Window PAINS

Caution, the events you are about to encounter are real. This could happen to you!

In the life cycle of a restaurant, you can expect that sooner or later, the exterior building windows will need to be upgraded. What you might also reasonably expect is those old and tired looking windows may have been left in service just a bit too long.

It is important to note, when the integrity of the window components are compromised, the damage can lay dormant for years before being detected. This was the case in a window replacement project we recently completed for a customer. While the old windows may have shown mild instances of deterioration, what lurked below the surface went from mild to wild!

When the weatherproofing characteristics of a window system are compromised and water seeps into the sub framing components of a building the results can be disastrous. Most times, the structural framing components are not pressure treated or otherwise impervious to water damage.

So, when typical southern yellow pine or fir framing members get wet, and don’t have a way of drying, structural decay is inevitable. Once discovered, the decay cannot be ignored. Even with the replacement of the window and seal-off of additional water intrusion, the original decay will take on a life of its own as dry rot.

The only way to properly deal with this situation is to completely remove all decay and re-frame the structure as far back as necessary.

Now, your window replacement project has just exponentially become more expensive. Additionally, that “inconvenience timeline” you projected to your operations customer has blown through the stratosphere.

So please, be forewarned that window upgrades can, and often do, come with “got-ya’s”.

Being aware of this potential and having a contingency plan in place to deal with it is a good idea. Making the restaurant management team aware of this potential on the front end can save your back-end.

Ronald T. Wilhite