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AAMA Testing

AMMA Certified (American Architectural Manufacturing Association)

I constructed two stucco wall assemblies with aluminum windows for water spray rack testing by an AAMA certified testing laboratory in Dallas, TX. One wall assembly was a one coat stucco system and the other was a conventional three coat stucco system. The windows were installed with the following window installation deficiencies. They are;

  1. (12) 3/8″ diameter holes drilled in window nail flange a immediately adjacent to the frame
  2. (2) of the four window nail flanges were cut off and thus missing
  3. (2) of the four window flanges were bent outwards
  4. No window flashing was installed
  5. No sealant was installed
  6. Nails in the window flange were installed within 3″ of the corners

The one coat system was installed with the following deficiencies. They are;

  1. No weather barrier (black paper)
  2. No tongue and groove joints
  3. Staples through the nail flange of the window
  4. Staple misses
  5. Foam not friction fit to frame (gap around windows)
  6. I inserted shims in the wet stucco at the corners of the windows in order to create a 1/8″ crack completely through the stucco assembly

The three coat stucco assembly was installed in a similar manner less the foam.

The wall assemblies were then painted with a common latex based stucco paint typically used in the western part of the US. We then left the wall assemblies with a spray rack here in Las Vegas and documented numerous leaks.

Then your company came and installed an elastomeric system on the subject assemblies.

When I spray tested the assemblies after your elastomeric system was installed, the wall assemblies did not leak.

I then transported the wall assemblies to Architectural Testing Inc. in Dallas, Texas. They are the largest AAMA accredited testing laboratory in the US. They performed ASTM E547 spray tests on both assemblies which subjected both assemblies to a constant spray of water for thirty two minutes that is the equivalent of an eight inch per hour rain. For reference purposes, no rain storm of eight inches in an hour has ever been recorded in the US. The wall assemblies did not leak.

I have investigated alleged window installation defects for twelve years and I am an AAMA certified window installer under the trademark of Installation Masters.

Sincerely yours,
Duke Phleps
Phelps Consulting


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