If you have lived in Saskatoon for a while – you are no stranger to things like – 40 degree weather. However, something that might be new to you is the cold breeze in the home associated with the cold weather outside.
If you are experiencing a draft home don’t worry. You are not alone. many people feel it is always the windows and doors causing the problem – and many times those two could be culprits. There could also be other problems – bigger problems, like your roof.
Here are some fixes to get rid of the draft in your home. Please note – the process to get rid of drafts is straightforward—but it isn’t always easy. It requires hard work and sometimes specialized expertise, so you might need to hire professionals and make a game plan.
1) Insulate the roof or the attic.
Most people know – heat rises. When hot air rises in your home, it collects in your upper floors and attic while cooler air tends to settle on the lower floors. As heat rises, it creates a pressure vacuum that sucks cold air in from cracks and gaps at the foundation. For every unit of heated air that goes out of the house, a new unit of outside (cold!) air is drawn in. Thus the giant vacuum effect that makes your house feel cold and drafty.
2) Air seal your attic (and the rest of your house, too)!
Stop excess air flow escaping through the attic by using foam to plug all of the little holes and cracks in the attic floor. This will make a huge difference
Air sealing your attic helps stop drafts by making it much harder for warm air to escape through the top of your home. This also stops the vacuum from hot air rising and cold air coming in.
Air sealing is the process of finding and plugging all of the gaps, cracks, and crevices in your home. It’s painstaking, methodical work—and it’s important to find the right professional to do it—but it can make a dramatic difference in how your home feels.
3) Air seal and insulate your foundation
It is now time to address the place where most of the cold air is getting in, your foundation.
To do this, call a professional! They typically use 2-part foam (or foam board plus a sealant) to air seal and insulate the wooden panel where the foundation meets the structure of the house.
Please note – properly air sealing a foundation is hard and dirty work. It requires a detailed understanding of how air gets into and then cycles through a building.
Some easier fixes (they might be less effective if the above is still a problem) are below.
4) Apply Weatherstripping To Windows
One of the most important things people forget to do when winterizing their home is to lock the windows.
- If your windows are large, consider installing two locks a few inches from the outside edges rather than just one in the center, to get the gap closed all the way across the sash.
- Before closing the locks, pull down on the top sash of your double-hung windows and insert some weatherstripping along the top edge.
- Then, push it the sash up as tight as you can before locking.
5) Weatherproof Your Exterior Doors
If you feel drafts around your doors, apply weather strips to the sides and top and new door sweeps at the bottom. We found this quote online that we found alarming, “A ⅛-inch gap around the perimeter of a door will allow in as much air as a small window open halfway?” If a small door opening is letting in that much, it’s time to fix that ASAP.
We found that fix above on Amazon for $20.00
As always, if you need help buying or selling your home, do not hesitate to contact Gregg Bamford or Ryan Bamford.
