Reading many caulking issues from our forum experts has me busy inspecting, cleaning, prepping for caulk etc.
The window butyl tape is oozing out past the edge of the window (unsightly), so I have trimmed the excess and cleaned. I am concerned of possible voids in the butyl tape in some areas of the window. Not knowing exactly how the windows are constructed, should I be concerned if the butyl tape does not extend to the edge of the window trim?
Did they use butyl tape under the awning mounts? On the top gutter? Outside of a leak, is there any reason to reseal, caulk etc?
Greg
To me, part of maintenance (every 2 years or so is to take a #2 square head screwdriver (for most Foretravel windows) and very slightly torque them (like 10 INCH (yes inch) pounds. You are just insuring that they are not loose.
Removing the "ooze" is not difficult, but requires a special tool-- a plastic knife. It will not scar gel coat, but will cut through the butyl ooze. If not too warm, you can ball it up and throw it away.
I would not use any solvent, as it could degrade the butyl tape that forms your caulk.
I would be concerned about a gap at the top of a window, not so much sides and not concerned with the bottom at all unless you use a pressure washer to clean the coach (bad idea IMO).
When windows come out, the new way is to use (non oozing) foam tape between window outside frame and coach outside wall. We use GE silicone caulk if something needs sealing.
Xtreme uses rubber tube seal instead of tape when re-installing after paint.
From one of my posts 3 years ago:
"We're also getting some things done ourselves. It's rained everyday for the 2 weeks we've been in TX and we've found a couple of window leaks. We fixed two last weekend and decided to redo the gaskets on all the windows. I've found that every window has at least one corner where the gasket has shrunk into the curve and breached the seal. I'd suggest that everyone consider checking at least a window or 2 to see you you have the potential problem. You may be able to get an idea of the seal condition by gently running a very thin scraper blade or feeler gauge between the frame and the sidewall to see how far the gasket has shrunk. Ideally, the blade should not go in past the edge of the frame. If it goes in more than a 1/4" before it hits the gasket, I'd be concerned.
Some windows are easy to get out and some are tougher. I had to remove all the valences and window shades on each of them. The other hard part is getting all the old adhesive off before you put on the new gasket. Takes some time, solvent and scraping. I figure about 2 hours per window."
Rich
I found a leak in the bathroom that I thought was coming from the vent and running over and down the wall. After checking the vent and found it to be ok I looked at the screws that hold the rain gutter on and found that it was partly stopped up with pine needles and letting the water get over the gutter screw heads I removed the screws and caulked and reinstalled. Nearly every screw was rusted so there has been water seeping in for a while. Now all I have to do is caulk every screw around the coach gutter, there has to be at least 150-200 of them.
A box of stainless steel screws and a tube of polysulfide would be a very good investment for your project.