Weather-Proofing

Happy Holidays! Christmas has passed for another year. This is one of my favorite Holidays. And this one was especially significant. We have a young man staying with us, who’s had it rough. This year he was able to experience his first true Christmas in a long time, if ever. You see ln our house, we celebrate the Solstice, Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day. The real joy came by watching his eyes light up, while he opened his presents. Just being able to experience that was priceless!

Last time, we left off at Weather-Proofing. Many would think why bother now there is snow on the ground or not. I read an article this week saying that parts of Texas had a White Christmas, while many in the Upper Mid-West had a Green Christmas. Either way Weather-Proofing is important. As I mentioned before, you are checking for Holes in your house’s protective blanket.

Sealing Air Leaks
Warm air leaks into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter, this can waste a lot of your Energy Dollars, not to mention the Environment. So one of the quickest Dollar-Saving and Energy-Saving tasks you can perform is to caulk, seal, and Weather-Strip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. You can save 10% or more on your energy bill by reducing the air leaks in your home.

Sources of Air Leaks in Your Home
You’re thinking to yourself, where do I start? So I’ve provided a list of the typical problem areas around the home. So let’s start here:

• Dropped ceiling (Combined 31% Heat Loss with Floors & Walls)
• Water heater and furnace flues (4% Heat Loss)
• Window frames (10% Heat Loss)
• Recessed light (Combined 31% Heat Loss with Floors & Walls)
• All ducts (15% Heat Loss)
• Electrical outlets and switches (2% Heat Loss)
• Attic entrance(Combined 31% Heat Loss with Floors & Walls)
• Door frames (11% Heat Loss)
• Plumbing and utility access (13% Heat Loss)
• Sill plates (Combined 31% Heat Loss with Ceilings & Walls)
• Chimney flashing (14% Heat Loss)

Air infiltrates into and out of your home through every hole, nook, and cranny. About one-third of this air is coming through openings in your ceilings, walls, and floors.

Tips for Finding and Sealing Air Leaks
First, we need to test your home for air tightness. So on a windy day, hold a lit Incense Stick (a lit Candle works, too) next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. So you’re checking along Exterior Walls and Ceilings. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weather-stripping. Another good indication there is a Draft is you a Cold Spot or Cold Draft in one location in a room. As you are going along, take notes of areas that need attention.

Insulating and Sealing Air Leaks
Now that you’ve found the problem areas, let’s look at ways to eliminate or at the very least reduce the Drafts.

• Caulk and weather-strip doors and windows that leak air.
There are many types of Weather-Stripping available. Choose the best alternative for your situation. In most cases, you can purchase a couple of rolls of foam Weather-Stripping in ¼” & ½” thicknesses. This Weather-Stripping is still the most versatile, because it forms around the door or window to give a tight seal when closed.

• Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or where electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits.
Depending on the size of the gap, caulk works well for smaller gaps, while spray foam insulation (found in spray cans) works for larger gaps. Just fill the gap and let dry.

• Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.

• In the attic look for dirty spots in your insulation, which often indicate holes, where air leaks into and out of your house.
You can seal the holes by stapling sheets of plastic over the holes and caulking the edges of the plastic. Just remember don’t cover-up vent openings, because these are necessary for air circulation.

• Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with double-pane windows.
Okay, you’re thinking my single-pane windows don’t have storm windows. Mine certainly didn’t. And the plastic film sold for covering windows is pain to use, between the sticky tape that never really comes off and who can get the plastic attached right the first time. Not to mention the Expense!

If you have single glazed windows, and you simply can't afford to upgrade to double glazed windows, then here's a simple and inexpensive tip that can help: Cover your windows with Bubble Wrap.

OK, it sounds silly, but it really does work. It lets light in, though you cannot see through the windows properly (same for the plastic film), but it will reduce heat loss through the window by about 45%. That's a very significant amount!

The idea is simple: Cut a sheet of Bubble Wrap to fit the window exactly, spray it gently with plain water, and stick it on to the window. It should stay there. And when you remove it there isn't any difficult mess to clean up and the Bubble Wrap can be used again!

You save money by retaining heat and the environment saves by having less demand on its resources!

• When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed.
A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes—24 hours a day!

That’s it. This whole process will take about an afternoon to perform. The neat thing is that most of these steps only have to be done once.

Well that’s covers my ‘Winter Check List’. Again Happy New Year!