This past week, we worked on plugging the huge hole in our house with a window; while the new, bigger window will likely leak more heat than the former sided wall, once we removed the siding there was no going back. We wedged foam backing around the entire window on both the inside and outside to reduce drafts, and caulked very well on the inside.
Our brick repair around the outside windows won't be finished for a couple weeks, so I'm going to concentrate on our new front door this week. Once the brick is done, it will be a mad dash to seal up the outside of the windows before the snow flies.
I'm going to continue "Stopping the Leaks" at my house in October... I'll leave the banner up (and if I get around to it, change the month), and leave everyone up who wants to continue in October. Feel free to add yourself!
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I got the window put in! And I sealed it with "great stuff". Next is to insulate the window in my bathroom- the only single pane window left in this house!
Still caulking the outside of the house & repairing storm windows. Next day off, I'll buy one of those window film kits and get plastic over the inside of all the windows. Now if only the insulation guy would return my calls....
Just noticed the caulk has failed on an original window so someone is going to be on the roof again this weekend....
It's amazing how different the house felt after stopping the leaks and having tons more insulation blown in. We could feel it immediately. We were able to have it professionally done by a green retrofit company. It's what I'm recommending to anyone who will listen.
While we didn't officially join the stop the leaks festival (I was too late this month to feel like I could make it meaningful)... We are making good progress on the basement, which still lacks insulation. I am pushing hard to get the electric finished for the lighting so we can move forward with insulating the walls after the inspector takes a look.
For anyone looking to stop the leaks, make sure that you get them all and make sure that you seal them all well. Old leaky windows can loose as much as 20% of your heat. Insulation makes a big difference as well. And the amount of money spent on lost heat can really add up. For more information on how to save energy and your hard earned money, I recently wrote a post "How To SAVE on Your Home Heating Bill"
I finally replaced my nasty old furnace filter this week, and I bought a few to spare so I won't run out any time soon. The next step will be to figure out how to handle the old drafty upstairs windows without sealing them in (since I frequently open them during the milder winter days).
!! So it would appear we're running in the same internet circles? Are you a member of Old House Web as well as a reader of Crunchy Chicken?
It's a small, small internet world. :)
-Kelsie
Kelsie~ That's me! I do frequent Crunchy Chicken's blog AND OHW. :) Pretty easy to figure out my "handle" over there... are you KelsieG?
It's amazing how complementary sustainable living/environmental issues and old house living/renovation are!
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