Winter brings us a lot of positive emotions: the first snow, holidays, weekends and holidays. But at the same time, many have to deal with the fact that the temperature in the house or apartment falls below a comfortable level, which creates a certain discomfort. One of the ways to deal with this is window insulation. Consider how to insulate wooden windows for the winter independently: what materials and technologies can be used.
How to understand that you need insulation of wooden windows
Wooden windows have a lot of advantages in comparison with plastic ones, and it is believed that they are able to maintain an optimal microclimate in the room, which is necessary for comfortable living. But along with the advantages, wooden windows also have disadvantages, among which is the ability of frames to crack, thereby provoking the appearance of cracks and cracks through which cold air enters the room.
It is very easy to notice that the frames have become leaky, if you pay attention to the appearance of patterns on the glass. Another option is to bring a wet hand to the joints. Another way, which allows you not to wait for frosts, is to bring a lighted candle to those places where there may be gaps. If they were discovered, it is worthwhile to start immediately warming the frames. Moreover, it is desirable to do this until the temperature in the street drops below 5 ° C.
Ideally, new wooden windows should not yield to plastic in the issue of heat. But in practice, quite often one has to face the fact that these characteristics deteriorate with time. Another option is that the wood may initially not fit tightly enough to the glass or be poorly processed.
Helpful advice! Before insulating old windows, they must be thoroughly cleaned and degreased. This will allow you to securely fix the selected insulation material.
In order to understand how to insulate windows for the winter, it is necessary to determine how heat can leave the room. If we talk about the windows, then the leakage of thermal energy through the gaps, cracks and cracks in the windows appears as a result of the shrinkage of the building or as a result of the fact that the frames crack. This phenomenon is also observed as a result of violation of the technology of installation of such windows.
If you need to make the insulation of wooden windows with double-glazed windows with your own hands, then this can be done both from the outside and from the inside. If you additionally need to warm the slopes, then this creates an additional layer, for which most often use drywall and plaster, as well as thermal insulation material.
The first thing that needs to be determined before deciding how to insulate the windows is how tightly the frame fits to the glass. Glass rattling indicates a leakage, and in this case it will be necessary to remove the glass in order to make an additional layer around the frame with a sealant. All visible cracks after fastening the beadings are also sealed with a sealant.
Important! All work of this type must be carried out in special protective gloves, which will prevent cuts, as well as the penetration of the sealant on your hands.
After you have verified that the glass is properly seated or that you have solved the problem with a sealant, you can continue the insulation using one of the materials. Consider in detail each of the options, its advantages, disadvantages and features.
Warming windows with a film material is a common technology that is very often used by summer residents. Of course, in this case, it is worthwhile to pay attention in advance to such characteristics of the film, as frost resistance and transparency, so that the efforts made are not in vain.
Helpful advice! If your region is characterized by severe frosts, it is best to use a special frost-resistant film, which is designed for greenhouses and has enhanced thermal insulation characteristics. This material can easily withstand a temperature drop of -40 ° C.
The film is fixed on the outside of the window with a stapler. In order to provide a more reliable fixation, it is worth putting additional pieces of film under the staples. Also, it is important to follow the correct tension of the film so that as a result of the wind load it does not explode. Although, if this happens, you can easily glue it with adhesive tape.
We should also discuss the use of thermal insulation film, which is a composite material, and one side of which is metallized. Due to the fact that the metal layer is very thin, it does not interfere with the free passage of sunlight, but the heat loss of glass is significantly reduced. Therefore, if this option of warming is chosen, it is definitely worth buying a heat-saving film for windows.
A piece of such a film of a suitable size is stretched from the outside of the house, not forgetting about small allowances. Using a conventional spray gun, a soap solution is applied to the surface of the glass of the window, after which the film is simply glued.
Important! Before attaching the film to the glass in this way, you need to thoroughly clean it and degrease it. Otherwise, the film will not hold.
The most common method involves the use of paper for sealing windows. So everyone can warm wooden windows with their own hands, simply following the following algorithm:
- Wash the window surface thoroughly.
- Inside all the joints, where there are gaps, lay cotton wool, foam rubber strips or synthetic winterizer.
- Then these places are sealed with paper using a paste, wallpaper glue and PVA glue diluted with water.
This is a very effective method, which, however, has one major drawback – in the spring the paper will have to be removed, and in the fall it will be glued again. However, when the question arises, how better to seal the windows, many prefer paper as a simple and reliable method. Sometimes, as an alternative, use strips of cloth that attach to the soap solution.
Sealant is often used as insulation for wooden windows. But this method is effective only if the slots are small. But before you seal the windows with sealant, you should know that it is extremely difficult to remove, so, most likely, having done this once, you will have to leave the result of your work for several years.
First of all, you should take care not to stain the frame. To do this, you can use masking tape, taping it where it is required. Then the sealant gently squeeze into the holes, be sure to use a special tool and nozzle. It is extremely important to immediately level the composition before it hardens. And this happens very quickly. In order to eliminate the excess, you can use a regular cloth, previously moistened in a solution of vinegar.
Given the fact that silicone is of several types, it is worth knowing in advance which one is suitable for this purpose. For insulation, you can use polyurethane or teokolovy sealant. In the first case, the application process is easier and after drying it can be painted without problems.
Important! The sealant chosen for insulation must have moisture-proof and antifungal characteristics.
Due to its elasticity and other characteristics, foam rubber has been used for warming windows for a very long time. This method allows you to eliminate any, even the smallest gap. The technology in this case is as follows: the windows are glued with paper from the outside. Then, with the help of a knife or other sharp object, the foam rubber is pushed into the slot and then sealed with paper again. Of course, if we are talking about a high-rise apartment building, sticking from the outside is not performed.
Today on sale you can find many different options for foam rubber, designed specifically for this purpose. The easiest way to get self-adhesive foam, which is easy to use and significantly reduces the time of work.
Paraffin is suitable for warming window frames no worse than sealant, so this option is also worth considering. True, this option is suitable only for small gaps. The procedure is as follows:
- paraffin melt in a water bath;
- a small amount is drawn into the syringe;
- evenly distribute the paraffin inside the gap.
If you have to deal with cracks of rather large sizes, you can pre-lay inside the rope of a suitable diameter. Thus, it is possible to provide a base that will not allow the paraffin to spread, but to freeze in the desired position.
After the window sill is removed, you can see all the problem areas and fix the problem. If the slots are not too large, they can be sealed with a silicone sealant. You can also carry out the procedure of insulation foam. For large gaps, this approach will not work and you will have to use Minvata or stone chips. By eliminating the gap in this way, you just have to install the sill in place.
Understanding how to properly seal windows for the winter with paper is quite easy after reading the instructions, but in the case of plastic windows some questions may arise. Therefore, it is useful to see a detailed video instruction that clearly demonstrates each stage and will allow even beginners to cope with the task as quickly and efficiently as possible.
