Flashing matters. And I'm not talking about raincoats and dirty old men. As a home inspector in Tampa, I often see the results of failure to pay attention to details. Little details that matter.
The omission of flashing above windows and doors in wood frame walls often causes serious damage. Damage that’s usually concealed. Flashing is a piece of metal that extends under the siding and laps over the top of a window or door, preventing water from leaking in.
Metal head flashing
Some contractors think that windows are “self-flashing” or that caulk is a substitute for flashing. Doesn’t work. Not in the long run.
This past week I inspected a wood frame home in Tampa that had no flashing above the windows. Inside the home, I could see obvious signs of water entry at many of the windows.
Stains on the interior at the top of window
Another place you want flashing is under a door in a wood frame wall. Here we use a pan flashing to collect the water that invariable leaks in and divert it to the exterior.
This same home had no pan flashing under the door. The wood floor was rotting. Ignored, this kind of leakage leads to extensive damage that’s expensive to repair.
Rotting sub-floor below door
There are no shortcuts. It’s tough to install windows and doors and keep the water out. You don’t have a chance without proper flashings.
Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News
