Nov 8, 2005 2:19 pm US/Eastern
Winterize Your Home: Lose Those Drafts
by Scott Wahle
(WBZ)
Worried about heating costs this winter? Who isn't. WBZ is showing you the right way to winterize your home and save money. Today, tightening up to keep the cold out and the heat in.
"On a cold winter's day you can feel the cold air coming through," says homeowner Don Cox. That's a typical complaint in our drafty New England homes. "You can feel it coming through the windows, you can feel it coming through the front door," says Cox. You can also stop it.
Bob Eckel from Conservation Services Group is a winterization expert. The first step to tightening up your house is to weather strip. Start with the doors. "A lot of people make a mistake by weather stripping with the door open," according to Eckel. "You want to close the door, lock the door, then fit the weather stripping so it fits tight against the door when it's closed and locked."
Next, run a door-sweep along the bottom, making sure you get a tight seal. Then go to your windows. "Look at your old windows. See if they have a lot of play in them, if they're loose and rattling," says Eckel. That means air is leaking like crazy. Attach weather stripping wherever wood surfaces meet.
Caulking can also help tighten up a house. "Outside you really want to look around your windows and doors, so you want to look for any gaps or voids that you might be able to see that might be letting cold air get in around the window or door," says Eckel. Look for the same kind of gaps indoors.
Another thing to do is check both inside and outside your house and look for wires or pipes that are creating gaps. If you find a hole, plug it with expandable foam. According to Bob Eckel, "Reducing those drafts you might be more comfortable at a lower thermostat setting. That's where you're going to get the savings." And your investment in time and materials will pay off in lower bills.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Stumble It!
Comments