ca s e st u dy
01
ALUMINIUM FRAMED
WINDOWS AND
WATER LEAKAGE:
THREE LESSONS
SIMON OWEN
Associate of Building
Diagnostics, Jackson Teece
Architecture
I
n-situ water and air leakage testing of
commercial-type aluminium framed
windows, installed in a residential
apartment building’s masonry façade,
showed several modes of failure; one water
leakage mechanism suggesting that the
window system did not pressure equalise.
This article deals with three modes of water
leakage, their causes and lessons to assist in
their prevention..
WATER LEAKAGE FROM FRAME
JOINTS
The detailed Quality Assurance programme
developed for this project prevented the
transportation of the completed windows
until seven days after fabrication. This was to
allow the sealant to adequately cure prior to
delivery. Small joint sealant squeeze-out was
visible at these joints indicating that they had
been sealed at fabrication. However, during
testing, water leakage was evident from
some transom-to-mullion joints, as shown in
image 01.
10 Australian Window Association
03
After witnessing the receipt of the
completed windows on site, some clues as to
the causes of these leaks were found.
The delivery of the windows was crosschecked against the shop drawings and
a visual inspection for defects in finishes
was conducted. With the ceiling heights in
carparks being typically lower than those in
habitable spaces, the floor-to-ceiling glazed
window units were manually lifted from
A-frames on the delivery vehicle and turned
onto their sides. They were then rolled on
trolleys to a secure storage area within the
building’s carpark.
The units were manoeuvred to their final
installation location by rolling them on a
trolley to a material hoist where the units
were turned upright and lifted. Once at the
correct floor level, the units were turned
again to be carried along the scaffolding,
finally being turned upright to be fitted into
the window opening. Each window unit was
put through four 90 degree turns in the time
from delivery to installation.