The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks

If this hole goes all the way from the inside to the outside
something is wrong.

If this hole is on a flange on the outside, it is probably a weep
hole and is very important to the function of the window. DO NOT
block the hole if it is a weep hole, it is there to allow water
out of the frame. Weather strip and window seal should occur in
such a way that a weep hole does not allow exterior air to the
inside.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
(local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)


"Jo" wrote in message
...
The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl
outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking
and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window
frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside.
You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of
travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I
use to fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was
to just use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks

"DanG" wrote in message
...
If this hole goes all the way from the inside to the outside something is
wrong.

On the frame of the window, it is located about midway along the
track that the moving part slides in. It has the same appearance as
the hole in this picture ... so I tend to think that it is a weep hole.
http://www.milgard.com/_img/getting-...nance-weep.gif


If this hole is on a flange on the outside, it is probably a weep hole and
is very important to the function of the window. DO NOT block the hole if
it is a weep hole, it is there to allow water out of the frame. Weather
strip and window seal should occur in such a way that a weep hole does not
allow exterior air to the inside.


What I cannot figure out is how to prevent the air from coming in. In the
picture shown, the hole is lower than mine. Mine is level with the track
that the window is in (window opens horizontally).


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
(local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)


"Jo" wrote in message
...
The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to
fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just
use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks

Your window make be made slightly differently.
You do realize that the window pane shown in the
drawing is the fixed pane not the sliding part?
There should not be any direct airway to the
outside through the fixed pane. If you can see
the hole from inside the house, put a piece of
tape over it, or plug it with cotton.

The sliding window usually sits in the frame and
can be pulled out by removing the sliding pane and
carefully prying the strip up. Under this part
there may be holes for attaching the window frame
to the house frame. The weep hole may in fact
connect with these holes and these holes can be
taped over.

Without an accurate drawing it is difficult to say
what is wrong since window frames are constructed
in different ways. In any case, something is
wrong and you can tape over any hole that you see
from inside the house, just leave the outside weep
hole open.


Jo wrote:
"DanG" wrote in message
...
If this hole goes all the way from the inside to the outside something is
wrong.

On the frame of the window, it is located about midway along the
track that the moving part slides in. It has the same appearance as
the hole in this picture ... so I tend to think that it is a weep hole.
http://www.milgard.com/_img/getting-...nance-weep.gif

If this hole is on a flange on the outside, it is probably a weep hole and
is very important to the function of the window. DO NOT block the hole if
it is a weep hole, it is there to allow water out of the frame. Weather
strip and window seal should occur in such a way that a weep hole does not
allow exterior air to the inside.


What I cannot figure out is how to prevent the air from coming in. In the
picture shown, the hole is lower than mine. Mine is level with the track
that the window is in (window opens horizontally).


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
A live Singing Valentine quartet,
a sophisticated and elegant way to say I LOVE YOU!
(local)
http://www.singingvalentines.com/ (national)


"Jo" wrote in message
...
The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to
fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just
use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks

On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 08:59:51 -0600, "Jo" wrote:

The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks



Got a photo to share?

tom @ www.YourMoneyMakingIdeas.com

I posted some pictures at http://home.austin.rr.com/kabo/window/

There is a picture of the general window, along the track with the
hole highlighted, the outside of the window (it is a different window
but the same design, the one with the hole is too high off the ground
to easily get to). Finally, as good a close up of the mechanism
as I could get.

Thanks,

"LayPerson Tom" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 08:59:51 -0600, "Jo" wrote:

The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks



Got a photo to share?

tom @ www.YourMoneyMakingIdeas.com

"Jo" wrote in message
...
I posted some pictures at http://home.austin.rr.com/kabo/window/

There is a picture of the general window, along the track with the
hole highlighted, the outside of the window (it is a different window
but the same design, the one with the hole is too high off the ground
to easily get to). Finally, as good a close up of the mechanism
as I could get.

Thanks,

"LayPerson Tom" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 08:59:51 -0600, "Jo" wrote:

The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to
fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just
use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks

It's a weep hole. Hard to tell w/o seeing in person, but I think you are
either missing some weatherstripping, or the window was mis-installed. It's
a cheap window, and horizontal sliders are pretty leaky anyway, especially
aluminum frames. From the visible crud in the third pic, I'd say you already
have leakage and/or condensation problems. If the paint is getting bubbly on
the surrounding wood as well, that is not a good sign.

If I was staying in the house, I'd add replacement windows to the long-term
budget plan.

aem sends...

I think that hole has a screw in it. The screw
holds the window frame to the house and the only
reason there is a hole there is that it is
necessary to screw the window frame to the house
when doing a remodel that doesn't involve removing
some siding. Look at the upright part of the
frame and see if there aren't hole through the
window frame (usually covered by the window stops).

Just stuff some cotton or a cork in the hole.
Then, if the sliding part doesn't catch on it, put
a piece of tape over the hole. I wouldn't use
caulk in the hole if you think you will ever need
to remove or replace the window.

Jo wrote:
I posted some pictures at http://home.austin.rr.com/kabo/window/

There is a picture of the general window, along the track with the
hole highlighted, the outside of the window (it is a different window
but the same design, the one with the hole is too high off the ground
to easily get to). Finally, as good a close up of the mechanism
as I could get.

Thanks,

"LayPerson Tom" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 08:59:51 -0600, "Jo" wrote:

The temperature in our family room has always been a little
different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall
of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside
and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and
found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame,
there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You
can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the
window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to fill
it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just use
the GE Silicon.

Thanks


Got a photo to share?

tom @ www.YourMoneyMakingIdeas.com