supervising.

Related Posts

1. Live/Work Update: Framing!
2. Live/Work Video Update: Siding!
3. Live/Work Update: Slab Insulation