Vinyl Window Reseal

My house is coming up on 22 yrs old. This last summer I had the roof replaced and the roofers installed a continuous ridge vent whereas there was no ridge vent before. I have 3 gable end wall vents. The house also has full soffit vents on the none gabled sides.

With the first cold snap in November, the house felt much more chilly than ever before. It was noticeably drafty. I covered the 3 gable vents which has helped some. Still, the house feels chilly. This year I can really feel the cold air coming in through windows. They are supposed to be vinyl windows but seem to have a lot of metal in them. Anyway, they still look good and function fine. Even the caulking is still good on all of them.

What I plan to try next is replacing the pile weather stripping and the bubble seal on the bottom of the sash. I need measurements to order the correct sizes. The pile strips are in a tee channel where I need to cut a small access at the end of each strip to remove the strip to measure and of course replace. The pile mfr. website says all you need to do with vinyl windows is use a sharp knife to cut the access. My windows are all metal on these channels. I can use my Dremel tool to grind down enough but it seems time consuming so far.

Questions: 1) I'd like opinions/ideas on my efforts to help weather seal the house. Going forward I will be sealing up all the ceiling fixtures and blowing in additional insulation in the attic before next winter. 2) Is there a particular Dremel accessory that would work best for removing the small amount of metal on the window channels?

Thanks for any advice!

 

I've worked with windows for a large part of my 32 yrs in construction. There should usually never be any need to cut or grind anything when replacing weatherstripping. Pile weatherstripping NEEDS to be captured in the slot in the sash or it will slide out when you operate the window. So if you are cutting something you are likely going about it wrong.

There are also so many sizes and thicknesses of weatherstripping that if you dont get it right (the same exact size the mfg used) you will either be making things worse (too loose) or make the window hard or impossible to operate (too tight).

So while it "could" be done, I would not have much confidence you would improve things by replacing weatherstripping.

 

The pile strips seem to slip around pretty freely in the channel. The bubble strip on the bottom seems to have a pinch point on each end but still manages to slip out. I looked at the window to see it there might be a way to remove a piece to allow the pile strips to slip out, there's 2 strips on each side, but it was not obvious.

I have no idea who manufactured these windows and the builder was no help. All there is on the window is what looks like a compliance label.

 

Seeing some photos of what you are up against might help.

 

I'll see if I can get some tomorrow when it warms up a bit more where I can take the window out for a while.

 

I've been checking out the windows more and it seems that the bubble seals are the worst offenders in the leak department. I checked with swisco.com and they have a similar seal to mine except its missing 2 "legs" that extend out below the bubble and flatten out on the sill when the window is closed. Wonder how important that really is?

Here's a few photos of my seals and the window

The seals are really degraded after over 20 yrs use!

Maybe this is a better photo?

Plastic "T" 3/16" wide with 1/8" extension to the bulb.

These windows have patches of pile material glued in various spots.

 

Those windows typically get disassembled (top and bottom pieces get taken off the glass) of you think you need to replace the pile weatherstrip. I wouldn't mess with the corner pads. The bulb weatherstrip should slide right out. Don't know what you have for meeting rail weatherstrip at the interlock. It's probably on the top sash.

 

I think l know what you're referring to as the interlock, there is a pile strip in a slot on top sash facing up that meets a lip on bottom sash when window is fully closed. Don't think this is leaking now. Yes, the bubble seal pulls right out so I' d like to try replacing them first and see how my house feels as after that. Where might I find bubble seal to match my OE seal with the extensions from the bubble?

 

Since the draft issue coincides with the addition of the ridge vents, my guess is the lack of insulation in the attic is the issue. Drafts around the windows should not change because of the ridge vents unless something was done to the attic floor to increase air flow from the rooms below.

 

You probably have zero chance of finding an exact match. The original mfg is always your best bet for replacement parts... everything else will be aftermarket and not an exact match. Then all you can do is go by measurements (width of t-slot and height of gasket) and approximate shape. It's very possible your old original weatherstrip may seal better than a poor fitting replacement.

 

The closest I can find that looks similar is the PGT 63-552W. And I don't think it's a good match because it is not foam filled.

Something like this might work if the size is right. https://windowanddoorparts.us/weathe...b-p-10961.html

 

Question. Is it possible that by adding a continuous ridge vent that a vacuum or low pressure area now exists in the attic? Air is now being drawn or sucked up from the house interior through openings in the ceilings, thus making the house colder?

 

Yep. See recent thread on attic lid being lifted out during high winds.

Pressure drop in attic ?

 

I had additional blow in insulation put in my attic last week and a good attic stair insulation cover installed. R value was increased from an estimated R24 to R49. The gable end vents are covered now just leaving the continuous ridge vent all along the house and attached garage roofs. The insulation company also did a "partial air seal" meaning they sealed all visible gaps in the ceiling. HVAC ducts, electrical boxes, bath fan. I actually uncovered the electrical and the bath fan and drew them a map showing the position of each in relation to the obvious HVAC ducts(my furnace is in the attic}. The insulation was only put over the living space, none is on the garage ceiling.

So now should I have proper flow up there with the full soffit vents as the intake and the ridge as the exhaust? A professional contractor did the insulation upgrade and said chutes along the underside of the roof over the soffit vents were not necessary so I have to assume they did not block the vents with additional insulation. Even if some did get inadvertently blocked, I still have 40 feet of completely exposed soffit vents in the garage section. I expect the attic to be MUCH cooler this summer than prior.

I would love to be able to contact the OE mfr of the windows for seal replacement but have not found out who made the windows. Called the builder, left my name and number, lady said she would have someone call me back but that never happened. Is there somewhere on the window manufacturers typically post their name? Maybe some obscure place I missed examining the window when I had the bottom sash out?

 

Window mfg's aren't great about putting their name on their products. Ashamed I guess and don't want the headaches. If there isn't a gold NFRC/AAMA sticker on the top, it's anyone's guess.

 

There is a gold AAMA label on the sills, it reads "H-R30-47x71 Series 165-20/175-20" if that gives any clue to the manufacturer?

Edit: Further research shows that "H" denotes a single or double hung window, "R" means residential, "30" is the wind protection classification, they run 10 to 50 apparently, and the "47x71" is the largest size of this type for this manufacturer they tested.

 

It's been a mild day here today so decided to pull all my windows out to inspect and clean the seals and the sill plates. Some were pretty filthy so figured all that dirt might allow cold air to creep in.

My dining room windows have felt like the biggest leakers for many years. There are 3 single hung windows that make up a big glass area. The bubble seals on the 2 outboard windows were not seated squarely in the frame. The plastic T was pulled out on one end and the rubber seal twisted out of shape. And the other end had a 1/4-1/2 inch gap where the seal was missing. Cleaned them up and used a long pair of needle nose pliers to grasp a big hunk of the missing seal end and managed to get both pieces squared in the channel without damaging them. They were still out of shape somewhat so used low heat from my heat gun and a paint stirring stick to shape it back where it needed to be. They turned out pretty decent.

Cleaned everything up and reinstalled the windows making sure the seals were in proper position before closing window all the way. I'm optimistic this was causing some if not a lot of my problems in cold weather. Time will tell. I'll report back.


Twisted end.

Gapped end.

 

That is not the info from the label that I would need. Post a photo of the sticker. Cleaning and straightening the weatherstrip and mating surfaces can go a long way in helping it seal. If its folded in a way it was not intended, it's not going to seal well. The corners or the sashes are always a weak area. As is the chimney effect that comes up the side channels.

One hack, if you want to call it that, is to get some self adhesive foam door corner pads, and cut them to fit into the voids on either side of the (opened) bottom sash. It will help seal the ends where your sash bottom seals may be slightly short. But you don't want the bottom seal to sit on top of them... if it does it will likely cause the sash to gap open and prevent it from closing as tightly and evenly as it should.

If your bottom seals are still flexible and you don't intend to replace them, you "might" be able to stretch them back to their full length then crimp (or punch) the edge of the aluminum t-slot to keep it there. (To fix the problem in your last photo)

 

Here's the best sticker I have:

AAMA Label

 

Both windows actually had part of the plastic "T" hanging out one end so when I pulled on the other end, it filled the gap and got the excess on the other end back in the tee. That's what I meant when I said "squared."

 

Go here: https://archivedcpd.fgiaonline.org/

Enter the MFG code #: MTL-4

 

Mi Home Products, sent them a message asking about replacement bubble seal and brush pile.

Thanks for the help!

 

Most of the seals between the panes still look decent on my windows. This is a fixed architectural window in my master bath though. The seals are sagging from their OE positions. Does this cause windows to become drafty?

Grey seal sagging!

Seal popped all the way out!

 

Nope. That is called the spacer and it is sealed between the glass. If it wasn't sealed your glass would get foggy between the panes.