Hello,

I have a little complication with drip cap and trim over a window. I have a window that's so close to the soffit that with the frieze board trim and window trim there's almost no room for siding/drip cap in between.

If I tried to use siding in between the window trim and frieze board trim it would maybe be an inch high if not less. Instead of doing this I'm thinking of using wider trim on top of the window and simply butt into the frieze board. But this means no proper drip cap over the window. Would this be allowed?

Another option would be to tuck the drip cup under the frieze board, but I'm not really sure what this would accomplish with the soffit being just 5.5" above it.


Here is a picture of what I mean

 

Does the soffit have sufficient overhang such that it is unlikely the top of the window will ever see much driving rain?

You can still install an aluminum drip cap between the casing and the window unit itself so that it will provide a drip line extended out from the plane of the casing.

 

If water might ever get up there I form a drip edge piece out of vinyl siding trim stock. You might also cut a piece of Hardi and attach it horizontally with a bit of fall to do the same thing. Caulk the seams and paint. If it's really well protected under an overhang then you might just side it as best you can and caulk the seams without a proper drip cap.

 

I think your plan is fine. When there is no siding above the trim and the trim butts up to the soffit the drip cap is pointless.

 

Thanks for the response guys. I'll most likely rip a wider trim piece for the top of the window so that it butts tight into the frieze board trim above, caulk whatever gap there may be.

The overhang is decent size, here is an actual photo:

 

I don't have a tape measure on me, but it looks like you have plenty of room for a 1x4 trim, drip cap and some siding... above that window. I thought you said it would be 1" or less. Or you said there is a frieze board going all the way across the top?

Hopefully your frieze and your window trim are different thicknesses so that you have some relief from one to the other so that they don't blend in with one another. If they are flush with one another, that seam is difficult to caulk, so that's why you'd put the drip cap between the top window trim and the frieze. But I bet it would rarely get wet.

 

Yeah I haven't put on the frieze board yet, you can see it on the side wall, which is 5.5" and the window trim is 3.5".

The space between the soffit and window is about 10.5" if I remember correctly.

10.5 - 5.5 - 3.5 = ~1.5" for drip cap and siding, won't work.

All trim is the same thickness.

 

I would put drip cap over window trim then 1 1/2" of siding then frieze. its as much about the color of the siding making the trim and frieze stand out as different as it is anything else.

 

Hmm I'll see how things work out when I'm on site next weekend. That last piece of siding will be super slim.

 

Yeah it will definitely want to break. But i think you will like to see the siding color making the window stand out. might be a pain but i think its worth the effort.