Saturday 3 March 2018

Window problems

Our bathroom is a single story 1970s extension that faces due east at the back of the house so not a great assert but functional.  We always have the window open day and night to prevent mold (previous owners had it fully tiled so moisture lingers from even the shortest shower) until this week.  With this extraordinary wind, so called Beast from the East, we wanted to close it tight but somehow the top opening frame had got twisted out of shape and would not seal!  The central heating is not on during the day I put the NHS free thermometer on the window sill where it read 10C in seconds. It went up to 12 C by the time I reached the kitchen table.


The solution last night was some plastic and some wide tape.


OK its not pretty but it cut the draft but still left us with a high pitched keening noise of the wind coming in the millimeter gap at the top of the window.  Not quite whistle, not quite a moan. We should record it for a background noise in a BBC spooky drama.

When the weather improves and we can look at the seals and the plastic window frame is soft (perhaps in August) see if we can adjust it to fit better.

I recall living in my parents 1950s council house with single glass windows and no heating at all upstairs.  The bathroom really was cold all the time especially in the bad winter of 1963! My Dad left the taps dribbling to stop them freezing up and the water puddling in the sink or bath froze solid overnight after the coal fire and paraffin heater downstairs were out.  Probably why I find this modern trend for laying in a bath with candles and wine so strange - "lingering" was not something I grew up with. Nowadays we have to wait for a luxury break in an overheated hotel when I get to fill a bath to the brim and spend time in there.

As the snow has melted off the back windows we have discovered the wind blown snow must have picked up a lot of dust or soil from the very dry conditions and the windows are thick with dirt. Glad its nearly all over with the setting sun.


5 comments:

  1. Yes I grew up in a similar house to you. We had no central heating. The sitting room had a coal fire and when very cold usually an electric heater in the dining room. I vaguely recall a paraffin heater but mum didn't like the smell. We dressed warmly and didn't think much of it.

    I hope you have managed to make your bathroom warmer by using the wide plastic and tape.

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  2. We were the same: one roaring coal fire in the sitting room, scraping ice off the bedroom window, no school as the bus couldn't get through (we lived near Whalley, Lancs, and it can be a bit bleak up there) but no one worried, we just got on with it all. I have discovered the magic of the sponge foam strip, that sticks to the gaps in the window frames - works for me, at very little cost.

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  3. We didn't have a bathroom until I was about 11 or so. Just a tin bath in front of the fire but I do remember ice on the inside of the bedroom windows.
    My window ledges are absolutely filthy now that the snow is melting so they will need a good clean when the weather is fit.
    Hugs-x-

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  4. I can remember buying a secondary glazing kit that consisted of double sided tape and plastic sheets. Once attached to window a hairdryer was used to shrink the plastic tight. It was brilliant much better than double glazing!

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