There are cracks up to a quarter inch wide between the the window
frame and the inside window trim. It had been letting in cold air and
leaking out warm air out for years. I had not done anything because I
tolerate cold better and always set my thermostat to 72 deg F. The
average gas bill hasn't changed for years and the furnace wasn't
exactly knocking itself out unless it gets to minus twenty deg F or C.
Its an unreliable measure of energy loss for sure.

The window frames were tight and secure to the stucco finish so there
were no repairs or caulking possible there without making the problem
something major. Same thing inside the house. The window trim was
also tight and secure against the wall. No adjustments were possible.
I didn't like the idea of those aerosol cans of squeeze foam
insulation as they are sticky and would be impossible to remove if
they didn't work and I come around to redoing the window repairs.
This is indeed fortunate because I chatted with my neighbor and he
said never to use that stuff. He did and the foam accelerated the
cracks in his windows over the years and he has a real problem now.
My other porposed solution was to stuff the cracks with fiberglass
insulation and glue or nail a thin slat of woodover the whole inside
window trim to cover the repairs. I have a well equipped garage
workshop and can do that except I procrastinate (long story).

On saturday my sister stayed over (I live alone) and refused to sleep
in the leaky cold bedroom preferring the sofa. By the morning she
insisted on fixing the cracks and asked for those 1/4 inch rolls of
sticky backed foam tape weatherstrip to at least temporarily close the
cracks. Then she found I had leftover laminate flooring underlay foam
sheet scraps. She used these instead and they are an excellent
material as they are formulated for years of servive as flooring
underlay. They are also strong and flexible and therefore will
conform and fill the cracks to the edges. I love the solution. I
wasn't too impressed with the foam weatherstrip material as they lose
their elasticity and therefore seal effectiveness after a season or
two. They are also hard to trim to size to fit the cracks.

My next step is to find a roll of self adhesive vinyl shelf liner
contact "paper" with a suitable design and use that to finish the
window trim and cover the cracks. Sis had asked for duct tape or
transparent box tape, a pretty ugly, temporary idea (they dry up and
deterioate) that leaves a messy residue when its time to remove them.

I am a pretty happy man. If this fix doesn't work I can easily undo
everything without risking a messy cleanup. But I am confident that
the fix will be good for years and I can always do the same fix at
some future time should that become necessary.

"PaPaPeng" wrote in message
...

My next step is to find a roll of self adhesive vinyl shelf liner
contact "paper" with a suitable design and use that to finish the
window trim and cover the cracks.

If you're serious about this (and pretty much everything else in your
message), you're hopelessly, painfully stupid. How about doing the job
right, which would involve ignoring any thoughts you might have on the
subject, and getting a book from the library?

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:05:49 -0400, Meat Plow
wrote:

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 09:00:34 +0000, PaPaPeng wrote:


There are cracks up to a quarter inch wide between the the window
frame and the inside window trim

Forget about all the silly stuff you posted and stuff some rope caulk in
the cracks then finish it off with tube caulk.


Not until I see someone with a successful "permanent" fix that I like.
I have come across too many botched "just caulk it" jobs that are
impossible to undo. So these eyesores and ineffective fixes stay
around for years to irritate the homwowner. I'll monitor my fix over
a few seasons. If it serves well all I need to do at some distant
future date when it needs maintenance is to pull out the old stuff
and do the same again. No digging, no scraping or sanding to get the
old stuff out before putting on new stuff. Try doing that with old
dried or dirty caulking.

On Oct 14, 2:39 pm, PaPaPeng wrote:
On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:05:49 -0400, Meat Plow
wrote:

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 09:00:34 +0000, PaPaPeng wrote:

There are cracks up to a quarter inch wide between the the window
frame and the inside window trim

Forget about all the silly stuff you posted and stuff some rope caulk in
the cracks then finish it off with tube caulk.

Not until I see someone with a successful "permanent" fix that I like.
I have come across too many botched "just caulk it" jobs that are
impossible to undo. So these eyesores and ineffective fixes stay
around for years to irritate the homwowner. I'll monitor my fix over
a few seasons. If it serves well all I need to do at some distant
future date when it needs maintenance is to pull out the old stuff
and do the same again. No digging, no scraping or sanding to get the
old stuff out before putting on new stuff. Try doing that with old
dried or dirty caulking.

I'm not sure what your definition of a "successful permanent fix"
is. Non-expanding foam, backer-rod and caulk are the industry
standards for filling gaps around windows and doors. If you've come
across "too many botched just caulk it jobs" it's probably because
whoever did the caulking didn't know what they were doing. It doesn't
make the process incorrect, it simply means that it was done wrong. Do
some research about window installation and I doubt you will find any
that don't use words like "caulk" or "sealant".

The idea behind sealing up a window is to create a dead air space
between the interior and exterior. If you think that self adhesive
vinyl shelf liner contact paper is going to accomplish this goal,
you're sadly mistaken. Once the cold air and moisture gets to the
paper it's going to peel off and you'll be right back where you
started from.

Do yourself a favor. Get some scrap wood, build a few jigs and
practice caulking the gap. Once you've stopped "botching" the
caulking, move onto the windows and do it right.

Key points he
Use non-exanding foam: http://greatstuff.dow.com/greatstuff...roducts/wd.htm
Use backer-rod behind the caulk - here's one example:
http://www.demandproducts.com/backrod.html
Learn how to caulk correctly - lot's of help available on the web:
http://www.ehow.com/how_8790_caulking-gun.html

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:34:02 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

Do yourself a favor. Get some scrap wood, build a few jigs and
practice caulking the gap. Once you've stopped "botching" the
caulking, move onto the windows and do it right.


Nice running by some of my thoughts with you guys. My idea of a
neat and easy fix now will be to toss out the old standard width wood
strips that made up the existing inside trim. I can cut my own wood
strips to replace the existing trim, cover the separation gaps and
butt flush against the window frame. The result will look like an
original installation without any visible evidence of mending or
caulking. I was right to resist doing anything that requires sticky
stuff that is hard to remove and clean up. Next year's project.

On Oct 14, 9:11 pm, PaPaPeng wrote:
On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:34:02 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

Do yourself a favor. Get some scrap wood, build a few jigs and
practice caulking the gap. Once you've stopped "botching" the
caulking, move onto the windows and do it right.

Nice running by some of my thoughts with you guys. My idea of a
neat and easy fix now will be to toss out the old standard width wood
strips that made up the existing inside trim. I can cut my own wood
strips to replace the existing trim, cover the separation gaps and
butt flush against the window frame. The result will look like an
original installation without any visible evidence of mending or
caulking. I was right to resist doing anything that requires sticky
stuff that is hard to remove and clean up. Next year's project.

-- Nice running by some of my thoughts with you guys.

Man, does this smell of troll poop.

-- My idea of a neat and easy fix now will be to toss out the old
standard width wood strips that made up the existing inside trim. I
can cut my own wood strips to replace the existing trim, cover the
separation gaps and butt flush against the window frame.

You mean your idea of a cover up. Your method is not a *fix* for
leaky, drafty windows. Only a good quality sealant, applied before the
wood trim is put on would be considered a fix. Try this - cut your
trim and attach it as you have planned. Wait for a windy day or put a
powerful fan outside your window. Light a stick of incense and hold it
near your "fix". Let us know which way the smoke blows.

-- The result will look like an original installation without any
visible evidence of mending or caulking.

So would a halfway decent application of backer rod and caulk to seal
the gap before - let me repeat that last word: *before* - the trim is
applied.

-- I was right to resist doing anything that requires sticky stuff
that is hard to remove and clean up.

Right by whose measurement? Certainly not by anyone who has replied in
this thread or by anyone who has any knowledge of how to install a
window.

-- Next year's project.

What's next year's project? Doing it right?

I think you may missed a major point in our suggestion to use caulk.
No one is suggesting that you simply caulk the existing gap and leave
the caulk showing. If you need to make new trim to cover a gap between
the rough opening and the sash, please do so. However, that is only
cosmetic. You still need to seal the gap before you attach the trim if
you want to stop the drafts and heat loss.

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:51:13 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

I think you may missed a major point in our suggestion to use caulk.
No one is suggesting that you simply caulk the existing gap and leave
the caulk showing. If you need to make new trim to cover a gap between
the rough opening and the sash, please do so. However, that is only
cosmetic. You still need to seal the gap before you attach the trim if
you want to stop the drafts and heat loss.


All the other things you mentioned about caulking and sealing the
problem before installing the new trim are a given. My not doing the
caulk fixes before was how to make them "invisible". I won't do it
now 'cuz the the days when I can do a decent amount of work in a
single stretch is unpredictable. There's nothing worse than half done
work lying around for months in winter weather and winter lasts from
end October into end May. I fatigue easily. If you know what CFS is
it explains everything. If not it doesn't matter.