U.S. patent application number 11/148966 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-19 for pre-molded corner flashing for use with sealing members.
Invention is credited to William Nettleton.
Application Number | 20060010788 11/148966 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35597938 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060010788 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nettleton; William |
January 19, 2006 |
Pre-molded corner flashing for use with sealing members
Abstract
A flashing system including a pre-molded corner flashing member
made from polymer material in a single continuous seamless piece.
The flashing member has interior flashing portions that meet at an
interior corner to conform with a corner of the rough opening, and
a membrane flashing portion intersecting each of the interior
flashing portions along separate exterior corners, the interior and
exterior corners intersecting at a common point. The interior
corner of the opening may be sealed by placing the molded corner
flashing member in the corner and then running a strip of
preferably pre-creased sealing tape or other sealing member along
the periphery of the wall opening and overlapping a portion of the
sealing member on both the interior flashing portion and the
membrane flashing portion.
Inventors: |
Nettleton; William;
(Burnsville, MN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PATTERSON, THUENTE, SKAAR & CHRISTENSEN, P.A.
4800 IDS CENTER
80 SOUTH 8TH STREET
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402-2100
US
|
Family ID: |
35597938 |
Appl. No.: |
11/148966 |
Filed: |
June 9, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60578247 |
Jun 9, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/58 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E06B 1/70 20130101; E06B
2001/628 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/058 |
International
Class: |
E04D 1/36 20060101
E04D001/36 |
Claims
1. A flashing system for an opening in an exterior wall of a
structure, the exterior wall including a generally planar membrane
presenting an exterior surface, a periphery of the opening defined
by at least a pair of generally inwardly facing surfaces
intersecting each other at an angle so as to define at least one
interior opening corner, the system comprising: a pre-formed corner
flashing member made from polymer material in a single continuous
seamless piece and including a pair of generally planar interior
flashing portions each presenting a front and an opposing back
side, and a generally planar membrane flashing portion presenting a
front and an opposing back side, the pair of interior flashing
portions intersecting along a first corner presenting a first
corner axis, the membrane flashing portion intersecting one of the
pair of interior flashing portions along a second corner presenting
a second corner axis, and the membrane flashing portion
intersecting the other of the pair of interior flashing portions
along a third corner presenting a third corner axis, wherein the
first, second, and third corner axes intersect at a common point,
and wherein when the corner flashing member is positioned in the
interior opening corner with the back side of the membrane flashing
portion confronting the exterior surface of the membrane and the
first corner axis extending along the interior opening corner, the
back sides of each of the interior flashing portions confront a
separate one of the pair of inwardly facing surfaces defining the
opening and the second and third corner axes extending along the
periphery of the opening; and at least a pair of adhesive sealing
members for flashing the periphery of the opening on either side of
the corner flashing member, each sealing member sealingly engagable
with the membrane flashing portion and one of the interior flashing
portions of the corner flashing member.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the opening has a pair of
interior corners, and wherein the system comprises a pair of corner
flashing members, each corner flashing member for flashing a
separate one of the pair of interior corners.
3. The system of claim 3, wherein the pair of adhesive sealing
members includes a first elongate sealing member for flashing the
periphery of the opening between the pair of interior corners, the
first sealing member having a pair of opposing ends, each end
having a portion sealingly engagable with the membrane flashing
portion and one of the interior flashing portions of a separate one
of the pair of corner flashing members.
4. The system of claim 4, including second and third elongate
sealing members for flashing the periphery of the opening extending
away from each corner flashing member in a direction opposite the
first sealing member.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the back
side of at least one of the interior flashing portions or the
membrane flashing portion is substantially covered with an adhesive
material.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the second and third corners of
the corner flashing member are radiused.
7. The system of claim 7, wherein a radius of the second and third
corners is about one centimeter.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the interior flashing portions
intersect at substantially a right angle, and wherein the membrane
flashing portion intersects each of the interior flashing portions
at substantially a right angle.
9. The system of claim 9, wherein the interior flashing portions
are substantially rectangular in shape, and wherein the membrane
portion is substantially L-shaped.
10. The system of claim 10, wherein the interior flashing portions
are substantially equilateral.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the polymer material is UV
resistant.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least a pair of elongate
sealing members are pre-creased.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the front
side of the interior flashing portions or the membrane flashing
portion is textured.
14. A method of installing a window in an opening defined in an
exterior wall of a structure, the exterior wall including a
membrane presenting an exterior surface, the opening having a
polygonal periphery defined by a plurality of generally inwardly
facing surfaces and including at least a pair of interior opening
corners, the method comprising steps of: providing a pair of corner
flashing members formed from polymer material, each corner flashing
member including a pair of generally planar interior flashing
portions each presenting a front and an opposing back side, and a
generally planar membrane flashing portion presenting a front and
an opposing back side, the pair of interior flashing portions
intersecting along a first corner presenting a first corner axis,
the membrane flashing portion intersecting one of the pair of
interior flashing portions along a second corner presenting a
second corner axis, and the membrane flashing portion intersecting
the other of the pair of interior flashing portions along a third
corner presenting a third corner axis, wherein the first, second,
and third corner axes intersect at a common point and wherein the
interior flashing portions and the membrane flashing portion are
integrally formed together in a single, seamless continuous piece;
positioning each of the corner flashing members in a separate one
of the interior opening corners with the back side of the membrane
flashing portion confronting the exterior surface of the membrane,
the first corner axis extending along the interior opening corner,
the back sides of each of the interior flashing portions
confronting a separate one of the inwardly facing surfaces defining
the opening and the second and third corner axes extending along
the periphery of the opening; flashing the periphery of the opening
between the corner flashing members with a first length of sealing
tape, a portion of the sealing tape overlapping the membrane
flashing portion and one of the interior flashing portions of each
corner flashing member; and securing the window in the opening
after the flashing is completed.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of flashing
the periphery of the opening by extending away from each corner
flashing member in a direction opposite the first length of sealing
tape with second and third lengths of sealing tape.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of providing the
corner flashing members from polymer material is performed by
vacuum forming the corner flashing members.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of providing the
corner flashing members from polymer material is performed by
injection molding the corner flashing members.
18. A water intrusion resistant window system for an exterior wall
of a structure, the exterior wall including a generally planar
membrane presenting an exterior surface with an opening defined
therein, the periphery of the opening defined by defined by a
plurality of generally inwardly facing surfaces and including at
least a pair of interior opening corners, the system comprising: a
window dimensioned so as to be receivable in the opening; a pair of
pre-formed corner flashing members each made from polymer material
in a single continuous seamless piece adapted to flash each of the
pair of interior opening corners, each corner flashing member
comprising a pair of generally planar interior flashing portions
each presenting a front and an opposing back side, and a generally
planar membrane flashing portion presenting a front and an opposing
back side, the pair of interior flashing portions intersecting
along a first corner presenting a first corner axis, the membrane
flashing portion intersecting one of the pair of interior flashing
portions along a second corner presenting a second corner axis, and
the membrane flashing portion intersecting the other of the pair of
interior flashing portions along a third corner presenting a third
corner axis, wherein the first, second, and third corner axes
intersect at a common point, and wherein when the corner flashing
member is positioned in the interior opening corner with the back
side of the membrane flashing portion confronting the exterior
surface of the membrane and the first corner axis extending along
the interior opening corner, the back sides of each of the interior
flashing portions confront a separate one of the pair of inwardly
facing surfaces defining the opening and the second and third
corner axes extend along the periphery of the opening; and a first
elongate sealing member adapted to flash the periphery of the
opening between the pair of interior corners, the first sealing
member having a pair of opposing ends, each end having a portion
sealingly engagable with the membrane flashing portion and one of
the interior flashing portions of a separate one of the pair of
corner flashing members.
19. The system of claim 18, further comprising second and third
elongate sealing members adapted to flash the periphery of the
opening extending away from each corner flashing member in a
direction opposite the first sealing member, the second and third
sealing members each having a pair of opposing ends.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein each of the elongate sealing
members are pre-creased along a longitudinal axis defined between
the pair of opposed ends.
21. The system of claim 18, wherein the second and third corners of
each corner flashing member are radiused.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the radius of the second and
third corners is about one centimeter.
23. The system of claim 18, wherein the interior flashing portions
of each corner flashing member intersect at substantially a right
angle, and wherein the membrane flashing portion intersects each of
the interior flashing portions at substantially a right angle.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein the interior flashing portions
are substantially rectangular in shape, and wherein the membrane
portion is substantially L-shaped.
25. The system of claim 23, wherein the interior flashing portions
are substantially equilateral.
26. A pre-molded corner flashing member for a flashing an interior
corner of a rough opening in an exterior wall of a structure, the
exterior wall including a generally planar membrane presenting an
exterior surface, the periphery of the opening defined by at least
a pair of inwardly facing surfaces intersecting each other at an
angle so as to define the interior opening corner, the flashing
member made from polymer material in a single continuous seamless
piece and including a pair of generally planar interior flashing
portions each presenting a front and an opposing back side, and a
generally planar membrane flashing portion presenting a front and
an opposing back side, the pair of interior flashing portions
intersecting along a first corner presenting a first corner axis,
the membrane flashing portion intersecting one of the pair of
interior flashing portions along a second corner presenting a
second corner axis, and the membrane flashing portion intersecting
the other of the pair of interior flashing portions along a third
corner presenting a third corner axis, wherein the first, second,
and third corner axes intersect at a common point, and wherein when
the corner flashing member is positioned in the interior opening
corner with the back side of the membrane flashing portion
confronting the exterior surface of the membrane and the first
corner axis extending along the interior opening corner, the back
sides of each of the interior flashing portions confront a separate
one of the pair of inwardly facing surfaces defining the opening
and the second and third corner axes extend along the periphery of
the opening.
27. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 26, wherein the
interior flashing portion and the membrane flashing portions have a
thickness dimension in a range of from about 0.01 millimeters to
about 0.25 millimeters.
28. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 26, wherein each
of the interior flashing portions presents a radiused corner.
29. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 28, wherein a
radius dimension of the radiused corner is about one
centimeter.
30. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 26, wherein the
first corner of the flashing member is radiused.
31. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 30, wherein a
radius dimension of the first corner is about four millimeters.
32. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 26, wherein the
interior flashing portions are generally square.
33. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 32, wherein the
interior flashing portions have a width dimension in a range of
about two to eight centimeters.
34. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 26, wherein the
membrane flashing portion is substantially equilateral
L-shaped.
35. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 34, wherein the
membrane flashing portion has a width dimension in a range of about
four to sixteen centimeters.
36. The pre-molded corner flashing member of claim 26, wherein the
flashing member is made from UV stabilized polymer material.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/578,247 entitled MOLDED CORNER WINDOW
FLASHING FOR USE WITH SEALING TAPE, filed Jun. 9, 2004, and hereby
fully incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to exterior-type flashing for
static structures, such as buildings and home. More particularly,
the present invention relates to an interior corner flashing system
for window and door openings in walls.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The problems with water leaking into building structures are
well known. Various types of flashing and sealing arrangements have
been developed for different parts of a building structure to
address these problems.
[0004] Flashing for use in roofing is the most common example. U.S.
Pat. Nos. 5,018,333 and 5,913,779 describe folded flashing members
for exterior corners of skylights installed in a roof. U.S. Pat.
No. 6,681,530 describes a one-piece roof flashing for exterior
corners, such as around chimneys, where the angles of three
surfaces are sloped at an angle other than 90 degrees in order to
match the slope of the roof.
[0005] Another example is the use of flashings around corners of
masonry walls. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,700,512 and 6,122,874 describe
flashings that are folded or pleated for use with exterior masonry
corners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,986 describes a two-piece flashing
member for use on an interior corner for masonry wall openings.
[0006] With the continued improvements in watertight construction
of windows and doors and with the widespread use of house wrap
materials like Tyvek.RTM., it is now common for some kind of
sealing treatment to be applied to the wall openings for windows
and doors. Most of these treatments focus on sealing along the
length of the top, bottom and sides of the wall opening. While
caulking is sometimes used, a more common approach is to use a
strip of pre-creased sealing tape that is secured to the edge of
the opening and to the adjacent wall. A similar approach is
described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,130 and U.S. Pat. Publication No.
2003/0056444A1 that describe an L-shaped window flashing strip with
inner lip that fits into rough opening and outer flap that is
adhered to wall surrounding rough opening. Another example of this
approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,001 that describes a strip
of window flashing comprised of three panels connected along a
common edge and radiating outward.
[0007] The problem with these strip-based approaches is how to best
handle the interior corners in the wall opening. Conventionally, an
overlapping technique is used that overlaps the piece of tape or
strip running along the bottom edge with the piece of tape or strip
running along the side edge. For example, in U.S. Pat. No.
6,305,130, sealing of the corners of the rough wall opening with
the L-shaped strip is addressed by overlapping the outer flaps of
adjacent flashing strips. The disadvantage with this approach is
that a seam is created at the corner where these two strips meet
that can be prone to leaking.
[0008] To address this problem, a flexible sealing tape can be
used, with a continuous run of tape wrapped around the interior
bottom corners of a window opening. While generally effective, the
flexible sealing tape is significantly more expensive than
conventional pre-creased straight sealing tape. The flexible nature
of the sealing tape also makes the tape more difficult to work with
and therefore more likely to have problems caused by improper
installation.
[0009] Other solutions for sealing the interior corners of window
and wall openings have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,026
describes a fiberglass mesh window flashing sealed by elastomeric
liquid flashing material that is applied to the fiberglass mesh
once the mesh is installed in a window opening. U.S. Pat. No.
6,401,402 describes a pre-folded clay coated polyethylene sheet for
flashing interior window corners.
[0010] While there are existing solutions for sealing interior
corners of window and wall openings, it would be desirable to
provide a better solution for sealing and flashing the interior
corners of window and wall openings that could improve on the
existing solutions for flashing window and wall openings in terms
of price, performance and ease of installation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] An interior corner flashing system for window and door
openings in walls utilizes a combination of conventional sealing
tape or members with a pre-formed corner flashing member made from
polymer material in a single continuous seamless piece to provide
for an effective and economical solution for sealing an interior
corner of a wall opening. The pre-molded corner flashing member has
interior flashing portions that meet at an interior corner to
conform with a corner of the rough opening, and a membrane flashing
portion intersecting each of the interior flashing portions along
separate exterior corners, the interior and exterior corners
intersecting at a common point. Preferably, the two interior
flashing portions of the pre-molded corner flashing member are
equilateral and have a width appropriate for a width of the wall so
that the corner flashing member can be used on either a left or
right interior corner of the rough opening. The interior corner of
the opening may be sealed by placing the molded corner flashing
member in the corner and then running a strip of pre-creased
sealing tape or other sealing member along the periphery of the
wall opening and overlapping a portion of the sealing member on
both the interior flashing portion and the membrane flashing
portion.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the invention, a flashing
system for an opening in an exterior wall of a structure includes a
pre-formed corner flashing member made from polymer material in a
single continuous seamless piece. The flashing member includes a
pair of generally planar interior flashing portions each presenting
a front and an opposing back side, and a generally planar membrane
flashing portion presenting a front and an opposing back side. The
pair of interior flashing portions intersects along a first corner
presenting a first corner axis, the membrane flashing portion
intersects one of the pair of interior flashing portions along a
second corner presenting a second corner axis, and the membrane
flashing portion intersects the other of the pair of interior
flashing portions along a third corner presenting a third corner
axis, so that the first, second, and third corner axes intersect at
a common point. When the corner flashing member is positioned in
the interior window or door opening corner with the back side of
the membrane flashing portion confronting the exterior surface of
the wall exterior membrane and the first corner axis extending
along the interior opening corner, the back sides of each of the
interior flashing portions confront a separate one of the pair of
inwardly facing surfaces defining the opening and the second and
third corner axes extending along the periphery of the opening. The
system further includes at least a pair of adhesive sealing members
for flashing the periphery of the opening on either side of the
corner flashing member. Each sealing member sealingly engages with
the membrane flashing portion and one of the interior flashing
portions of the corner flashing member.
[0013] In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of
installing a window in an opening defined in an exterior wall of a
structure includes providing a pair of corner flashing members
formed from polymer material. Each corner flashing member includes
a pair of generally planar interior flashing portions each
presenting a front and an opposing back side, and a generally
planar membrane flashing portion presenting a front and an opposing
back side. The pair of interior flashing portions intersects along
a first corner presenting a first corner axis, the membrane
flashing portion intersects one of the pair of interior flashing
portions along a second corner presenting a second corner axis, and
the membrane flashing portion intersects the other of the pair of
interior flashing portions along a third corner presenting a third
corner axis so that the first, second, and third corner axes
intersect at a common point. The interior flashing portions and the
membrane flashing portion are integrally formed together in a
single, seamless continuous piece. The corner flashing members are
positioned in a separate interior corners of the rough opening with
the back side of the membrane flashing portion confronting the
exterior surface of the wall exterior membrane, the first corner
axis extending along the interior opening corner, the back sides of
each of the interior flashing portions confronting a separate one
of the inwardly facing surfaces defining the opening and the second
and third corner axes extending along the periphery of the opening.
The periphery of the opening between the corner flashing members is
flashed with a first length of sealing tape with a portion of the
sealing tape overlapping the membrane flashing portion and one of
the interior flashing portions of each corner flashing member. The
window is then secured in the opening after the flashing is
completed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective cut-away view of a frame
wall section including a window rough opening according to the
prior art;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a pre-molded corner flashing
member according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the corner flashing
member of FIG. 2 depicting the back side of the interior flashing
portion;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the corner flashing
member of FIG. 2;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective cut-away view of a frame
wall section including a window rough opening with corner flashing
members according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG. 6
is a fragmentary perspective cut-away view of the frame wall
section depicted in FIG. 5 with sealing tape positioned between the
corner flashing members to seal the bottom of the rough opening
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective cut-away view of the
frame wall section depicted in FIG. 6 with sealing tape sealing the
vertical periphery of the rough opening and with corner flashing
members positioned in the upper corners of the opening; and
[0020] FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective cut-away view of the
frame wall section depicted in FIG. 7 with a window secured in the
opening.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Referring to FIG. 1, a section of typical frame building
construction having a window rough opening defined therein is
depicted with portions cut away to show the various components.
Wall 10 generally includes frame 12, interior membrane 14, exterior
membrane 16, and exterior wall covering 18. Frame 12 generally
includes one or more horizontal plates 20 positioned along the top
and bottom of wall 10 with a plurality of vertical stud members 22
extending therebetween. Window rough opening 24 is framed at the
bottom with a generally horizontal sill 26 and at the top with a
generally horizontal header 28. Sill 26 and header 28 along with
studs 22 on either side of opening 24 present generally inwardly
facing surfaces 29, which intersect at interior corners 29a and
define periphery 29b of opening 24. Plates 20 and studs 22 are
typically wood, but may also be metal sections, particularly where
wall 10 is not load-bearing. Interior membrane 14 is typically one
or more layers of gypsum wallboard or plaster, but may also be any
other suitable material such as wood paneling.
[0022] Exterior membrane 16 is a generally continuous layer of
material within wall 10 that may function to retard the flow of air
through interstitial openings in wall 10, and that may also
function as a water resistant barrier to intrusion of bulk water or
moisture into wall 10 from the exterior. Membrane 16 presents an
exterior surface 30, and generally includes one or more layers of
sheathing 32 and a layer of wrap material 34. Sheathing 32 is
typically oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood in light
construction, but may also be gypsum sheathing, extruded
polystyrene foam, asphalt impregnated fiber board, cement board, or
any other suitable sheathing material. Wrap material 34 is
typically thin spun bonded polyolefin sheeting such as Tyvek.RTM.,
but may also be any other thin material suitable for use in wall
construction, such as asphalt impregnated felt or other building
paper material. At wall openings, such as window rough opening 24,
wrap material 34 may be either wrapped inwardly into the opening
and terminated on the inwardly facing surface 29 of opening 24 as
depicted in FIG. 1 along side edge 36 or may be terminated at the
opening edge with wrapping inwardly, as depicted in FIG. 1 along
bottom edge 38. Exterior wall covering 18 is generally applied as a
finish layer to wall 10, and may include wood, plastic, or metal
siding, stucco, masonry products such as brick, or any other
material suitable for the exterior of a structure.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 2, a pre-molded corner flashing member 40
according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted.
Corner flashing member 40 generally includes a pair of interior
flashing portions 42, 44, and a membrane flashing portion 46.
Interior flashing portions 42, 44, intersect along an interior
corner 48, which presents a first corner axis denoted A-A in the
drawing. Membrane flashing portion 46 intersects each of interior
flashing portions 42, 44, along exterior corners 50, 52, presenting
second and third corner axes, denoted B-B and C-C in the drawing,
respectively. Corner axes A-A, B-B, and C-C, intersect at a single
point 54 coplanar with membrane flashing portion 46.
[0024] Interior flashing portions 42, 44, may be positioned at
substantially a right angle relative to each other to conform with
the right angle corners of a typical window or door rough opening.
Similarly, membrane flashing portion 46 may be positioned at
substantially a right angle to each of interior flashing portions
42, 44, to conform with the right angle edges along the periphery
of a typical window or door rough opening. It will be appreciated,
however, that interior flashing portions 42, 44, and membrane
flashing portion 46, may be positioned at any desired angle
relative to each other to conform with window or door opening
corners that do not form right angles.
[0025] In an embodiment of the invention, interior flashing
portions 42, 44, are generally rectangular or square with
dimensions preferably in a range of about two (2) to eight (8)
centimeters, and more preferably about five (5) centimeters. In
turn, membrane flashing portion 46 may be generally equilateral
L-shaped with dimensions preferably in a range of about four (4) to
sixteen (16) centimeters, and more preferably about ten (10)
centimeters. Corners 56 of interior flashing portions 42, 44, and
corners 58 of membrane flashing portion 46 may be radiused as
depicted in FIG. 2, with a preferable radius dimension of about one
(1) centimeter, to inhibit penetration of the sealing tape by sharp
corners of corner flashing member 40. These radiused corners may
also enable more of the sealing tape to adhere to exterior surface
30 of membrane 16 or inwardly facing surfaces 29 of rough opening
24. Interior corner 48 may also be radiused, with a preferable
radius dimension of about four (4) millimeters.
[0026] In an embodiment, corner flashing member 40 is made from UV
stabilized polymer material and is molded or vacuum formed into the
desired shape in a single, seamless, continuous piece. The
thickness of interior flashing portions 42, 44, and membrane
flashing portion 46 is in a range of from about 0.01 millimeters to
about 0.25 millimeters.
[0027] In an embodiment, texturing or surface patterns are provided
on all or portions of front side 60 of interior flashing portions
42, 44, and front side 62 of membrane flashing portion 46 to
enhance adhesion with sealing tape. Further, a tacky substance such
as glue or other adhesive may be applied to back sides 64 of
interior flashing portions 42, 44, and back side 66 of membrane
flashing portion 46 to temporarily hold the corner flashing member
in position in the corner of a rough opening without the need for
penetrating fasteners, which may lead to leaking at the point of
penetration.
[0028] As depicted in FIGS. 5-8, corner flashing member 40 may be
used in connection with conventional sealing tape during the
installation of exterior windows 68 or doors (not shown) in rough
opening 24 of wall 10 to inhibit intrusion of water and moisture to
wall 10 from the exterior. Corner flashing member 40 provides for a
seamless corner 70 that joins inwardly facing surfaces 29 of rough
opening 24 to exterior surface 30 of membrane 16.
[0029] In an embodiment, corner flashing member 40 is positioned in
both bottom left corner 72 and bottom right corner 74 of rough
opening 24 with back side 66 of membrane flashing portion 46
confronting exterior surface 30 of membrane 16, first corner axis
A-A extending along interior opening corner 29a, back sides 64 of
interior flashing portions 42, 44, confronting a separate inwardly
facing surfaces 29 and second and third corner axes B-B, C-C,
extending along periphery 29b of rough opening 24 as depicted in
FIG. 5. Bottom corners, 72, 74, of rough opening 24 are generally
where water and moisture most often penetrate into wall 10. Corner
flashing members 40 may also be similarly positioned in upper
corners 76 of rough opening 24 as depicted in FIG. 7 if desired. As
depicted in FIG. 6, a first length 76 of sealing tape may then be
positioned as a sealing member 78 extending between corner flashing
members 40 along periphery 29b of rough opening 24 at bottom edge
38, overlapping onto interior flashing portion 44 and membrane
flashing portion 46 of each corner flashing member 40. Sealing
member 78 adheres and seals to both corner flashing members 40,
exterior surface 30 of membrane 16 and inwardly facing surface 29
to form a "pan flashing" at the bottom of rough opening 24,
effecting a "pan" or "dam" effect to divert water to the exterior
wall surface and away from the interior wall cavities. Thus, when
used in connection with sealing member 78, corner flashing members
40 may provides a system that forming a continuous water and
moisture retarding barrier along the sides of a rough window or
door opening.
[0030] If desired, additional sealing members 80, 82, may be
positioned along periphery 29b on the opposing sides of corner
flashing members 40 so as to extend in the direction opposite
sealing member 78. Sealing members 80, 82, may be positioned so as
to overlap interior flashing portion 42 and membrane flashing
portion 46 of corner flashing members 40 as depicted in FIG. 7.
With corner flashing members 40 and sealing members 78, 80, 82, in
place, window 68 may be secured in rough opening 24 to complete the
installation as depicted in FIG. 8.
[0031] Sealing members 78, 80, 82, may be formed from any sealing
tape or sealing material suitable for the purpose. Preferably, the
sealing tape is a conventional pre-creased, but otherwise generally
non-flexible tape such as Tyvek.RTM. StraightFlash.TM. made by E.I.
DuPont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Deleware.
Alternatively, while a more expensive option, flexible tape such as
FlexWrap.TM. by E.I. DuPont could be used. It will also be
understood that any kind of flat flashing tape could be used and a
crease could be effected in the flat tape as part of the step of
applying the sealing members.
[0032] The thin wall structure of corner flashing member 40 may
insure that corner flashing member 40 does not interfere with the
installation of a window or door in rough opening 24, or otherwise
require a change in the window or door manufacturer's
specifications for rough opening 24 or specified installation
procedure for the door or window. In addition, corner flashing
member 40 does not require the use of nails, screws or other
fasteners that would penetrate corner flashing member 40 and create
a potential avenue for water to enter the interior or cavity of the
wall.
[0033] Although the present invention has been described in terms
of the preferred embodiment, it will be understood that variation
and changes can be made to the preferred embodiment and that the
scope of the invention is set forth in the claims.
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