Guidance for field testing fenestration products for water penetration updated

The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) has updated a specification providing a quality assurance and diagnostic field water penetration check for fenestration products. “AAMA 501.2-25, Quality Assurance and Diagnostic Water Leakage Field Check of Installed Storefronts, Curtain Walls and Sloped Glazing Systems,” was last updated in 2009.

“The purpose of AAMA 501.2 is to provide a quality assurance and diagnostic field water penetration procedure for fixed fenestration products,” said Dan Johnson (GCI Consultants), a leader of the FGIA Methods of Test for Exterior Walls Update Task Group. “AAMA 501.2 provides a method to check non-operable fenestration products and their installation during construction for water penetration resistance under controllable, reproducible, and appropriate conditions. The revised AAMA 501.2 adds clarity to the fenestration products included and excluded in the field check procedure.”

The field check procedure is intended to evaluate those joints, gaskets, and sealant details in the fenestration product that are designed to remain permanently closed and watertight and are not sealed using weatherstrip or weatherseals.