Yeah, weatherstripping's decent for drafts, but moisture's a whole different beast. Had foam tape around mine for years thinking it was fine... until I peeled it back and found mold underneath. Ended up redoing the flashing—lesson learned the hard way, I guess.
"Had foam tape around mine for years thinking it was fine... until I peeled it back and found mold underneath."
Yeah, foam tape can be sneaky like that—seems like it's doing the job until you find out the hard way. Flashing definitely helps, but I've also found that proper caulking around the frames makes a huge difference. Did you check if your window sill had any slope to it? I've seen flat sills pooling water, and that's a recipe for mold no matter how well you seal things up.
Ugh, been there myself. Thought I was being clever with foam tape until one rainy season turned my window frame into a moldy science experiment. Ended up ripping everything out and redoing it properly—caulk, flashing, the whole nine yards. And yeah, sloped sills are a lifesaver. Once you get that angle right, water just slides away instead of camping out like an unwanted guest. Glad you finally got yours sorted... feels good to win one against the house for once, doesn't it?
Totally agree on sloped sills—game changer. Couple other things I've learned the hard way:
- Always prime and paint wood frames thoroughly, even the hidden edges.
- Check drainage holes regularly; they clog faster than you'd think.
Nothing beats finally getting it right... house: 0, me: 1.
Good tips, especially about priming hidden edges—learned that one the hard way myself. One more thing I'd add: don't skimp on caulking. Run a neat bead around the frame, smooth it out with your finger, and wipe off excess with a damp rag. Takes five minutes but saves hours of headache later. Trust me, soggy frames are no joke... been there, done that, got the warped wood to prove it.
Totally agree about the caulking—even though smoothing it with your finger always leaves me feeling like I've just done kindergarten finger painting again, lol. But seriously, one thing I've noticed is people often forget about proper drainage around the windows. If your sills aren't angled slightly downward, or if the drip edge isn't installed right, even the best caulking job won't save you in the long run. Learned this myself after redoing a window twice and still ending up with water pooling after storms. Finally realized the sill had almost zero slope... facepalm moment.
Also, if you're dealing with older wooden frames, consider using a wood hardener before priming and painting. It penetrates the wood fibers and makes them less prone to moisture absorption. Did that on my last project, and it's made a huge difference. No more warped wood souvenirs for me, haha.
Good call on the wood hardener—I wish I'd known about that sooner. I spent way too many weekends sanding and repainting warped frames before figuring out drainage was my real issue. Live and learn, right? At least our DIY fails make good stories later...
Wish I'd caught onto drainage earlier too. I remember spending a whole summer sanding and repainting frames, convinced the paint was just cheap or something. Turns out, it was a clogged gutter dumping water right onto the window. Felt pretty silly after figuring that one out...but hey, now I triple-check gutters before touching a paintbrush.
Haha, gutters are sneaky like that...spent ages blaming cheap caulk for my leaky basement window until I realized the downspout was basically creating a mini waterfall right next to it. Ever had trouble with drainage around your foundation too?
Been there myself—spent months trying to fix a damp spot in the basement, convinced it was a crack in the foundation. Turns out, just like yours, my downspout was dumping water right against the wall. Redirected it with an extension pipe and problem solved. Gutters and downspouts are sneaky for sure...glad you got it sorted before bigger issues popped up. Feels good when you finally pinpoint the culprit, doesn't it?