Using Caulk To Repair Window Leaks

1. Using Caulk To Repair WindowLeaks • When you need to seal a leak in a window, you are going to use caulking or weather-stripping to complete the job. You can also use something called a “foam sealant”, which is inserted between the frame of the window and the frame of thehouse. • A good way to check to see if you have a leaky window is to burn an incense block near it—if the flame flickers, you have a leaky window. This problem will prove costly, because all the air you are heating in the winter and cooling in the summer is escaping through theleak! • Some places you can check to see if there is a leakinclude: • The place where one side of a window meets withanother. • The section in which the frame and windowmeet. • The place where the frame of the window meets thewall. • Usually, the reason water may leak through a window is because there has been some form of breakdown in the area where the window and the wall come together. Placing a bead of caulking along the exterior area should prevent the leak. High-grade polyurethane caulking should be used if the trim of your house is mostly wood; it should be sufficient in sealing the gaps and preventing future leaks. Be especially careful to seal the top section of the trim to prevent any water from pooling there and causing furtherleaking. • Another way you can seal the exterior or interior leak in a permanent manner is to completely remove the trim around the window. Then you can caulk the area beneath the trim and use some expanding foam to further seal the area and make it air and watertight. To do this is to follow these simpleinstructions: • First, you will need a pry bar and hammer to remove the window trim from either the inside oroutside. • Spray some expanding foam in the area’s void—don’t worry if you overfill the area! Avoid touching the foam while it is wet because this will lead to a hard-to-clean mess! Waitseveralhoursforthefoamtodry,andthenuseaknifetocutawayanyexcess • around the edges of the windowframe. • Next, replace the window frame in the opposite way you removed it. You can purchase touch up paint to repair the paint job around the windowframe.

2. This should fix your problem with a leaky window for at least ten years. After that, you will have to go back and inspect how the caulking is holding up to the weather and wind conditions. You may have to replace the caulking then. However, in the meantime you will see a decrease in your energy bills. You will notice that the house stays much warmer at night and cooler during the day because the precious air is no longer leakingout. Articles Source :http://homelandguild.org/using-caulk-to-repair-window-leaks/