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Art Todesco

wrote:
On Feb 5, 1:10 pm, "Zephyr" Someguy@an email address.com wrote:
Hey group

all this cold weather has me more aware of the shortcomings of my house..

I have what I thought were decent windows. Jeld Wen series D windows, Wood
with alum cladding.
Double hung, they look nice, the glass is low E I believe, and they operate
quite well.
Here's the issue, they leak like a sieve.

On the main floor I have 6 on the west side of my house that form 2 bays
they are all 62 inches tall 4 are 22 inches wide and the remaining 2 are
38. On the south side 3 more at 62 x 36 Upstairs I have 5 more at 62 x 36.
There are more on the north and east sides, but they don't catch as much
wind. If there is no wind they are fine but when any wind blows, you can
feel the cold air blowing coming from the corners of the windows, and where
the 2 sashes meet along the jamb The horizontal seal between the sashes is
fine. When I moved in there was a lot of air leaking around the trim and so
I caulked the trim to the wall which stopped some of the air. I took the
trim off one of the windows and there was insulation between the frame and
the framing, so I'm assuming that the others are that way, but, I'm not
sold, based on how much air was moving behind the trim.
The bigger issues is the leaking between the sashes and the jambs in the
corners. They seem fine along the length of most of the jamb, but, in
strong wind its really cold in those corners.

The jambs are the compression type that you have to push "out" to allow the
sash to tilt in, I have used rope caulk (which is easy to remove) to try
and fill some of the gaps but, anytime you move the window, the jambs
compress in a bit, and your gap is back. I'm hesitant to try "real"
caulking there because of that, ( the windows are usually open in summer)
and because I don't want to goop up the windows making them look like sh&t.

Any recommendations on how to slow the air infiltration?

Dave

"Insulation", if it is glass fiber, won't stop air movement.
Foam can seal air leaks better.
Flashing may be part of the problem.
Checking that requires removal exterior trim & perhaps siding.
TB

When I had a bunch of windows replaced
the butcher did a terrible job. I
had to redo every window. I could feel
air blowing through even though it
wasn't real cold out. They only used a
little fiberglass in the openings, and
very little at that. So, after
mechanically securing the windows, I used
foam where the opening was large enough
to squeeze it in. I was careful not
to "overstuff" the opening and I always
allowed the excess to ooze out into
the room, where it was cut off after it
hardened. Where the openings were
real narrow, I used caulk. I installed
several other windows subsequently
(without a contractor) and did the same.
Things are real tight with very little
air infiltration.