Winterizing your windows

[joy]

Do you guys do this?

How do you do this?

Should I do this?

What do I need to do this?

What if I do this and then I want to open my window?  Is there a way to do this?

Help me with this.








This.

[requiressnacks]

We replaced 90% of the windows in our house to energy efficient windows, so I only winterize the ones in our back room that weren't replaced.

Yes! You should, if you have drafty windows! It will help minimize the draft.

It's cheap and easy using a kit like this: www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Window-Insulator-5-Window/dp/B00002NCJI

You'll need scissors and a hair dryer.

You can't open your windows when it's on, so wait until it gets really cold.

[Ray]

Do you guys do this? Sure do!

How do you do this? get a thing from Walmart that is basically a big roll of plastic and double sided tape. Put the tape on the window, then the plastic. Blow dry to get rid of wrinkles (you honestly can't even tell there's plastic there if you do a good job)

Should I do this? If you have a high heating bill, drafty windows, older windows (cold windows?) it really does help keep the heat in.

What do I need to do this? Buy the kit, and you'll need a hair dryer (and patience)

What if I do this and then I want to open my window? Is there a way to do this? You can't open your windows if you do this. We always leave one window in the kitchen not done in case we burn something and want to open a window lol. We generally wait until December when we probably won't be opening them otherwise.

[joy]

Can I winterize a door?

Does anyone have thermal curtains? Our house relies on natural light everywhere so I'm hesitant to throw them up over every window.

But god damnit - I HATE BEING COLD.

[rooskie]

Oct 20, 2015 10:54:12 GMT -5 joy said:

Can I winterize a door?

Does anyone have thermal curtains? Our house relies on natural light everywhere so I'm hesitant to throw them up over every window.

But god damnit - I HATE BEING COLD.

I'm guessing you can put the film stuff around a door if you don't plan on using it. Or buy one of those draft things for the bottom.

We have thermal/blackout curtains but all of our windows were new in 2011 so they are really efficient on their own. Most of the time we have the curtains pulled back anyway to enjoy the sunlight.

[LadyNymeria]

Extra question to piggyback on joy's post:

Has anyone ever used one of those kits on an AC intake vent? We have central air and I'm wondering if I should be sealing off the intake vent so we don't lose any heat to the AC system in the attic.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Regarding doors: I am of the opinion that the best thing to do is inspect your weatherstripping every year. It is an easy fix to eliminate draft. An excerpt from "This Old House":

SPOILER: Click to show

{Click here to see more.}Unfortunately, a door's weather seals, if it has any at all, can rip, compress, bend, or wear out over time, leaving chilly winter air free to enter (or expensive air-conditioned air to leave). Fortunately, attaching new weather seals is a straightforward exercise, far cheaper and faster than installing a new door. And when you consider that even a tiny 1/8-inch gap around a typical entryway door is the equivalent of drilling a 5 ½-inch-diameter hole through an outside wall, closing that gap is well worth the effort. Any well-sealed door requires two components: weatherstripping, which covers the sides and top of the door, and a sweep, which fills the space between the threshold and the door bottom. Hardware stores and home centers sell an array of metal, foam, felt, and plastic products for this purpose. Tom prefers a weather seal system that includes a tubular silicone weatherstripping that fits against the doorstop and a twin-fin silicone sweep that fits beneath the door. Silicon makes an ideal weatherstripping because it's durable, soft, and has no "compression memory"; it remains tight as the door swells and shrinks.

[joy]

Oct 20, 2015 11:16:16 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Regarding doors: I am of the opinion that the best thing to do is inspect your weatherstripping every year. It is an easy fix to eliminate draft. An excerpt from "This Old House":

SPOILER: Click to show

{Click here to see more.}Unfortunately, a door's weather seals, if it has any at all, can rip, compress, bend, or wear out over time, leaving chilly winter air free to enter (or expensive air-conditioned air to leave). Fortunately, attaching new weather seals is a straightforward exercise, far cheaper and faster than installing a new door. And when you consider that even a tiny 1/8-inch gap around a typical entryway door is the equivalent of drilling a 5 ½-inch-diameter hole through an outside wall, closing that gap is well worth the effort. Any well-sealed door requires two components: weatherstripping, which covers the sides and top of the door, and a sweep, which fills the space between the threshold and the door bottom. Hardware stores and home centers sell an array of metal, foam, felt, and plastic products for this purpose. Tom prefers a weather seal system that includes a tubular silicone weatherstripping that fits against the doorstop and a twin-fin silicone sweep that fits beneath the door. Silicon makes an ideal weatherstripping because it's durable, soft, and has no "compression memory"; it remains tight as the door swells and shrinks.

Yes!  I'm going to weather strip all three of our doors.  I have to measure to make sure I buy the right thickness.

Thermal curtains also tend to be black out curtains.  Our house thrives on natural light so I just can't pull the trigger on that.

EDIT: I said the natural light thing already.  I'm spiralling and forgetting what I've said!

[rooskie]

Oct 20, 2015 11:00:18 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

Extra question to piggyback on joy's post:

Has anyone ever used one of those kits on an AC intake vent? We have central air and I'm wondering if I should be sealing off the intake vent so we don't lose any heat to the AC system in the attic.

I just texted this to DH. He runs a heating and air company and said he would check with his guys.

[LadyNymeria]

Oct 20, 2015 11:44:49 GMT -5 rooskie said:

Oct 20, 2015 11:00:18 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

Extra question to piggyback on joy's post:

Has anyone ever used one of those kits on an AC intake vent? We have central air and I'm wondering if I should be sealing off the intake vent so we don't lose any heat to the AC system in the attic.

I just texted this to DH. He runs a heating and air company and said he would check with his guys.

Thanks! Our neighbor was telling us last night that she seals hers off and it wasn't anything I had ever thought to do. 

[rooskie]

Oct 20, 2015 11:49:25 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

Oct 20, 2015 11:44:49 GMT -5 rooskie said:

I just texted this to DH. He runs a heating and air company and said he would check with his guys.

Thanks! Our neighbor was telling us last night that she seals hers off and it wasn't anything I had ever thought to do. 

H said he has never heard of it nor have any of his HVAC guys. Maybe you live further north?

[LadyNymeria]

Oct 20, 2015 16:40:54 GMT -5 rooskie said:

Oct 20, 2015 11:49:25 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

Thanks! Our neighbor was telling us last night that she seals hers off and it wasn't anything I had ever thought to do. 

H said he has never heard of it nor have any of his HVAC guys. Maybe you live further north?

Thanks for asking YH and thanks to YH for asking his guys. I do live in New England.

[DanaScullyX]

I have no idea what any of this means. At all.
Southern California for lyfe.

[spicysalmonroll]

I'm in MA. I've never done this and neither do my parents or in laws.

[NariaDreaming]

Oct 20, 2015 17:21:43 GMT -5 DanaScullyX said:

I have no idea what any of this means. At all.
Southern California for lyfe.

We shrink wrap our windows so we don't freeze

[samanthasays]

I had no idea about this! I thought removing the screens was winterizing. Is there other stuff I should be doing for the winter?

^first winter as a homeowner in a state with snow :/

[mrsjene]

I live in New England. I've never done this.

[spicysalmonroll]

samanthasays, How old are your windows? If they are anytime after 1980 I honestly would not do anything as they will be fairly insulated.
The shrink wrap thing is only to help with insulation, it's not like your windows will burst without it or anything crazy.

[samanthasays]

Oct 21, 2015 11:21:03 GMT -5 spicysalmonroll said:

samanthasays, How old are your windows? If they are anytime after 1980 I honestly would not do anything as they will be fairly insulated.
The shrink wrap thing is only to help with insulation, it's not like your windows will burst without it or anything crazy.

Thanks It doesnt sound like I need to do it. Yay, one less thing to worry about

[Quinstar]

We have 100 year old windows, and we're planning on using the plastic wrap stuff I think. We have thermal curtains on right now, and they make it dark and depressing but stop the drafts a bit, and keeps our heat in. I open them in the morning to let sun in and warm the room up a bit, unless it's windy.

We're going to cover the windows with the plastic stuff, so when I open the curtains it's not letting the breeze in, and helping all around. The drafts are horrible.

My mother in law suggested this: www.livinggreenandfrugally.com/how-to-weatherize-your-windows-ready-for-winter/

But it involves bubble wrap. More insulation, but I can't imagine covering all the windows in bubble wrap. Maybe one or two of the big ones we don't look out anyways, and are the most drafty.

[ghostmonkey]

We will shrink wrap a couple of the older basement windows that we know are a little drafty, but that's it. The rest of our windows are newer and not an issue.

If I could seal off all the doors, life would be much better. I might do our sliding one. It was a drafty beast last year.