TOPIC: Patio door & window issues

I was hired by client to document my findings while a contractor was in removing caulking and trim to find out if there was insulation installed between the new replacement windows & patio doors. Windows had insulation. Now the patio doors were a different story. Some had some insulation on the tops of them some did not. 2 of the 7 had insulation installed on the sides. The other 5 did not. It appeared they were so tight to the existing framing when installed there was no room to install insulation. The only seal was caulk. The client showed me her digital photos from this winter of major ice build up on the patio doors. She also showed me her heating/electrical bills (combined in our area) 2007/2008 they were averaging $ 350.00/month. 2008/2009 they were averaging $ 900.00/month. The humidity level in the home was around 50%. Shouldn't the width of the patio doors have been 2" less than the rough opening to allow for proper shimming and insulation. What is you take on this situation??

Was it insulated on the outside of the patio door? Is brick molding present? I put in new patio door some years ago and mine was tight also, I put the insulation under the brick mold. I have never had the issues she is having. Have her insulate the outside under the brick mold. How did you determine the humidity level. The best way is with a sling psychrometer. I think the humidity should be lower, not more than 40%. Are there blinds on the patio doors? If the humidity is higher that 40% and/or no air movement against the patio doors, the humidity will condense on the doors and freeze.

An infrared camera would have been nice there. You could have checked all the insulation without removing the caulk & trim. Watch out as the prices of the camera's fall!

Was it insulated on the outside of the patio door? Is brick molding present? I put in new patio door some years ago and mine was tight also, I put the insulation under the brick mold. I have never had the issues she is having. Have her insulate the outside under the brick mold. How did you determine the humidity level. The best way is with a sling psychrometer. I think the humidity should be lower, not more than 40%. Are there blinds on the patio doors? If the humidity is higher that 40% and/or no air movement against the patio doors, the humidity will condense on the doors and freeze.

No Brick mold only caulk. Some energy audit contractor performed the humidity check not sure how it was measured. I agree about it being no higher than 40%. Yes blinds are on all patio doors but I think if they were not those energy bills could have been even higher.

Dominic, I agree an Infrared would have been nice. One of these years

Might sound weird Brian, but were the seals on the windows and door glass good. And also, were they double pane triple pane, or what?

The seals appear to be good. They are both double pane. The windows and doors are vinyl.