Towards development of a performance standard for assessing the effectiveness of wall-window interface details to manage rainwater intrusion

Laboratory water spray testing identifies the performance of a component or assembly under a specified set of simulated wind-driven rain conditions. Well-developed water spray test protocols can also help identify where an assembly is vulnerable to water entry, the test loads at which water entry occurs, and whether the water entry is managed by the installation details in such a way that it does not result in within-wall damage. This paper presents a proposed laboratory test protocol for assessing the effectiveness of wall-window interface details with regard to management of rainwater and provides a rationale for a performance-based approach to the evaluation method. An overview of the test approach is provided, and details of the test apparatus and test specimen are given, including information on implementation of the test method. Examples of testing performed according to the proposed protocol are provided. Finally additional tests for evaluating the performance of installation details are suggested. The additional tests are for field evaluation of installation details and for laboratory evaluation of installation details with regard to the risk of condensation along window frames.