San Diego's weather forgives a lot, but drafty windows still cost you comfort, dust and money. Here's how to find the leaks and seal them in an afternoon.
You feel a cool thread of air near the window on a January evening, or you notice one room never quite holds temperature. It's easy to shrug off in a climate this forgiving.
The most common cause is simple: failed or missing weather stripping in the sash, and dried-out caulk where the window frame meets the wall. Both are cheap to fix and both are DIY-friendly. And they matter more here than people assume, just not for the reason you'd expect in a cold climate.
Nobody in 92130 is worried about a frozen pipe. But the same gaps that let air in also let in dust, pollen and road grit, which is why one room always seems to need dusting. They let conditioned air out during the handful of weeks a year the AC is working hard, and inland neighborhoods like 92127, 92128 and 92064 get genuinely hot summer afternoons. They let outside noise in. And a gap that moves air can also move water during a winter storm, which is how sill rot and peeling paint start.
Close the window and run the back of your hand slowly around the sash and frame on a breezy day. For something more definitive, hold a lit incense stick a couple of inches from the perimeter and watch where the smoke pulls sideways. Do it with the bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans running, which depressurizes the house slightly and exaggerates the draft. Mark each leak with a bit of painter's tape as you find it.
Some drafts aren't fixable with a caulk gun. If you see condensation or fog between the panes of a double-pane window, the seal has failed and the glass unit needs replacing. If the frame itself is rotted, racked or pulling away from the wall, or if you're feeling air through the wall rather than around the window, that's window replacement or a contractor's job rather than a maintenance one. Aluminum-framed windows from the 1970s and 80s will always feel cold and slightly drafty no matter how well they're sealed, because the metal itself conducts; sealing helps, but it won't make them feel like new windows.
Sealing one window is an afternoon project. Sealing every window in the house is the kind of job that stays on the list for three years. For Livd members, your dedicated handyman can work through the house window by window across regular visits, and because it's the same person each time, they'll know which ones they've already done.
Already a Livd member? Add "seal drafty windows" to your task list in the Livd app and we'll take care of it on your next scheduled visit.
Not a Livd member yet? Schedule your free home walkthrough at livdhomes.com. We'll look at what your home needs and build a proactive maintenance plan to keep the little things from becoming big ones.
