We have several windows in our house that don't seal very well when closed. No water penetration but you can feel a breeze through them. They are the style that one side slides to the side, not up and down. I know it's coming from the window itself and not around the outside of it. What can be done? Can I replace the seal in between the two windows? Is it possible that they wore down over time and are less effective? Thay are 20 yrs old. Thanks.

I think you could try lots of things to make 20 year old windows work better and all you'd get is old windows that leak. Plan for a full replacement.

I expect the reason why the windows leak is because they're old and the weather stripping on them is worn out, not just because they're old.

Do this: Take a cotton shoe lace and light it on fire until it's burning under it's own steam. Then blow out the flame so that the smoldering end of the shoe lace is releasing a steady stream of smoke. Use that steady smoke to find out where the air leakage is occuring.

If you find that the air is leaking around the window frame, it could just need some paintable caulk.

If the air leakage is around each slider when they're closed, then I'd try replacing the weather stripping on the sliders. Look in your phone book under "Weather Stripping" and any of the places listed there will either stock the kind of weather stripping you need for you windows, know who does or be able to order it for you.

Depending on the kind of sliding (or rolling) windows you have, there will be a different procedure to replace the weather stripping. The nice man at the weather stripping store will be able to tell you how to replace the weather stripping on your sliding windows.

To remove the sliders from the window, you normally just move the slider toward the middle of the window (so it's not engaged with the window frame on either side, then lift up on it. It should lift high enough to clear the tracks that it slides back and forth on, and then swing the bottom out toward you to disengage it from those tracks. Now, lower the window as you swing the bottom toward you to remove it from the window frame.

Note that any window locking devices will always be on the interior pair of sliders if you have more than one pair. Make a diagram to show how the finger pulls are arranged on each pair of sliders so that you can re-install them correctly. Also note if the sliders have any plastic inserts in the bottoms of each sliding window frame. If you see any plastic inserts, these will typically be on the bottom of the window, and the window will slide on these plastic inserts rather than have the aluminum frame of the slider sliding directly on the plastic. (That's cuz the aluminum can scratch up the plastic it slides in, so providing plastic inserts in the bottoms of the sliders prevents damage to the plastic tracks the windows slide in.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

Hello pippi, how's the saonse going?

In the event that you didn't burn your house down or found yourself in the emergency room from polyester shoelace smoke inhalation, I recommend the following...

If the windows you are speaking of are the basic plastic vinyl replacement windows then go for a replacement. You can buy yourself a little time with some weathering materials and what not, but you're probably going to find yourself looking at it and saying, gee, now that I look at it, we need new windows. Especially if they have water spots between the panes of glass, cant do a thing about those. If you do go this route, get the good ones, always go for the best quality replacement windows, they are worth the investment.

If, on the other and, these are wood and original sliding windows then I suggest a high quality paint job inside and out. The putty may need attention as well as cracks around the seems. Purchasing replacement windows for the purpose of replacing original wooden windows is never a lucrative investment, for the purchaser anyway. You simply won't get your money back, you'll most likely need to replace again by the time the energy efficiency pays off, and then you've started all over. Original windows are awesome, you just don't see them any more, they are becoming priceless.

Good luck, wave

How about a picture so we can stop guessing on what you have.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joecaption,

I think you should change their seal because as per you said that they were separated from two decades; so that it would happen.
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