Fire repair and hardening in Palms, Los Angeles County
Retrofit Windows and Stucco Repair in Palms
Palms window replacement that checks whether a retrofit unit can go in without cutting stucco, and opens the wall only where a failed sill has let water in.
Will replacing the windows in a Palms house mean breaking open the plaster around every one? Frequently it will not. A retrofit unit sits inside the existing frame, or covers it with a flat trim flange, and the stucco stays where it is. That only works when the old opening is square and its framing is dry. Where a sill has been leaking, the wall gets opened and reflashed, or the new window simply covers the old problem.
Testing an opening for a retrofit
Each opening is measured across the head, the middle and the sill, and its diagonals are compared to see whether it is square. A pin moisture meter driven into the framing under the sill shows whether that wood is dry. Where the numbers come back low and the old frame is solid, the retrofit unit is set into it, sealed and trimmed. Every new window is insulated glass with a tempered pane, which stands up to heat far better than a single annealed sheet. Patching on the outside stays limited to the trim line.
Opening the wall when it leaked
Dark streaks under a sill, framing that gives under a screwdriver or plaster that rings hollow all mean water has been getting into the wall. Then the old unit comes out whole, with a strip of stucco cut back around it. The rough opening is repaired, wrapped in flashing tape and fitted with a sloped pan before a flanged window goes in. Building paper and lath lap over the flange in shingle order and the plaster is rebuilt to match. LADBS handles the permit, because Palms belongs to the City of Los Angeles, and its inspector checks the flashing before plaster.
Work we take on in Palms
Every service on this list is offered here. The exterior and fire work comes first, then remodeling and new space.
Book a walk-through in Palms
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