When it comes to keeping your home warm during the winter months, one important area to focus on is your windows. Poorly insulated windows can allow a lot of precious heat to escape, leaving your rooms feeling chilly and drafty. Replacing your windows with new sealed, double-glazed units is the best option, although if you can't afford to do this, there are other ways of insulating your window frames and sills. Read on to find out more.
Fit weather sealing
Rubber weather sealing comes in inexpensive self-adhesive strips and can be bought online or from good DIY stores. Simply cut the strips to fit your window dimensions, peel off the backing, and then stick the strips to the window frames to seal any gaps and banish drafts. You can remove the strips during the summer time if you want to.
Window insulation film
Window insulation kits can be purchased relatively cheaply from hardware or DIY stores. These DIY kits entail the application of a plastic film to the inside window frames using double-sided sticky tape.
The first step in the process is to cut strips of the film to fit your window frames. You then shrink the film to fit the frames and seal it by heating it with a hairdryer. Although this is a very effective way of keeping the cold out, you won't be able to open the windows without removing the film first, so it's really only good for one winter and will require reapplication next year.
Cellular blinds
You can use blinds made from a special cellular fabric as window dressings that will help to insulate your windows. Cellular blinds can be bought ready-made from good department stores and some large DIY shops. Although this option is more expensive than other DIY insulation solutions, the blinds can remain in situ all year round as they also help to keep strong sunlight and heat out during the summertime.
Draft excluders
Draft excluders are a great way of preventing cold air from entering a room through a drafty window sill. A draft excluder is basically a long, fabric tube that is stuffed with sponge or hollow fibre to form a sausage or snake shape. You can make one yourself if you're handy with a needle and thread. Just place the excluder on the window sill to block out the drafts.
In conclusion
You don't have to spend a fortune on new double-glazing to improve the insulation on your windows. The simple projects outlined above can all be achieved quickly and with minimal outlay to help keep your home warmer this winter.
Share26 January 2016
Hello! Welcome to my blog! My name is Julie and I live in a large house in the suburbs of Perth, Australia. My husband and I moved into our current home a couple of years ago and since then we have been working to transform it into our dream place. The house itself is lovely, but the interior looked like something from the 1970s. When we started our renovation project we didn't have a clue what we were doing. However, with each job we completed and each mistake we made, we learnt a new skill. I decided I would like to share what we have learnt here.