Reading the Instructions

              On my recent project the windows purchased are 1 and a half months out. I have the house wrap and the flex sealing window and door tape. I have the tape for sealing the wrap where it overlaps or needs to be cut, but the windows are still over a month out. In order to move forward I need to be able to have my combo inspection but was told by the main inspector that the house need to be wrapped before I could get the combo. Roiling the 9’ roll of house wrap is fun, and if not done correctly it can show terrible. It a task that requires no wind and a lot of patients for someone who takes pride in their project’s appearance. Still, this task needs to be accomplished so that the project can move forward. Their a a few approaches on how to treat the wrapping around a window and door opening. This approach changes depending the type of exterior your project will have. Will it be sided or stucco exterior? Does your project require new construction or replacement windows?

Simple questions but the answers are not as straight forward.  It may appear that there are several product application choices. To help with this dilemma. I will ask your answer on two. Will you follow the manufacture’s instruction or use the method you were taught when you started out? In today’s market place the odds of you completing the task of wrapping your project and preparing it for window and door installation wile using the new and improved product available in this ever-growing industry is slim. If you’re an alumnus of the United Constituents of You Tube knowledge your odds of getting this task accomplished correctly are perhaps thinner unless you use the exact same products. In today’s market it doubtful that many old faithful products are available.

If you do this simple task but do not follow the manufacture’s instructions then you have opened yourself up to the responsibility of being the tasks designer.  You become responsible if the system fails. The failure of this simple system can be catastrophic. Read and follow the instructions. If one project says caulk and the other doesn’t do the method which provide the most protection and call the manufactures and ask if there is a reason the step was eliminated. Perhaps their product does do well with the materials required to preform that step. If this is the case let them tell you how to proceed but do not let the responsibility shift to you. Hint many people just apply these sealing tapes by hand but they require that they be pressured rolled by the J roller to activate the adhesion process. How to treat the windows opening changes from product to product. How to seal the corners changes. Your workmanship only has the manufacture’s warranties if you have followed their instructions, and they will argue that you have not done so to escape the coast of the repairs.

E mail them and save that email with your receipts, so you can produce them if the need arises.

 The question is nor how do I accomplish these simple tasks. The questions should be who will be responsible for the craftsmanship of the tasks when your project is finished.  Read and follow the instructions or assume the responsibility of becoming the projects designer.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.