The Problem With Sill Pan Penetrations
laguna949
| Posted in General Questions on
I just caught this horrendous caulk job on this sill pan at my my home under construction. I told the GC immediately that this was unacceptable and to tear it out. He went to call the decking contractor to address it but it didn’t seem like he understood why this was a big deal. Am I right to make this call so seriously? Once this caulk dries out my pan flashing will be Swiss cheese! I thought horizontal drainage planes were never supposed to have holes in them.
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Replies
If you are going to nail a metal sill, it should be done on a vertical plane, there is no reason for the dozen or so nail plus the potential leaks.
If it is worth fixing depends a lot on the exposure of the door there and what is underneath it. For example, if the door is to a covered patio with foundation bellow, I wouldn't worry too much. On the other hand if there is no overhang and a walkout bellow, definitely fix it.
Sills are very expensive to replace and fix down the road, the amount of damage from a leaky sill if there is wood construction bellow can be quite significant, it won't happen tomorrow but it will be bad in ten years. Not something you want to skimp on.
seems like overboard for sure. When I install a stainless pan I flash the RO with tape to protect the wood, then lay some beads of sealant, then place pan ontop-especially if the door is going in right after. Some traditional wood doors/jambs have a screw hole in the middle of the threshold that goes through the threshold into the sill/subfloor. On those I usually put a piece of self healing flashing tape on the stainless pan in the middle where the threshold screw will eventually go through it(before putting the door in)... I don't like penetrating my pan but if i'm going to it is minimal for the door install only and preventative measures with a piece of flashing tape to hopefully better seal the 1 screw penetration.