Self-adhered flange for use with non-flanged windows

Abstract

An elongated flange material for forming a flange and a method for use in sealing a non-flanged window, door, or other fenestration product in a wall opening, wherein the flange material comprises at least one top coversheet and at least one bottom coversheet with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer sandwiched between the two coversheets, wherein the coversheets occupy an appreciable width of the flange but do not extend across the entire width of the flange and thereby are offset with respect to each other thereby providing opposing first and second exposed surfaces of the pressures sensitive adhesive layer. Alternatively, the flange material comprises a nonporous flexible sheet with top and bottom pressure-sensitive adhesive layer on opposite sides along opposite edges of the nonporous flexible sheet.

1 . A self-adhering flange material, comprising: 
 an elongated nonporous flexible sheet having top and bottom major surfaces and a width between a first edge and a second edge;    a top pressure-sensitive adhesive layer adhered to the top surface of the flexible sheet along the first edge over a portion of the width of the flexible sheet; and    a bottom pressure-sensitive adhesive layer adhered to the bottom surface of the flexible sheet along the second edge over a portion of the width of the flexible sheet.    
   
   
       2 . The flange material of  claim 1  further comprising release paper covering the opposing top and bottom pressure-sensitive adhesive layers.  
   
   
       3 . The flange material of  claim 2  wherein the release paper is perforated such that the release paper may be removed in strips having a width less than the width of the pressure-sensitive adhesive surface that the release paper covers.  
   
   
       4 . The flange material of  claim 1  wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive is selected from the group consisting of butyl rubber adhesive, bituminous adhesive, acrylic, neoprene, epdm-based polymer and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       5 . The flange material of  claim 1  wherein the nonporous flexible sheet is selected from the group consisting of nonporous nonwoven sheets, nonporous films, nonporous coated papers, nonporous coated nonwoven sheets, nonporous nonwoven-film laminates, nonporous plastic and nonporous metal.  
   
   
       6 . A flange for sealing interfaces between fenestration products and walls comprising the flange material of any of claims  1 - 5 .  
   
   
       7 . A method for installing a non-flanged window into a wall opening whereby the interface between the window and the wall is sealed, the method comprising the steps of: 
 a) adhering the top pressure-sensitive adhesive surface of a head piece of the flange material according to  claim 1  to the top surface of the head of the window and the outer surface of the upper portion of each jamb of the window;    b) adhering a separate jamb piece of the flange material according to  claim 1  to the outer surface of the entire length of each jamb of the window, thereby covering the head piece of the flange material adhered to each jamb in step (a);    c) installing the window in the wall opening such that the head of the window is located at the top of the wall opening and the unadhered portions of the head piece and jamb pieces of flange material of step (a) and step (b) extend outward from the wall;    d) adhering the unadhered portions of the pieces of flange material of step (a) and step (b) to the wall above and adjacent each jamb of the window such that the head piece covers an upper portion of the jamb pieces.