Drafty? How to Seal Your Windows and Doors From the Cold

With temperatures dropping, you don't want to let the outside in. There are various easy ways you can seal tight your leaky windows and doors. The DIY experts at Stack Exchange tell you how.

Illustration by Sean Gallagher.

Question:

I currently live in a rented apartment and the windows in my shower are not sealed, so it gets pretty cold there. The front door of the house also has a sealing problem.

The thing is, I'm not going to stay in this apartment more than a couple of months.

So, what are some good, cheap, fast solutions to seal my windows and front door as much as possible?

? Originally asked by Asaf

Answer: Stripping & Film

If your leaking problem is from loose fitting window sashes or a poor fitting door, the simplest and cheapest method would be to purchase some self-adhesive foam weather stripping. This rolled product can be easily installed at the bottom of a window or around the outside edge of the door frame. Select the smallest size that will help seal the gaps, then just peel and stick. Too large and you may have difficulty closing the door etc.

Another good window treatment is the clear plastic window film that mounts to the frame of the window. Use a hair dryer to "stretch" the film, thus sealing any air leaking in around the sides or through poorly glazed panes.

All these products are cheap and avail at any hardware store or box store like Lowes or Home Depot. Stay warm!

? Answered by shirlock homes

Answer: Window Insulator Kit

Get a window insulator kit. It is made of a clear, plastic material that goes over the window, with double-sided tape around the edges to seal it. It's easy to set up and helps a lot with drafty windows. (Pictured to the right.)

? Answered by Joe Phillips

Answer: Foam & Sillicone

If you can actually see the gaps in the windows, a can of "Great Stuff" would probably do the trick. It's an expanding foam that you spray into gaps.

Or you could use a squeeze tube of "DAP Silicon II" and run a bead of it around the window. I'm going to assume that if you're in an apartment for the short term you either don't have a caulking gun or don't want to buy one (don't need yet ANOTHER thing to move when you do move), so the link goes to a "squeeze it yourself" tube of Silicon II.

As for the door, if it's just a short term thing you may want to just wad up a bath towel and put it along the bottom of the door as a draft blocker for the short term.

? Answered by James Van Huis

Beware "Great Stuff"

Don't use "Great Stuff" behind window casings and door jambs. It and its triple-expanding cousins can just about blow 1" lumber off the house framing, severely warping window casings so windows won't slide, and mucking up door jambs in a similar manner.

Low expansion foam, which is specifically labelled for door and window installation, should be the only product you use here. I had to help un-DIY a door installation. It involved a long bread knife, a long straight edge and cutting long thin wedges out of the foam until the door casing lumber was straight again.

? Comment by Fiasco Labs

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/3jPjV0y4GTw/drafty-how-to-seal-your-windows-and-doors-from-the-cold

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