It is rarely the window.
The causes repeat from job to job. Every one of them is on the site, and every one can be found before the test. The numbers match the drawing.
- The installation did not follow the instructions, or the shop drawings were not used.
- The wrong sealant, or the right one applied the wrong way. Spray foam where a sealant was specified.
- An opening that was not waterproofed before the window went in, or shims in the wrong place.
- Screws driven through the weep holes.
- Clips or straps fitted incorrectly.
- The windows were never adjusted. An unadjusted window is not a finished installation.
- Jobsite debris left in or on the unit.
From the drawings to test day.
The shop drawings are checked against the real conditions on your job, such as the trim at the sill, the brick returns and the sealant. They are approved with the architect, the engineer, the water consultant, the installer and the general contractor before anything is made.
At the start of the job the site receives a delivery guide, an installation guide, any instructions written for that project, and the shop drawings. A kick-off meeting with the general contractor and the installer goes through them.
Our technician trains the crew on the conditions this building has: each kind of mullion join, field-applied nailing flanges, doors, the different sill depths, and how to adjust a window. Everyone who attends signs for it.
Adjustment tools, adjustment instructions and best practice for the test go to the job, at no additional cost.
The mock-up has a twin.
When a project calls for a mock-up, we build two. An identical unit is made alongside the one going to your site: the same specification, the same materials, the same production line, at the same time.
The twin stays at the factory and is tested there, to the same procedure your jobsite test will use and at a higher load. Whatever it shows is fixed and tested again until it passes, and the same fix is made to the unit on its way to you. If that unit has already shipped, the fix is written up step by step, with photographs, and carried out on site before the test.
We test it before they do.
Before a certified test our technician comes to the site, adjusts the windows, prepares them, and tests them with our own equipment. This is usually the day before. The closer to the test the better, because the longer the gap, the more can change on a site.
We do this for the mock-up, and again for the installed windows before each jobsite test. The aim is that the certified test confirms what we already know.
Four things, or the test should wait.
- The windows are installed to the installation guide.
- They have been adjusted and calibrated on site.
- They are clean of jobsite debris.
- We have had fourteen business days’ notice of the date.
The same list, with the numbers that matter on site, is on one page we send to the job: Before the water test.
We ask for fourteen business days’ notice of any test. With less than that we cannot promise that a technician is free.
Someone who knows the window is standing there.
An independent testing agency runs the test. We do not. Given notice, our technician attends, and makes any last-minute adjustments. There is no charge for attending.
If a unit does not pass, the technician can work on it there and then and have it tested again. That is only possible when somebody from the window company is on site.
Every result is recorded and the cause of any failure is identified. What one job teaches goes back into the installation instructions.
We supply the windows. Your installer fits them.
We do not install the windows and we do not approve the installation. We train, we help, and we keep a record of both. The installer keeps responsibility for the work, and the quality of the installation stays with the project team.
The windows perform to their certified ratings only when they are installed to the instructions, adjusted on site after installation, and cleaned. We cannot guarantee a test result where that has not been done.