My Big Drafty Window
Posted on October 8, 2008 by
We have a big window in our living room. I like it, because there’s a big beautiful tree in the front yard, and I love having such a great view of it. Argo loves to look out the window and bark at anyone who dares to walk on the sidewalk, or close their car door. The down side of the big window is that it’s old, and even with the storm windows in place, it’s quite drafty.
We looked into having the window replaced with a new energy efficient window, but the estimate really knocked the wind out of us. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have several thousand dollars laying around just waiting to be spent on home repairs at the moment. And there’s also the issues of waste and materials involved in installing new windows. Our current window is wood and glass. New windows often have vinyl components. And while we don’t have kids or have any plans for kids on the immediate horizon, if a material can have this horrible effect on child development, I don’t want it in my house.
So, my plan of attack is two, possibly three-fold.
1. Insulated curtains - Done! Two weeks ago, we took down the shades and put up curtains. When we first moved into our house, there were big blue taffeta curtains with tassels and lace and a huge gold colored curtain rod (which went well with the enormous plastic “crystal” chandelier that hung next to the window). Because these curtains were an assault on the eyes, we developed an instant curtain aversion, and thought shades were the only sensible option.
We had Roman style natural fiber blinds up for several years, and I hated them. Not only did they do nothing for the draft situation, they couldn’t be washed, and developed a lovely black stain where Argo liked to stick his head around to look out while on watch dog duty. The blinds also kept me from taking advantage of passive solar energy, because they were either open, leaving me to feel like I was on display to the neighborhood, or closed.
I purchased four panels of insulated curtains and a double curtain rod for about $100. I’d thought about making the curtains myself, but after pricing out materials, and being honest with myself about my sewing abilities (just learning, don’t want to ruin expensive fabric), it made more sense to purchase them. I’m planning to try making curtains for some of the smaller windows in our house. It took us about an hour to hang the curtains. They are machine washable, and pretty nice looking, if I do say so myself (although they could use some ironing). I reused the lace panels from the old window treatment as privacy sheers, even though they aren’t exactly my style. When my sewing skills improve, I’ll make new ones (hopefully from recycled or organic cotton or hemp), but I couldn’t justify the extra cost and waste or purchasing new sheers when I had something that would do the trick. Now I can enjoy the natural heat and light during the day without feeling like I’m performing for my neighbors when I’m hanging out in the living room.
2. Caulk - To Do This Weekend. I am planning to take the storm windows off (we’ve been leaving them on all year because we don’t open the big window anyway) and apply a line of caulk around the panes of glass, making necessary repairs to the window trim as well. I’m going to do this on the outside of the window instead of the inside in an attempt to preserve the air quality in my house. While necessary, caulk is not exactly the most eco-friendly substance, even though I intend to look for one labeled water-based and low VOC.
3. Plastic Window Film - Maybe Next Weekend. I’m not totally sold on this step. I hate purchasing more plastic than necessary, so I will probably wait to check for air leaks after caulking to see if it’s necessary to install plastic window film. Earth Easy has a great test for leaks using a stick of incense to detect airflow. If I do, I’ll need to install it on the outside of the window, because I’m sure the dog will tear it the first time someone sets foot on the sidewalk in front of our house.
Already, the blinds have made a marked difference in the comfort level of our living room. I’m excited to compare our energy bills from last year to our bills this year and see the savings.
What have you been doing to get your home ready for winter?
Insulated curtains are one of those solutions that have probably been around forever but that never occurred to me–here, I deal with trying to block the heat of a FL summer through a large sliding glass door. Even though I’m moving, I’ll have to remember this.
Here’s an interesting dilemma I face: One of the current theories about the hike in asthma rates floating around has to do with home insulation, since the more sealed in your home is, the more allergens and airborne irritants stay inside. And changing air filters regularly and using non-toxic substances indoors helps, but inside air will always be more stale than outside.
On the other hand, energy-inefficient homes jack up emissions by placing more strain on power plants during very cold or very hot days when you can’t open windows, and higher emissions aren’t so great for air quality and therefore asthma, either.
I compromise by practicing energy efficiency but airing the house out–in any temperature–at least an hour or two each week. It’s probably an exercise in futility, but it makes me feel better.
I think I have the same curtain rods as you! (They’re also on my giant window in my living room.) My curtains aren’t insulated, but those look the same, too!
(That was so not the point of your post, but I had to share.)
I used to work in the Blinds & Draperies department at Sears (a million years ago), so I’m quite familiar with insulated drapes and I’m a big fan. I’ve lived in both warm and cold climates, and they save energy in both situations.
I would just let everyone know that there are different kinds of lined drapes. The thermal-backed drapes will block out/in the most heat, but darker colored heavy fabric-lined drapes will also help. I think you just have less choice in terms of colors and styles if you insist on buying only themal-backed. I had fabric-lined in my bedroom in my Wisconsin house and it was markedly colder without them. I had the same drapes in an east-facing room in Texas and they made the room much cooler by blocking out most of the light.
Hi Allie. Where did you buy your drapes? What brand are they? I think we need to go this route for our big living room windows.
Also, the thing about the plastic is that it’s not just for drafts. It actually insulates the window. You may not need it with the insulating curtains.
I’m torn about the window plastic. I mean, it’s plastic! But on the other hand…
Hi Allie,
I have been meaning to order some of those! We are going to use them to block off a stupidly large foyer and our stairway as well as some of our windows. If you have old, single pane windows plastic acts like a second pane. Even with a storm window it can increase comfort levels significantly. Thanks for the Digg!
BEAUTIFUL window and curtains, Allie! Dang! Marc and I are hoping to buy our first house this coming Spring, and I hope we end up with the big beautiful window you’ve got rolling for you! And very cool working on making it more efficient… I know we’re going to have to figure that out too!
Amy - I have the same dilemma - do I let the fresh air in or keep the heat in?
Stefanie - great minds . . . have similar taste in curtains.
Jess - Thanks so much for the curtain rundown. There were absolutely fewer choices in the thermal curtain lines.
Beth - They are Eclipse Thermaweave curtains. They carry them in a lot of major stores - Target, Sears, JCPenny, Bed Bath & Beyond. Every store has a slightly different color/texture. They’re 100% polyester, which isn’t the most eco-friendly choice, but I was in “I need a solution NOW” mode when I bought them. And they aren’t vinyl backed, which is what I’d been worried about when I was thinking about getting thermal curtains.
Roger - I think I’m leaning toward the window plastic. We’ll see. I love the idea of using curtains to block off unnecessary room space too.
Ashley Sue - Thank you! I wish I’d taken a before picture - the window was far from beautiful with the blinds on it.
Funny how we both wrote about our windows on the same day! I have a gigantic living room window which always bothers me bec. of the cold factor. Why do they need to make them so big? It was single pane and a storm window on part of it and aluminum frame. Totally glad we got rid of it and it already seems better with noise levels.
I do have one wood framed single pane window in an addition room we did not replace and I have plans to sew some warm curtains for it before this winter when I get a chance.
I also agree with the person who said to air out your home even in the winter - I always do this even if I have to freeze bec. we’ve been doing so many renovations while living here it brings up so much in an older house. I think it helps to circulate the air every day. I also have a super hepa filter on our furnace and an IQ Air air filter bec. I’m that anal about it!
Hello!
We don’t have air conditioning, and only baseboard heat in the winter. I love our air quality in the spring and summer because our windows are generally open all day. In the winter, we keep everything shut up, in an effort to use the heat as little as possible. This definately aggrivates our allergies though. I’m thinking a good air purifier would do well this year. At least for winter. Thanks for the post!
Sara