Wet window

[Motor31]

I just got through removing and replacing a window that has been a chronic leaker since new. I had caulked it to try and seal it but was not entirely successful. When I got the window down and out of the slide in wall (door side rear facing slide window) I saw it had been installed with no sealant at all. There was nothing behind the frame of the window where it mated to the outside wall other than a small, poorly placed undersized porous foam rubber air seal. Much the same as those draft seal rolls you buy at the hardware store. No putty, no bulb gasket, no lap sealant and sure as hell no caulk under the window frame. The foam rubber gasket was only flattened in some areas and not at all in others indicating there was no seal from it when the window was mated to the wall.

It was obvious that there was no quality control at all when this was assembled. How in the heck anyone would think that placing a bare frame metal window in a hole in the wall is going to be weather tight simply escapes me. No wonder it leaked and passed air when there was a breeze.

I took a couple shots of the bare wall where the frame of the window was and it's obvious that there was nothing for a seal behind or inside the frame of the window. I'll see if I can upload them later on.