Install Windows From the INSIDE! Pella's SteadySet System (Building Resilience)
We test drive a new window installation system from Pella; the verdict: Superior
Aw geez, here we go again. Wait a minute, why was the drywall installed before the windows?
Welcome back to Building Resilience, the show about whole-house solutions for extreme climate, healthy homes, and sustainability.
Last week: Great Stuff Wide Spray
Previously, we were in a dumpster checking out a new canned foam product from Great Stuff. And it worked so well that we tried it out in a crawlspace with impressive results. The distance spaying action makes sealing gaps a lot easier.
Six innovations in one Pella window
This time, we’re gonna install some windows like you’ve never seen before, featuring what Pella calls the Steady-Set system, which means you install them from the inside.
Michael Anschel:
We've been installing windows for a long time, three decades actually, and rarely have we come across an innovation that totally changes how we install the windows.
And now we have not just one innovation, but six innovations on a single window. that completely change how we install windows.
Flip and click bracket
The first thing I notice when I look at this window, which looks like an ordinary wood window, are these brackets all the way around the window. This is the flip and click bracket.
And the purpose of this bracket is to allow us to install the window to the inside of the framing. We take the clip, slide the bracket into the receiver like this. It locks into place. And now whoever installs this window from the inside, when they slide it in, it's going to be in exactly the right location.
So all that monkeying around where a window's a little bit in, a little bit out, that's gone. Most importantly, with this system, we're installing from the inside. We're not carrying windows up ladders, we're not messing around on scaffolding. All of that difficult work that has traditionally taken place on the outside of the building is gone.
We have a very simple, very safe, and consistent installation for these windows.
Head Stabilizer holds the window in the opening
The next thing I noticed about this window were these little metal fingers sticking up from the top of the window unit. This is called a head stabilizer. Now, normally when we install windows there's two people, right?
Someone's holding the window while the other person is adjusting and screwing it off. With this it allows for one person to pick up the unit, granted they can pick it up, and set it into the opening where these engage with the wood framing above and keep the unit from tipping back out. So now one person can set, adjust the unit without needing two people there to secure it, screw it off.
It's a much simpler installation.
Sill shim automatically creates gap for sealant
On the bottom of the window is another innovation. This is a sill shim. So imagine you're sliding the window into the opening. This guide will ensure that the window is held exactly a quarter inch off of your framing, so that you can get your insulation in here. And if your framers are any good, when that sill is already going to be nice and level, so when you slide the window in, you're ready to go.
Shim Guides help straighten tall frames
Now over here on the side, we have these shim guides. So this little piece of plastic is pretty cool. On tall units, where there's some bowing that can occur, and you need to square things up, you can take a shim, and this tells you exactly where you should place your shim. You slide it through, and if you didn't have this, you might shim and hit the flashing flange.
This holds it up, so that you can go right past the flashing flange. Once this is adjusted, you screw off at the bracket, you remove the shims, and this is the truly revolutionary part. You can now get a continuous bead of insulation all the way around the window. without the shims interrupting it.
Flashing fin provides airtight integration with WRB
Speaking of flashing flanges, this is a flashing fin. We have these fin guards that we remove after we install the window, not before. And then, we unfold this. Now this is a fully integrated flashing fin, which is remarkable. It's a substantive change from how we've done it in the past. Previously the challenge has been Getting our flashing tapes onto the frame of the unit itself.
With this system, as long as my flashing tape is somewhere on the yellow, I'm good. I'm fully flashed. The other, those silly styrofoam corners are gone. Instead, we have a rubberized connection here. Nice and flexible. Nice and watertight. And at the bottom, we have a subtle geometry on that bottom fins that allows for any water that gets in there to get back out again.
Adjustable brackets for non-standard width walls
Sometimes we have unusual walls. that aren't 2x4 or 2x6. Sometimes, like in this instance, we've both had to add material to the interior and we have foam on the exterior. And for everybody who's worried about exterior foam and what that means for setting windows, this this is the solution that makes it all super easy.
Because we're installing to the inside, we're not going to be putting out bucks, we're not going to be messing around with anything out here, there's no thermal bridging. And in order to figure out where to set this, It's pretty simple. We have one bracket that we set on the outside, another one from the inside, and this little slot key tells us exactly where we need to be.
We mark that.
Then we transfer that. Across all of our brackets, when we go to install them, we're going to slide that bracket in right to that mark, and we're good.
Back to the drywall thing.
The window manufacturer does NOT recommend installing the drywall before the windows, but we film these shows on real projects for real clients with real timelines; sometimes, the project manager has to keep things moving forward while they wait for the film crew. And no matter how many times you tell the drywall installer to hold the material off the opening if you aren’t on-site to enforce it, you’ll be doing this…
Window installation process begins with flashing
The first step is to flash the window openings, using some kind of flexible flashing at the sill.
The jambs do not require flexible flashing, but the flashing SHOULD bridge all the layers, sealing the WERB to the framing to stop unwanted airflow through the layers.
As always, flashing materials should overlap the shingle style to continually direct water out and away from the structural parts of the house.
Because Stephen wrapped the peel and stick WRB into the opening, he only needs to seal the edges at the top to stop air leaks.
Now comes the fun part. Let’s see if Stephen can set all of the windows in. The holes before Joseph and David can fasten them.
Yes. He can. However, the competition is a little bit unfair because groups of windows need to perfectly align so the trim works out, and placing the windows properly is no place to race.
The window goes into the opening from the inside.
It is snugged tightly against the framing, and you can let go of it.
Window installation requires precision for high-end trim detailing
In this small studio unit, the trim needs to align, and it will be wildly noticeable if it doesn’t, so they set up a laser to guide exactly where the window bottoms should sit.
The air shim makes setting the window at the correct height easy, and the brackets are screwed into the framing.
Joseph plumbs the window and screws off the top brackets. Tall windows are no different, except they are heavier. Rather than setting up a short scaffold or climbing strep ladders, the guys carry it inside and stick it in the opening.
Again, the air shim lifts the heavy window easily, with no extra hands needed, so after lifting the window, it is back to a single-person operation.
Outside, Stephen removes the flashing fin holders and extends the fins out to receive flashing.
Window installation ends with flashing
Again, flash the sides first—you only need to hit the yellow part of the flashing fin because it is secured to the window frame with a neoprene gasket. The old days of wrapping the flashing onto the window frame are over.
With the sides flashed to the WRB, the top flashing is added so that the flashing correctly overlaps. He rolls the flashing tape with a roller because it says so right on the tape.
The bottom is left open for drainage, should any water find its way into the opening.
The last step is adding the drip edge provided by Pella. David measures above the sash in the window frame, cuts the stock at the chop saw, slips the drip edge in place, and taps it home with a mallet.
These triple-glazed windows are a resilient addition to this house because of their energy performance, but the many installation features ensure that the energy performance won’t be sabotaged before the homeowners even get to move into the space.
Problem-solving products and smooth installation are what Building Resilience is all about.