Draughty Windows? Don’t DIY

Anyone who lives in Brighton will tell you it’s a great place to live. It’s a beautiful coastal town with a traditional pier and a buzzing, vibrant social scene.

But Brighton is also known for its windy, damp weather during the winter, and now the nights are drawing in and the days are getting colder, a draughty house can be a real problem. Rattling windows, cold gusts of wind, heat loss and condensation are just a few of the problems you have to face with old, weather-worn windows.

Approximately 30% of a home’s heat is lost through draughty windows, especially sash windows, commonly seen in period properties around Brighton. But many residents prefer to ‘make do and mend’ rather than call in a professional window repair specialist.

Here’s a few examples of DIY attempts to keep the cold and draughts at bay.

• Foam padding stuffed into the gaps and crevices.
• Rice-filled draught excluders laid along window ledges.
• Cotton balls stuffed into sash window gaps.
• Bubble wrap and plastic taped around the inner window frames.
• Clear insulation film that sticks to the glass panes much like the transparent film you stick to your mobile phone.
• Shrink wrap which needs treating with a hot hairdryer to remove the glue once the cold season is over.
• Electrical tape, masking tape and even parcel wrapping tape.
• A pair of screwdrivers inserted into the vertical gap to stop the sash window from falling down.
• Aluminium foil placed over radiators to bounce the heat back into the room to prevent it from escaping through the windows.
• Heavy curtains closed to keep the heat in.

Some of these measures may be effective in the short term, but none of them are a permanent solution. Also consider, you want to keep warm, but you also want an attractive, pleasant environment. Bubble wrap, tape, foam and cotton balls not only look ugly, but they prevent you from opening the windows, rice-filled draught excluders will absorb moisture and turn mouldy after some time and heavy curtains will need to be closed 24/7 to keep out the cold.

Attempting to fix your draughty windows in a bid to save money will end up costing you more money in higher energy bills, not to mention exposing your home as an easy target for burglars.

A professional window repair specialist will not only solve your draught problems but will also be able to make your windows more secure.

For enquiries into our window repair Brighton services, contact Brighton Trade Windows today, or visit us online for more information.