Mike Guertin: Head flashing prevents water from leaking in at the joint between the bottom edge of siding and the top of the head trim. The Drip Cap should have been installed over the top nail fin tape, just before they flip the house wrap down and tape it off. 8. Install metal cap flashing. We used lead flashing and molded it to fit over the window. This helps direct water out away from window. Drip cap is an L-shaped flashing that goes over windows and doors after they're installed (but before siding is installed) to prevent moisture from seeping in from above. We back caulk the Drip Cap before installing and use "Cap Nails" to install … Drip caps are fastened to the sheathing directly above a window and protrude slightly to keep water from entering the window unit. a) The head jamb of a window is the most vulnerable to water damage. My plan is 5/4 azek skirt board with either azek drip cap or azek water table trim. Rigid head flashing (RHF) works in conjunction with window flashing, weather resistant barrier (WRB) and the cladding to keep water from finding its way inside a building. It should have been a no brainer for the installers. The drip cap attaches to the sheathing above the window, and then a strip of flashing tape is applied over the nails used to attack the drip cap. If your window has come with a drip cap, now’s the time to install it. This is often impossible to do so as a back up we install flashing behind the joints and drain the water out from behind the siding and on top of a lower section of siding. Before sealing up the top of the window, I prefer to install a traditional metal cap flashing. Flashing for Old Windows – How do you get a good weathertight seal on old windows that don’t have a flange? In this type of installation, seal the cap flashing directly to the sheathing with high-quality sealant. One leg of the “L” goes over the window or door brick mold, while the other lies behind the siding that will go above. 3. Can I add this missing protection? RHF is sometimes mistakenly called drip cap, drip edge, cap flashing or z-flashing. When a window with the integral J is installed , how are you going to install a premoulded drip cap or bent “Z” flashing at the top. Photos by: Chris Ermides except where noted. The doors and windows on my home do not have head flashing. There is no metal drip cap over the round window. I don’t want to use J so my plan was to use starter above drip cap. —David Wolf, via email. RHF is made of steel, aluminum or PVC and is installed on the top, exterior side of a window. More on Windows: Drip Cap Design and Installation – The lowly drip cap needs to be taken more seriously to prevent leaks and rot. Then place the top piece of flashing tape over the cap flashing and layer the house wrap over the tape. 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