Draft around Dual pane windows

[H. John Kohl]

Every night I felt cold air drifting on my face. I sleep on the front side of the bed and that side has the small window in the slide. When the wind was blowing I thought the draft was worse. I also felt a draft on the window over the desk and the curb side rear window above the counter, past the stove. Not part of the slide.

Well today I pulled the inside frame on the small bedroom window and found there is 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch of space between the window seal and the wall opening. During installation they did not take time to run a bead of sealant or insulation in this void. Time is money and this would take some extra time.

If you do this be careful the window does not fall outside since this frame holds it in. No mine did not.

I put silicone seal in this void and the draft has stopped. I will not be able to give it a full test until tonight. I plan on using the spray in insulation on the others. I did not have it this time.

EDIT - The draft is still there so it must be the seal for the sliding window.

I do see a winter project sealing all these other voids. I am sure they are present.

It does not effect the zero rating it just cost more propane to heat the outside.

I hope they take time on the Big Sky and do insulate in this area.

Cheers,

[BillyRay]

Things you have to find out the hard way.

[lwcdg]

John be very careful with the spray in insulation. I've seen "ugly" results when people have tried to fill the cavity, not knowing how much this stuff WILL expand! So again be very careful it can push walls out, wider than they are supposed to be. I've seen this in a "stick" home. I had to tear it all apart and insulate it again this time with fiberglass. No problems when I got done just a large bill for the home owners. They chose to put in a different window. it was not the window problem but the bad insulating job and the home owners made it worse. Be careful.
Just my 2 cents
Chuck

[VanMan]

There are two kinds of expanding foam (same brand) - one does not expand as much or with as much force as the other. From http://www.homeenvy.com/db/9/49.html :

If you haven't used expanding foam before, go with a low-expansion variety. (The label will indicate whether it's high- or low-expansion.) If you choose a high-expansion foam, use it with an extremely subtle touch. It expands 200-300 percent over a couple of hours. In other words, you only need to squirt in 35 -50% of what you think you need. If you overdo it, you'll have pendulous glops of uncured foam spilling out of crevices, rolling down your walls and spreading itself around like a bad soprano. It cleans up with acetone but not easily, so don't let it get to that point. Also, on the label the manufacturers always print a cryptic cautionary note: "Once the foam has cured, no known chemical will dissolve it. Remove by sanding." If the foam is on your skin, good luck with the sanding part. I'm still smarting.

[H. John Kohl]

Thanks for the input from the experts. Maybe using the pink glass is a better idea. And most important that does not seem to be the major cause of the draft so it is better to leave well enough alone for right now. I just use more propane.
Thanks again for a great Forum and group of knowledgeable individuals.
Please tow safe.