I have these old windows in my house and they need to be updated. Of course, cosmetics are the number one reason, but they also let out quite a bit of heat from my house in the winter. This is a real problem with older homes. The loss of heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer will cost you more $$$. The energy transfer (loss) is about 7% in my house which affects both my gas and electrical annual bills. This costs people money without them even knowing it - literally money being thrown out the window. Weather stripping can help, along with plastic film that is used to surround the window area and keep out the cold drafts.

Another source of heat loss that I found was my front door. I recently gutted my entire main floor with a few things left unfinished, and one of them was the front door. So, on an extremely cold night, I decided to find out if the door and frame was drafty. An old trick is to hold a lit lighter or match around the area, as any flicker in the flame or even blowing it out indicates some air getting through. But since I didn’t have a match or a lighter, I used a piece of Kleenex, which also does the trick. I found areas around my door that need to be chalked and filled in. While I cut down the draft, I didn’t eliminate it. So I am going to get a new door installed, along with all of the windows in my house this spring. Be sure to check out Sears Home Central .

Chris Paulsen cpaulsen@homerenovationguide.com