Where does Thermal Buck stand nowadays?
anonymoususer
| Posted in Green Building Techniques on
In 2019, Peter Yost, formerly of GBA, wrote an article cautioning about the possibly reduced ability of the Brinc brand Thermal Buck product to manage bulk water:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/petes-products-thermalbuck
Where do opinions stand now? Has Thermal Buck been redesigned to more effectively handle bulk water?
https://thermalbuck.com/thermalbuck-installation-steps/videos/
Builders, can you please chime in re: your experiences installing this product? Any idea how it is performing over time?
Thanks
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Replies
You can just do as Peter suggests in the article and not put adhesive along the sill, leaving it open for drainage:
“ When the ThermalBuck sill leg is installed, it is not sealed with adhesive on its horizontal and vertical leg (so that any leaked water directed by the sill pan could weep out of the ThermalBuck sill leg)?”
I haven't had the chance to use it yet as my designs are rarely appropriate for it, but I know plenty of excellent builders and architects who think it's great. I never recommend sealing the bottom of the window on the exterior, only on the interior to provide an air barrier, so any moisture can drain.
Thank you, Michael. Your comments are reassuring.
Another thought. Depending on the thickness of your window, it is very likely that the window will sit on top of the 1/2" x 2.5" tongue of the ThermalBuck and not extended past it. Keep in mind we are dealing with outie flanged windows so they will be positioned as far as they can to the outside automatically. So any water that leaks into the windows will fall on TOP of the ThermalBuck, not behind it. So I don't really understand what the concern is? You will have a sloped sill, and therefore a sloped ThermalBuck sill piece as well.
Thank you, Matthew, for both your comments. We are hoping to have “outie” windows installed. We already purchased flanged windows smaller than RO (to accommodate buck) but in these rural parts, many builders are unfamiliar with continuous exterior insulation and outie windows, so any product which might make the job less intimidating to local builders, appeals to us. This is how we came upon thermalbuck: the builders we spoke with, who are seasoned, state-licensed construction supervisors, had no experience building outie boxes on site nor installing insulation outside the sheathing. Your comments are helpful—thank you, again