I am replacing an old vinyl window. The previous window had a separate storm window on the outside (which I removed). Now there is wood exposed to the elements. I live in Minnesota where it's hot and wet in the summer and very cold in the winter. I am concerned about having this wood exposed.
I plan on
- Scraping, sanding and repainting the wood with oil-based, exterior paint
- Installing the sill edge (below the window)
- Insulating and caulking
But I am wondering if I need to do anything else? Do I need to install some type of flashing?
Any help is appreciated.
Best Answer
The purpose of the flashing it to direct any water that manages to get behind the trim back to the outside surface of the house instead of letting it continue to worm its way inside where it can start to rot the framing.
The pieces of wood you've identified don't have direct paths to behind the siding, so they don't need to be flashed.
Keep in mind that the trim, framing, and windows themselves have been made of wood for many, many years. There is no need to apply flashing to these bits of exposed wood.
It sounds like you've got a good plan of attack for preparing and protecting the wood, just keep an eye on it (a yearly check would be good) and redo the scraping and paint job as necessary.
From the looks of it, you let it go too long since the last repaint, so don't let it get this far the next time. Don't worry, I'm not taking you to task for that - you window looks far better than mine did before we finally got them all replaced.