Fixing a drafty window

Fixing a drafty window could save you money in heating and cooling costs, but it could also greatly increase the comfort of your home by helping regulate temperature better. There are some simple (and not so simple) steps to help you fix a drafty window.

Tutorial

 It’s winter and the wind is blowing snow into drifts that will be lots of fun for the kids. The temperature has dropped dramatically in the last few hours but you’re warm and comfortable inside. At least as long as you stay away from the windows in the living room. The drafts from those two windows is enough to chill you to the bone all over again. Fixing drafty windows can be quite a chore, but every day you put the job off is another bit of money you’ve wasted in heating (and cooling) costs.

One of the least expensive and most effective ways of addressing a drafty window is to use weather stripping. Whether the windows roll out or slide up and down will determine where you put the weather stripping. Instructions are generally included on the packaging that the stripping comes in.

If the frames are the source of the draft, you may want to use the spray foam insulation to fill those cracks and crevices.

Replacing single window panes with double panes is another way to address the issue of a drafty window. You can also purchase storm windows that will mount in your window frames on top of your existing windows to further eliminate the drafts. Of course, if the cold weather catches you unaware, you can also take some temporary measures such as covering the windows with plastic sheeting. It doesn’t look great and you can’t see out as well as normal, but it will make a big impact on your drafty windows.