Weatherstripping old windows

Foam weatherstripping is easy to apply and fills large and uneven gaps effectively. However, it usually doesn't last long. Open-cell foam is the best at bouncing back after being compressed, but it can only be used on the inside.

Closed-cell foam is weather-resistant but short-lived. For quick but temporary sealing, use rope caulk or a shrink-wrap plastic window kit, which can be removed when the weather gets warm. Cut a caulk tube's tip using a sharp utility knife; a straight, clean cut contributes to a smooth caulk line. Some people prefer to cut at a steep angle, while others prefer a nearly straight cut. Cut near the tip for a small bead of caulk. Some caulk tubes require the seal to be broken with a wire or long nail through the tip.

It takes a bit of experience to produce a smooth bead of caulk, so start caulking in an inconspicuous location. Get in a comfortable position and rest the tip against the joint. Squeeze the trigger until caulk emerges, then continue to squeeze as you move the tip along the joint. Related: How to Use a Caulk Gun. If the bead looks good, leave it alone. Otherwise, use your finger to smooth it; this tends to smear the caulk, but it does ensure the caulk adheres to your surface on both sides of the bead.

To install rope caulk, unroll and press the rope caulk in where the sash meets the stops, between the top of the lower sash and the bottom of the upper sash, and in the pulley. The window cannot be opened while rope caulk is in place, so remove it in the spring.

Test to be sure you will be able to close the window before you apply thick foam weather-stripping to the underside or top of a sash. To apply self-stick foam weatherstripping, first make sure the surface is clean and dry. Cut the foam with scissors or tin snips.

Peel off the backing and press the foam into place. Self-adhesive foam works well for casement windows and sliding windows, and can also be used to insulate the sides of windows. The foam comes in various thicknesses; test to be sure the window will close after you apply it. Very reassuring. One trick I remember was to slick the leading edge of the door with a bar of soap to ease operation. I am about to restore several windows on a home in Redlands, California.

Many of the windows just need to have their joints tightened. But on some of our biggest windows termites have powdered eaten parts of the frame itself. Do you have a video on completely rebuilding a double hung window, what to watch out for, what wood to use for the replacement frame, etc. Fortunately I have enough of the original pieces to work off of. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search for:. At this point in our project, we've removed the sash stops, parting beads, and sash from the windows, stripped the paint from the frames, and made any necessary repairs to the frames. Before applying the weather stripping, we needed to sand and apply a few coats of paint to the frames. I'm not going to cover the painting process too thoroughly, as it's very straight forward. The only caveat, the exterior trim color goes on the upper sash channel, while the interior trim color goes on the lower sash channel.

If that sounds confusing, just think of the colors and locations, and when you're likely to see each color either from inside or outside when the windows are closed. In order for windows to open and close properly, the window sash has to be slightly smaller than the window frame. If it were too large, it would just get stuck and never move. But this size difference means that older windows, by design, have gaps around the sash that also allow a significant amount of weather infiltration hot, cold, wind, rain, snow, bugs, ghosts, woodland creatures, you name it.

I've seen lots of crazy ideas that attempt to address this issue of cold getting in around the window sash's sides, from the extreme of caulking or painting a window completely shut, to the impractical idea of shoving fiberglass insulation into the gaps so the window begins to look like it's growing pink fur.

While these are ideas Rather than trying to come up with a crazy scheme to beat the cold, why not use an idea that's been around for as long as these old windows have sat in our home's walls? Why not use some spring bronze weather stripping to do the trick? There are several different types and styles of metal weather stripping that will stand the test of time. The style that was on the windows before is an interlocking style that required a groove in the window sash.

Personally, I really don't like this style, as it has several limitations and room for problems down the road. As a result, I'm swapping out the old zinc weather stripping on all of our windows in exchange for spring bronze. I ordered a large foot roll of spring bronze years ago, as I knew I'd be using a lot of it as I worked on our doors and windows. I bought mine from Kilian Hardware , but you may have a local supplier who can offer it as well.

However, if you're searching for a good supplier for spring bronze or zinc, they've been very reliable over the years. I've spoken about spring bronze before, back when we were weather stripping our salvaged front door , but installation of spring bronze on doors and double hung windows is a slightly different animal. Both animals are easily tamed, you just need to know how to approach them. When it comes to window spring bronze installation, it's important to think about what we're trying to accomplish.

The issue with windows, as I mentioned above, is with air sneaking in around the sides of the sash, rather than the top or bottom of the sash. For this reason we're going to put the weather stripping only on the window jamb's sides, not along the top or bottom, with the ultimate goal of tightening up the sides of the windows, keeping the sash snug against the jambs. If you put weather stripping along the top of the window it will likely push the upper sash down and make it hard to lock or get a good seal.

If we put it on the bottom it will cause the same issue by pushing the lower sash up, and it can also trap water and debris. I've made the mistake of putting weather stripping on the top of other windows, and now it's my duty to pay it forward so you aren't faced with the same issues. I start the project by working with the upper sash's weather stripping.

When you measure for your first cut, measure from the top of the window jamb down to the point where the bottom of the upper sash sits when fully closed. Add 2. One quick measurement later and you have your first cut. When I cut spring bronze, I prefer to use a pair of standard craft scissors. Note: If you're borrowing your partner's good craft scissors, you may want to ask permission first.

Lesson learned. These seem to work much better than tin snips or a utility knife, and they offer better overall control. When working with the upper sash, if you have sash pulleys to deal with, you'll need to work around your pulleys when installing the spring bronze. I like to first cut a template piece out of a small length of spring bronze that accommodates the pulley without impeding the ropes.

Nothing fancy, just a square notch. Starting with a single blank piece, hold it up to the pulley to mark the top and bottom on the template. Follow that up by determining the proper depth to clear the wheel section of the pulley and cut your square. The thick part of the spring bronze goes towards the inside of the house. Once the template is cut and I'm happy with the location of the cutout, I mark the boundaries of the cut on the jamb, then transfer them to the cut length of spring bronze from the earlier step.

I then use the template to trace out the cut I'll need to make on the full length. Using the same scissors from the first cut, I cut out the notch. This takes a little patience to be sure I don't make an errant cut along the way, but it's a pretty simple cut. The key is taking your time and not bending the spring bronze. I repeat this same process on the opposite side of the widow, taking care not to damage the painted jamb or weather stripping during the measurement or cut.

When it comes time to apply the weather stripping, I begin nailing at the top with a single copper nail, but I only sink it half way. It's extremely important to make sure the vertical and horizontal location is correct with the first nail, but I can still make slight rotation adjustments before placing the second nail.

If I make a mistake when placing the first nail, it's a mistake easily corrected since I only sunk it half way. It's best to take out that first nail and start a new nail in a different location altogether, rather than trying to nail through the same hole.

Once happy with the first nail, Placing the second nail about 1" down from the first anchors the weather stripping so it isn't able to adjust at all. In my opinion, the second nail is pretty much the most critical aspect of each piece of spring bronze, so I'm always saying to myself "okay, don't screw this up!

When the second nail is half way in, hold the weather stripping down to the jamb to check and make sure it all lines up and doesn't interfere with anything else, like the parting beads or sash stops. If all looks good, you're ready to move on, but if there anything wrong, now is the time to correct it.

From this point the project becomes a little tedious and monotonous. Wendy tells me it's a bit like this blog post. I like to set a nail about every inch. To speed this process I use a pencil to mark each nail location spaced evenly down the spring bronze. The easiest way I've come up with to do this is to use a few 1" brads as a guide and just keep moving and marking every inch. When all of my marks are in place, I begin nailing, top to bottom, sinking each nail about half depth.

Again, half depth gets the weather stripping fixed in place, but the nails are easily removed if I encounter an issue. When sash stops are attached with nails, they cannot be adjusted, so their initial placement must be a careful balance—not too tight and not too loose. Normally, the sash side of the stop is flush with the stool edge; this way the stop guides the sash smoothly to the sill.

Properly adjusting the bottom range of the stops, however, is most important for smooth operation and thermal efficiency. In a basic installation, bronze V weatherstrip is nailed across the bottom and up the channels where the lower sash rides. The flexible flange of the strip faces the exterior and is cut at an angle where it meets the sill.

Note there are no nails over the weight pocket door. The most versatile method for adjusting stops uses screws and washers or stop adjuster hardware made for this purpose. Stop adjusters are brass or chrome washers that fit holes bored in your stops, usually five in the average-height window or three in a short kitchen or bath window.

The adjuster hole that accepts the screw is actually a slot that allows the stop to be moved in and out. Bore oversized holes larger than the diameter of your screws in the stops that the washer will cover. Then screw the stops on and adjust them as desired. For symmetry, position every screw at the same height as its mate on the opposing stop in every window throughout the room.

Do not caulk the sash stops to the frame; it renders the adjusters useless. A final recommendation for tightening up loose windows without major surgery is to install cam locks Ives Side Window Locks are one brand.

Sometimes called banjo fasteners, these are small, lever-actuated brakes that, when mounted on each stop, push the sash into the parting bead as tightly as possible. When upgrading historic windows in cold climates, combining weatherstrips with the above mentioned tune-ups creates the most energy efficient installation. Although there are many methods and materials used to weatherstrip windows, I generally choose durable metal weatherstrips.

When pliable weather strips are called for, I use only EPDM rubber because it lasts longer than inexpensive vinyl alternatives and is not vulnerable to temperature changes. Bronze V -Type Weatherstrip. To install the sash channel strips, take a pair of tin snips and cut two pieces slightly longer than the distance from the sill to the top of the meeting rails. Note that the apex of the V should face the interior of the house. Next, cut the sill end at a slight angle that conforms to the to degree slope of the sill, cutting from the strip apex down.

On the opposite end, cut the strips even with or slightly below the top of the meeting rail. Round off the sharp edges at the top of the weatherstrips to prevent them from snagging on the sash. Then taper the angle back on the loose side of the sill end. Cut the side strips from the fold outward to match the sill angle.

To attach the strips, you need only a few brads. These usually come with the weatherstrip, and should be brass or copper or at least brass- or copper-plated to prevent galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals. Place one strip against the parting bead and, holding a brad with needlenose pliers, secure it at the bottom near the sill using a brad or tack hammer.

Moving upward, next install one or two brads up to the bottom of your sash-weight access pocket. Do not nail brads into the weight-pocket door because it will bounce.

If you do, you will surely bend two dozen brads, lose more, ruin the weatherstrip with your hammer, and bruise your fingers! Six or eight brads over the entire length of weatherstrip is usually plenty.