Tale of Two Windows

My bedroom can get very cold. My computer desk, which has no back, sits up against the wall under the pair of windows, so I can see trees and squirrels (and the neighbors' carport) as I type.

This time of year, the cold air seeps in through the un-caulked, single-paned windows and spills down on my feet and legs. The ensuing loss of feeling gradually paralyzes me, until I can no longer type readably. After that of course, I’m limited to point-and-click “research,” which eventually ends in listening to other people's cats talk at youtube.

Because the apartment has oil heat, I wanted to be both GREENE and FROOGLE by finding all the ways I could to use less of it. Here's HOWE I did it:

My first FROOGLE attempt at weatherization was to fold a flannel sheet in quarters and stretch it across the back of the desk. That helped, at least when I was sitting at my desk, and before it got really cold out.

Then, on that first weekend of really cold weather in December (perhaps you remember the historic, record-breaking cold), my son helped me cover the eighty-year-old windows with plastic to stop some of the heat loss through them.

We bought a kit containing thin plastic sheeting and special double-sided tape that can be applied in temperatures above 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The plastic and tape goes on the outside of the window. I need to mention that these windows are on the wall fronting the ad hoc wind tunnel that formed between our house and the neighbors’ house. This wind transformed the installation of the very light-Weight plastic into a character-building exercise, but we prevailed.

As we started on the next set of windows, the temperature (thanks to timely cooperation from the wind tunnel) dropped to below 25 degrees. I'm sure of the temperature drop because the tape refused to stick to the window frame. We were ready to quit, anyway.

I tested the new storm window over that coldest-ever holiday season, and although it was an improvement, it would have been even better if I had caulked before we put up the plastic. The purpose of the plastic is to isolate "dead" air that acts as a barrier between the warm house and the cold outdoors. If there are air leaks, however, the space between the plastic and the window glass is not truly isolated.

I decided to stop those leaks around my windows. So early this week I caulked partway around the inside of my bedroom windows with a caulk that can be peeled of in the spring (so the windows can be opened). My bedroom seems to be warmer, although it's been only a few days--and warmer days, too.

So now I'm thinking about weatherizing one more set of windows. The kitchen window faces north, and in cold weather, the only way to be warm in the kitchen is to bake something. This time I'd like to caulk outside the windows, before I put up the plastic. That ought to lower the heating bill, which makes it GREENE as well as FROOGLE. Anyone have DIY weatherization stories or tips to share?