Doors and Windows - Repairing water damage/cracks around windows

I'm getting ready to paint a room and am repairing some water damage and cracks around the windows. The water damage is minimal and is from the previous owner leaving the windows open during rain, or from ice build up on the aluminum sashes.

I started scraping the loose joint compound off the inside sill and wall around the window with a putty knife, and that's where I ran into a wall of confusion. It seems that all around the window there is a piece of thin plastic strip (which seems to be part of the window casing or something). This lies against the wall, but is loose, and therefore has caused a crack in the joint compound all around the window.

It's not a severe problem, but if anyone can tell me what this plastic casing is and how I should go about repairing the cracking so that the joint compound/paint does not crack again in a few months, I would appreciate it.

Also, should I caulk around the inside of the window before applying the new joint compound (or after, or not at all)?

Any advice would be much appreciated (wife waiting impaciently to paint walls!).

Thanks.

What you are seeing sounds like a plastic sheetrock corner. It shouldn't be loose, it should be nailed tight to the sheetrock, then embedded in the joint compound.

The water damage was caused fom condensation, not from windows being left open in a rainstorm. This will occur every winter as long as you have aluminum framed windows in the house and keep the inside of the house warmer than it is outside.

After you have the joint (or topping) compound done around the window sills, then apply a bead of latex caulking in the joint between the window frame and the sheetrock.

Thanks for your reply.

Please excuse my ignorance, but I am originally from another country where houses are built from brick and mortar and so everything is totally different, and this is my first house in the US: I thought sheetrock corner was the metal corner that went around the corner of the window sill and slightly down the wall. If that is correct, then this piece of plastic is something different.

I maybe didn't describe it accurately initially - it is about half an inch wide and sits between the "metal corner" and the window sill.

I would rather make sure I am clear on what you are talking about before nailing things down. :-)

Thanks.

I'm sorry -- I did misunderstand the piece of plastic you were describing. The sheetrock corner is exactly what you think it is, and most of the time they are metal. But there are plastic ones out there.

Now to your plastic piece. I have never seen one like you are describing, but it sounds as though it may have been put there to protect the sheetrock from moisture damage due to the condensation. If it wasn't nailed down when you found it, DON'T nail it down. Maybe Jack, Old Guy, or MTAC can give you a better answer than I can.

Thanks for that reply lefty.

Unfortunately I have already nailed it down. No problem, not your fault, I should have waited for a response.

Anyway, I was wondering if anybody else (Jack, Old Guy, or MTAC ?) has any ideas on what that piece of plastic is for.

Thanks!

sediment, I don't think you hurt anything by nailing it down, so for now just leave it (Unless of course you have already removed the nails!!) I e-mailed both Jack and Old Guy and made them aware of this thread, so hopefully one (or both) will be able to shed some light on the subject in the next day or so. And ask your wife to bear with us on this one. You can't rush good work. (Most of the time, you can't even find it!)

The plastic strip wround your window is the nailing strip.
You window was not installed properly. The strip should be on the outside not the inside. What this means is that they installed the window from the inside. This may very well be where you are having leakage. If it breaks off the window, moisture will come from the outside of the window through this crack to the inside. I would put some silicone caulk where it is broken off. Good Luck

lefty emailed me, and me not being a pro to begin with, I had no clue about an "inside plastic flange". I emailed him back to that effect.
The only plastic flange that I've ever seen on a window is the nailer on the outside.
Jack (a REAL pro of the first water, unlike me) nailed it!
The window was installed backwards, and THAT is why it is leaking.
Dismantle it all. Reverse it, and re-install it properly, re-finish it inside, and your problems should be solved!
Good Luck!

What Jack says makes a lot of sense, now that I have read his post and reread your original post. (Why didn't I think of that??). Unfortunately, none of us can come over and actually LOOK at the problem. (I'm in CA, Old Guy is in NC, and Jack never stays home long enough for any of us to know where he is!! LOL!!) Seriously, if what Jack said looks to be the case, you will have to do what Old Guy said and reinstall the window the right way. If you have any doubts about this being the case, call a local glass shop and have them LOOK at it.

Thanks Jack! Thanks Mike!

Just a word of caution before you pull your window out. There may have been a reason that they installed the window from the inside. Take a look at your siding and brick mold.
It may have been a real problem to install the window the right way. Just a thought. One thing you could do. And that is take the window out from the inside, cut off the nailing strip all the way around, and re insert the window, and put four screws, 2 on each side, and 2 on the top and screw it to your window frame. Then caulk around the inside. Now your window would be like a window insert that are installed from the inside.

Hi everyone,I've been reading this thread and reading all the ans.as to what that plastic strip could be.I thought lefty was right about it being a plastic corner bead for drywall.I just cant see how that strip of plastic can be the nailing flange.As far as the window being but in backwards,that would would put the sash on the outside of the house,so i dont think thats the case.I've never seen a nailing flange any wider then 2".Not know what kind of windows where talking about here sure makes it more difficult.If these windows are replacments,then the homeowner would already have the 2 screws on either side of the sash.What am thinking is the the contractor installed windows made for 2x4 construction,when maybe the house is constructed of 2x6.If thats the case,that would leave a distance of about 1 1/2" from the end of the window,to the end of the frameing.So instead of making extension jams from wood he just filled in this area with drywall.He may have put some plastic strips around the window to pack it out to keep the drywall even.Just my two cents guys,like lefty said not being able to see it,makes it alot harder to diagnose.

Beach 51.: Putting the windows in backwards, means putting the windows in from the inside and not the outside. You sash is still on the inside. It would be bad to have to walk outside and open your window. I am pretty sure it is the nailing flange. but, then I could be wrong. I see this happen alot in my business.
Have a good day.

Hi Jack the contrator,just putting my 2 cents in.Just cant see how it could be the nailing flange,i"ve never seen a window with the nailing flange on the inside.And if your right,it was put in backwards,then that means the nailing flange is about 5 or 6" long.I know some window manufacture's have the nailing flange down,and you have to pry the flange up prior to installation,have you ever seen where the nailing flange came back past the inside of the window?I know i never had.You may be right Jack,and am not about to get in an agrument over it,its just that i have a hard time believeing it could be the flange.

sediment99, like I said before, we are all handicapped on this one because none of us can actually SEE this plastic strip. Jack may be right about the window having been installed from the inside and it may be a portion of the nailing fin that you are seeing; I may have been right when I suggested it being a plastic sheetrock corner, or it may be something that is totally different. I still think it would be best to have one of the installers from a local glass shop swing by and actually LOOK at it. He (or she) can identify it positively for you and tell you how to deal with it. He can also tell you if the window was installed from the inside or not, and if so, WHY.

Let us know.

Beach: Not a problem with your 2 cents worth. It is always welcome. I now wonder if you and I are talking about the same thing. The nailing flange sits 1" back from
the outside of the window, is 1" wide, and goes all around the window. You just slip you window between your jack studs and nail it on after applying caulk on the jack studs.
When installed from the inside, the procedure is the same,
It is just nailed on the inside of the jack studs. The window will basically fit the same. Now, some of the window companies are putting the nailing strip in the center of the window so the strip can be cut off to make a window insert. Glad for your input. Do you live on a beach ?

Hi Jack,Am glad to hear there's no problem with me putting in my 2 cents.As you can see am new to this forum,but am not new to the construction trade.Like yourself,am also a contractor.I agree with everything you mentioned in your last post,except the nailing flange on the inside.How can the flange come back far enough past the window to nail it to the framing.If you have a 4" wide window,and the flange is in the middle,and the flange is 1" wide,you would still be 1" short of the back end of the window,so how would you nail it to the framing?wouldnt the flange be under the window?Thats why am having doubts about it being the nailing flange.But you know as well as i do Jack,with all the differant window manfrs out there today,anything is possible.As for your question about living on the beach,i wish.I do live about 5 miles from the beach,and go there as much as possible,but not now,to many torist,lol.Am in Delaware.Where you from Jack?

Actually you need to put in 4 cents not 2 cents. 2 go to Lefty, and 2 go to me. I live in the northern plains, but now have crews in Florida, Wisc, & Oregon, and the Dakota's Have shut down Arizona for the summer. Now, all the crews are busy, so I'm going fishing with Bill Dance.

You guys are amazing! I definitely did not expect such a great response!! Thanks for all your replies.

Unfortunately, based on the initial responses I received, I have already reworked the damaged area by recovering the area with joint compound and recaulking the windows. So far it looks great, but I guess only time will tell whether my repair job holds up.

Fortunately (or not), my home has plenty of windows with the same problem, so all your advice will not be wasted. When I tackle the next one, I will be sure to get someone to come in and take a look at it. I'll try and remember to post back here as well, if only to help other home repairmen.

Hopefully I don't need to reinstall the windows (as mentioned in some of the posts), since this is a town house and I can't just go ahead and do that!

Thanks, again.

<sediment is worse than scum - at least scum floats>