Glazed and (Not at All) Confused: Residential Window Detailing
Master the fundamentals of window detailing with practical, risk-reducing strategies for integrating diverse window systems into high-performing wall assemblies.
About the live course
A window must do everything a wall has to do... and also allow you to see through it. This is no small task, and when combined with the seemingly infinite number of window profiles available in residential architecture, it often makes the prospect of detailing them seem like a hopeless task. But there are general principles and rules of thumb that can help demystify and greatly simplify how architects approach window design. This session will discuss those general principles, their technical justification, and application to the most common combinations of window profiles and wall types. The speakers will review flanged and unflanged window systems and discuss, step-by-step, how they can be properly detailed in both framed and mass walls with various kinds of water and air control membranes. This course will equip architects with better technical skills and information to manage their own risk by providing better details and ensuring those details are followed to completion during construction administration.
- Identify the three most common approaches to structurally securing windows in building openings and describe the effect each typically has on water control, air control, and thermal control.
- Outline the two-stage seal approach to detailing windows and doors and describe why it works.
- Describe the most common methods of accommodating continuous exterior insulation at window openings.
- Respond with confidence to common objections to the proposed water, air, and thermal control strategies, particularly those objections related to constructability and cost.
Presented in partnership with the Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN®).
Registration is open for the Committee on Design Spring Conference 2026!
