primitives discuss winter insulation

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=353x2242

Oh my.

Shallah  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-25-08 09:10 PM
Original message

Does bubble wrap on windows really help and any suggestions for sealing attic & basement doors
   
I want to cut the heat loss to the attic and basement but need to figure something that can be removed and put back up. Both are visible to visitors but more importantly we need to get in the basement regularly as that is where the washing machine and big freezer are. If it wasn't for that I would just say to heck with it and try duct taping plastic sheeting around the door frame ugly or not. Windows in the basement and attic leak like sieves and there is no way to afford replacements at this time. Many of the living level are almost as bad and we can't replace them now either

I am planing on trying the bubble wrap thing on the windows and then putting plastic around the entire frame of the leaky windows. Has anyone tried that and did duct tape work best? I live with my Mom and she threw a fit the last time I duct taped plastic sheeting to the woodwork around the window frame but it really cut the wind tho it blew off a few times on the windiest days.

Oh this sounds interesting - cardboard shutters made of layers of cardboard glued together, wapped in foil, and the edges duct tapped together.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/Cardb...

wildflower  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-26-08 06:02 PM
Response to Original message

1. I don't know about bubble wrap, but I did the thing with the plastic on the windows and a hair dryer, and it helped.

Bubble wrap does sound like a good idea, as it would be more insulated.

Shallah  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-26-08 06:44 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. Those heat sealed window things are supposed to be good but I think they would blow off our windows
   
A good windy day or storm and they would pop off even tho duct taped all around the edge. I would get the plastic as tight against the fram as I could and duct tape every centemeter of the edge down and when it got windy the whole panel would bell out like a bubble until finally it would pop off a section of the frame. This year I am going to put more weather stripping around the window, put bubble wrap on the window itself and then tape down the plastic sheeting and to heck with how it looks. Oil is to cursed expensive to care about obscuring the view or how bad it looks.

I am trying to still think of a way to seal the cellar and attic doorways in a way that can be refastened tightly. The doorframes are pretty tight but still leak so if I was to put the selfstick weather stipping it would have be pretty thin. Maybe just tacking plastic sheeting at the top and draping it to the floor along with that would make a difference. Between tight budget and not wanting to give those &#$(*&#*(#$(& oil companies a penny more than we have to I am determined to weatherize the house the best as this non-handy person can!!!

pengillian101  Donating Member  (246 posts) Sat Sep-27-08 08:40 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. I think bubble wrapping sounds like an excellent idea!
   
If you have trouble with it blowing off from the inside with duct tape, my thought is...

Why not apply it to the outside of the windows with a staple gun (or tiny nails)? Just a thought Stop the cold from the outside first as it tries blowing IN to your house. It probabaly wouldn't look so pretty from the outside, but hey so what. Then, I bet you wouldn't even need it on the inside. (Just a guess.)

Really, that bubble wrap sounds like a great insulator idea!

It comes in rolls, ready to cut-to-size.

We had new windows installed recently and they leak like crazy. The installer said he'd fix them. Nothing yet. So I may be trying your bubble wrap idea myself. Thanks for the idea - stay warm!

Warpy  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Sat Sep-27-08 08:46 PM
Response to Original message

4. First, figure out what those drafts are from
   
If they're leaks between sashes or around edges, use rope caulk. It's cheap and easy and you just discard it when you open the windows next spring. Most hardware and big box stores should have it.

If the leak is caused by convection, the icy pane causing a draft as it chills air in the room and causes it to sink, then anything that creates an air space between the pane and the room will work. A couple of layers of bubble wrap are good because they still allow light into the room. The sheet of plastic duct taped to the frame works because it creates an air space between the glass and the room and you can still see through it reasonably clearly. However, you do have to seal it or you'll still get a convection draft.

Corrugated cardboard works too, got that dead air space right in it. So do heavy lined drapes with a cornice box above them to stop the convection draft.

You might want to get some calk and seal the outside, too, where the frame meets the siding. That can also help.

You know, the warped primitive's comments provoked the memory.

When I was a little lad, our house alongside the Platte River of Nebraska had wooden "boxes" at the top of the windows, inside the house.  Generally, nowadays it's just a curtain rod or somesuch.  This was a very large house built circa 1910.  Apparently those wooden "boxes" weren't just decorative?

Also, the rooms upstairs had some sort of "window" above the doorway to each room, and using a metal rod, one could force these windows open, tilting them.  What was up with that?

I'm surprised at what I never bothered to learn.

[MrsSmith]

Also, the rooms upstairs had some sort of "window" above the doorway to each room, and using a metal rod, one could force these windows open, tilting them.  What was up with that?

We had windows like that in one of the older schools I attended.  The teacher would take a long pole off the wall hook and use it to open and close those windows.  I think they were for cooling...the hot air would gather at the ceiling, and high windows would allow it to escape.

I have no clue about the boxes above the others, though.

In my house in NE, the north wind blew right through the north wall...one reason almost all of us had water beds...they were warm in winter and cool in summer. 

I usually took clear plastic and wrapped the entire north wall, including the front door, held it all on with 1x2's and nails.  It helped a lot.   

Edit: corrected 1/2 to 1x2's

[formerlurker]

I have a 24'x24' great room that is my children's playroom.  It sits over the garage, and has its own heating zone.  I am considering closing it off for the winter, or for really cold spells to save on heat this winter.   

Insane how expensive it is to fill the oil tank.