J-channel around windows

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

Not sure how you determined that no moisture got behind the vinyl siding without taking same back down to verify...........that or you simply kept the pressure setting very low.

Anyway, why are you pressure washing vinyl siding or any exterior veneer of a home..... I can take a garden sprayer with a mix of Jo-Max, water and out door bleach and accomplish the same thing without using a pressure sprayer. Pressure washers have their place but on exterior veneers..........they often cause more problem then they are worth.

[Larry D. Kage]

For those that haven't looked, Frank has a lot of good info on his site and knows what he is talking about.

http://www.albertsroofing.com/

http://www.albertsroofing.com/Window%20Flashing.htm

[Frank Albert]

We were doing tests a few years ago to determine how to keep the water out after replacing some sills. We were finding lots of rotted walls, sills, framing, etc. on aluminum and vinyl sided homes.
Tried a simple piece of flashing which worked well. Tried a water hose on the j-channel. Some water got to the barrier. Went wider on the flashing. BIG help and almost bullet proof.
After watching a house get power washed, we loosened some siding to see how it looked underneath. Terribly wet. ( Not one I had flashed).


Later, we got another to flash and hit it with a power washer later. You could still get water in there by spraying upwards, but no water trails led back to any windows I had flashed.
And yes, I do see homeowners with power washers doing their siding on occassion. I just hate to do anything twice. You'd be hard put to get water into a window cavity I flash. But, it's not impossible. It seems that some welded windows leak at the corners, and elsewhere in the framing. But, I'll keep trying to keep that pesky ole water out.