# Fixing Vinyl flat trim which is coming off



## badmad (Jul 28, 2017)

Hi All,

My first post in this forum. I have enjoyed reading other posts as a guest and now I think that it's about time I register. So here I am. 

In our home, the dual pane windows are retro-fitted. There is a vinyl flat trim covering the perimeter of the window frame. This trim is not installed correctly as it not hugging the frame (in other words, not sticking to the frame). It's unsightly as well as rain can get in the bottom side. (attached 2 pictures)

To fix this, should I glue the flat trim to the frame? If so, what type of glue? I wanted to use gorilla glue but it's bond quickly. Or should I caulk this? Not sure if it'd look fine. Please share your thoughts.

Best,
badmad.


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## RRH (Nov 24, 2016)

So looks like they put that in instead of regular window stop molding.
I would use Quad brad caulking from the box stores. Something that would last.

But myself, my first choice would be to remove that vinyl strip and add a normal window stop molding. That way a nice looking and tight fit.

I would assume what is there is a L shaped molding that goes behind the window. So I would use a multimaster to cut it off.


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

I'm not familiar with the flat trim they used, and I have installed vinyl windows for over 25 years. Is it possible that they did not secure your window with screws through the frame?

Open your window and see if you can pull the frame in tighter. The only possibility I can think of is that the installers used a cheap silicone to "glue" the frame to the flat trim, but didn't use any screws to hold it in place. Silicone doesn't stick well to vinyl and might have let go.


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## KPDMinc (Nov 7, 2016)

looks like some kind of flashing piece was used...


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## badmad (Jul 28, 2017)

Thanks for the replies guys. appreciate that.

I went back and checked the windows is screwed to the wall, so that's nice. This vinyl flat trim (in another youtube video I heard the installer referring to it as 'tack strip') is just hanging there with caulking. and looks like some part of the trim is not installed. So apparently the only choice for me to get this fixed is to caulk this strip.


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## badmad (Jul 28, 2017)

Here is the link to the youtube video I was mentioning. You can start at 4m 19s timeframe to see what I was talking about.






:


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

Yes, at about 4:30 they snap in that piece into a groove in the window.

But do your windows have a groove? And does the fin look like it would snap in? Or is it just caulked on? And can you pull those pieces off, or not?

If all else fails, I think pulling them off and replacing them with base shoe or quarter round is a good idea.


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