Extreme exposure fenestration installations : the Florida challenge
| Authors: | James D. Katsaros, Charles G. Carll |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Type: | Miscellaneous Publication |
| Station: | Forest Products Laboratory |
| Source: | Journal of ASTM international. Vol. 6, no. 5 (2009): 17 pages. |
Abstract
Current standards for installation of fenestration units, such as ASTM E2112-07, “Standard Practice for Installation of Exterior Windows, Doors and Skylights” do not address regional considerations, or how the level of wind and rain exposure could influence installation methodology. In the coastal southeastern United States, where extreme wind-driven rain events occur with some regularity, more robust methods than those prescribed in ASTM E2112-07 are necessary. In Florida, single family houses are commonly constructed with surface barrier concrete masonry walls on the first story, and membrane-drainage, wood-frame walls on the second story. This “hybrid” construction is unique, or virtually so, to Florida. Finned windows of a particular design are made expressly for installation in cement masonry unit _CMU_ walls as commonly found in Florida homes. The special considerations that relate to residential construction in Florida were of concern to an industrial consortium. The consortium thus formed an Installation Committee to develop methods for fenestration installation that would be applicable to the wall systems commonly found in the coastal Southeast, with consideration of the high wind-driven rain loads that accompany tropical storms. This paper addresses two general installation methods proposed by the Installation Committee, and presents test data for wall assemblies incorporating fenestration units installed using the methods.